So cooking steaks can get expensive. I was just wondering what everyones opinions on what good cheap cuts of meat that turn out really good sous vide are? Iv heard flank, chuck roast. Any other recomendations?
Eye of the Round roast works well if cooked longer. If you cook it only a couple of hours it is good if sliced paper thin for sandwiches.
http://community.anovaculinary.com/discussion/1649/
Beef short Ribs
http://community.anovaculinary.com/discussion/590/
Brisket, Corned Beef and beef ribs are also great. The tougher the meat the longer the cook.
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Those short ribs look delicious! Thank you!
Depends what you want or mean by “good”. Remember, you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. No amount of cooking is going to turn flavorless junk like bottom round into filet, or chuck into ribeye. But, you can make some good thin slice roast beef (short cook time - 4-6 hours) or pot roast (long cook 24-36 hours) out of chuck. Bottom round will always be dog food though.
There
is a little flap of meat in the shoulder that is sometimes called a
flat iron steak. They are about half and inch thick and cook quickly and
are surprisingly tender. Since they come from the shoulder they have a
lot of flavor.
Sirloin steaks can be very nice and are much less expensive than ribs or tenderloin.
I also like pork steaks, especially sirloin. My nearby fancy butcher had
them on sale for 2 bucks a pound last week. They cook quickly and
there’s very little waste.
You pay your money and take your chances. Every butcher is different. The way the meat is cut makes big difference. I don't think there is a cut that is better for sous vide than conventional cooking. You might make it better but you might not.
Appearance and pliability? are important. IMO/experience if it looks/feels like it will pull apart it should be tender.
One of my favorite things to do is go buy the cheap beef roasts at the local grocery store (I trust the folks who work in the meat dept) and put them in the water bath at 138F for about 48 hours (they are good at 25, excellent at 48). I did an eye of round and a bottom round this last week… and I’ve got a top round going right now. Look for sales and freeze extra roasts for later.
If it is a very lean cut (e.g. bottom round) then give some thought to adding fat from one of the more fattier cuts (1/2 cup duck fat would make you a hero in my house). The protein will pick up the taste of the fat you cook it in.
If you use butter then go with the cheap stuff (grass-fed is going to give it a sharp acidic note) or just throw in some olive oil, rosemary, and salt and make it into a proper feast. 
Good luck.
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That is interesting about the fat. I knew that about ground meat but never thought about it for roasts. Soon they may be selling fat as sous vide seasoning and it will cost more than the meat:) (like calling mushroom soup cooking sauce and charging more)
I can’t access those links - any reason?
They are from the old forum. Perhaps @HunterC can resurrect them.
Ok! Thank you for getting back to me!
I agree, I look for Chuck roasts on sale… Just bought a 5.5lb for $2.99/lb and cooking it for 18 hours, my last one turned out great. .
@canfrancook I will look into it!