#SousVideHipster

Sous Vide...I love it...it's my favorite cooking method. It produces the most amazing, consistent results. So, of course when I am asked to come up with a sous vide recipe, I jump at the opportunity, because I get to do something different! I saw the other day a picture of a steak with a beautiful, vibrant, green chimichurri sauce...a sauce just alive with color. I look out the window and all I see are grey skies, snow, cold and basically death. I decided that I was going to stick it to old man winter and make something summery like beef kabobs with chimichurri sauce. That's right, I'm tired of you winter, I refuse to succumb with my tail between my legs and make some kind of soup (Not that there is anything wrong with soup). Of course, old man winter responds with more snow...thanks jerk!

Dueling Water Baths

Print Recipe

Print Recipe

**Note: Of course sous vide is not required for these recipes. You can grill the beef kabobs and you can roast the fingerling potatoes**

Sous Vide Short Ribs

I love having those moments when you make something for the first time and you think "Dear Lord, where have you been my whole life?" These short ribs were one of those moments. Ever since I started cooking sous vide I knew I wanted to try the 72 Hour Short ribs, but just never got around to it. Then, when I went grocery shopping the other day, I saw these beautiful shorties starring at me in the meat section. (That was probably the weirdest sentence I have ever wrote...I feel like that should be lyrics in next big rap song). Anyways....If you decide to start experimenting with sous vide cooking, do yourself a favor and make these things. Yes, they take 72 hours, but that is just time they spend in the water bath. The recipe is actually very easy, I just threw them in Monday night and they were ready for Thursday night dinner (Quite convenient actually). Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 cups dark brown sugar
• 5 tbsp salt
• 2 tbsp + 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp cayenne
• 2 tbsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp + 1 tsp ground allspice
• 2 tbsp chili flakes
• 3 tbsp ancho chili powder
• 1.5 lbs Short ribs, boneless
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 Tbsp Shallots, minced
• 1/2 Tbsp Garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1/2 cup Short Rib Jus
• 2 Tbsp butter, cubed and coated with flour
• 1 Tbsp thyme, minced
• Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions

The night before you want to start cooking the ribs, mix all the dry ingredients (first 8 ingredients) in a bowl. Rub the short ribs generously with the dry rub, place in a sealed container, and store in the fridge overnight, letting the meat marinate as the rub liquefies. 

Place the short ribs in a vacuum seal bag and vacuum seal. Place the short ribs in a 140° F water bath and sous vide for 72 hours. 

Remove the short ribs from the bag, saving the jus for the pan gravy, and pat the short ribs dry with a paper towl. Heat a cast iron pan over medium high heat, add in the oil. Sear the short ribs on all sides getting a nice crust (Maillard reaction) on all sides of the meat.

After you sear the meat, remove from pan and let rest while you make the pan gravy. Add the shallots and garlic and saute until fragrant, being sure not to burn. Deglaze the pan with the red wine. Reduce the wine until almost all evaporate. While the wine is reducing, strain the short rib jus through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheese cloth. Once the wine has almost evaporated add in the rib jus in. Continue reducing until you have about 1/2 cup liquid. Take off the heat and whisk in the flour coated butter, one cube at a time. You should notice your sauce starting to thicken and turn into a gravy. Check the consistency with a spoon, it should coat the back of the spoon and maintain a clear path when you rub your finger through it. Season the sauce with salt, pepper and the minced thyme. 

Slice the short ribs into 1/2" thick cubes, drizzle the pan gravy over top and serve. 

Kitchen Word of the Recipe

Reduction - is the process of thickening and intensifying the flavor of a liquid mixture such as a soup, sauce, wine or juice by boiling.  Reduction is performed by boiling liquid (whether stock, wine, whiskey, vinegar, or sauce mixture) rapidly and usually without a lid (enabling the vapor to escape more easily) until the volume desired is reached by evaporation. Since each component of the mixture evaporates at slightly different temperatures and the goal of reduction is to drive away those with lowest points of evaporation, it is – in a way – a form of distillation.

Salmon w/ Basil Risotto and Lemon Beurre Blanc

Lee had a work meeting last week, so dinner was on my own. Since she doesn't like fish, I figured it was an excellent opportunity to make this salmon idea I had for the past couple weeks. Since I also got my awesome SousVide Supreme demo unit, I figured it would be a perfect opportunity to use it. I cooked this piece of salmon sous-vide for an hour at 140 degree Fahrenheit, because I wanted it to be pasteurized. I buy these salmon fillets frozen and since they aren't the freshest of quality, I figured pasteurizing them would be best (they are still delicious!). I was really thrilled with how this dish turned out, all the flavors really blended well and the Beurre Blanc sauce was just so creamy, with a little tang at the end from the lemon. The plate was lacking a little color so I wasn't thrilled with the presentation, but whatever....it was just for me :)

Ingredients

Basil Risotto

• 3 1/4 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
• 3/4 cup arborio rice 
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons dry white wine

Lemon Beurre Blanc

• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 8 ounces white wine
• 2 ounces lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Salmon Fillets

• 4 Salmon Fillets
• 4 lemon slices 
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• salt and pepper, to taste

**Note: You don't have to cook the salmon sous-vide, you can cook it any method you'd like. You can simply sautee them in a pan with some butter, lemon juice and the thyme sprigs.**

Directions

If cooking sous-vide, first season both sides of the fillets with salt and pepper. Place each fillet in its own vacuum seal bag and top with a slice of lemon and sprig of thyme. Vacuum seal the bags and place in a water bath set at 140 degrees Fahrenheit (108 degree for rare, 122 degree for medium rare). Sous-vide the fillets for at least  an hour. If not cooking sous-vide, cook the salmon fillets right before the risotto is almost done. 

Combine the shallots, white wine, and lemon juice in a non-reactive saucepan over high heat and reduce to 2 tablespoons.

Add the cream to the reduction. Once the mixture starts to bubble, reduce the heat to low. Add the butter, one cube at a time, whisking first on the heat and then off the heat. Continue whisking the butter into the reduction until the mixture is fully emulsified and has reached a rich sauce consistency. Strain the sauce through a fine mesh sieve, season with salt, pepper and lemon zest. Store in a thermos until ready to serve.

In a medium sauce pan over high heat, bring the chicken stock to a simmer, cover and reduce the heat to maintain the simmer. Meanwhile in a food processor, pulse the basil, garlic and 1 teaspoon of olive oil until coarsely chopped. Add in cheese and pulse until finely grounded. 

Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil and the butter to a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat; when hot add the shallots and stir often until limp, about 2 minutes. Add the arborio rice to the shallots, stir often until the beginning to turn opaque, about 2 minutes. 

Once the rice is opaque, add in the wine and stir until it is absorbed, about 1 minute. Add the chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring after each addition until almost absorbed. This process should take about 25-30 minutes, give it some love! Once all the chicken stock has been added and absorbed, stir in the basil mixture and cook, stirring often, until rice is barely tender to bite and creamy, about 2 minutes. If risotto is thicker than desired, stir in a in more stock. Ladle the Basil Risotto onto the center of a plate, top with the salmon fillet and drizzle the lemon Beurre Blanc all over, enjoy!

Kitchen Word of the Day

Beurre blanc —literally translated from French as "white butter"— is a hot emulsified butter sauce made with a reduction of vinegar and/or white wine (normally Muscadet) and grey shallots into which cold, whole butter is blended off the heat to prevent separation. The small amounts of lecithin and other emulsifiers naturally found in butter are used to form an oil-in-water emulsion. Although similar to hollandaise in concept, it is not considered either a classic leading or compound sauce. This sauce originates in Loire Valley cuisine.