Sunday Gravy with yeah right: Sous Vide Round Two – Now We’re Talking!

Good morning everyone and happy Mother’s Day to you moms out there.

Mother’s Day to me is simply a reminder that yes, my mother is still dead so please don’t ask me if I called my mom on Mother’s Day, OK?

Good.

Of course I will wish both of my daughters a happy Mother’s Day and that’s the entire extent of how meaningful this day is to me now.

Before we get the party started I want to re-state my vow to at least try to keep Sunday Gravy free of politics and the insanity that is basically the common state of the world these days. Sometimes, like right now, it ain’t easy but I’m sure many of you like to have an escape from the news of the day and I’m going to at least try to keep Sunday Gravy free of the madness and keep it food-centric.

I’ll try.

[takes deep breath]

I’m ready to stop being a vegetarian, that’s something right?

It’s true. Once again meat will be just on the weekends though. Monday through Friday have been and will remain vegetarian only for the foreseeable future.

The weekends? All bets are off as I plan to fully demonstrate for you today.

Let’s go ahead and get experimenting with my new sous vide toy again today.

After we gave it a go last week with my attempt to sous vide some halibut fillets I was ready to use the new gadget for it’s true and proper purpose.

Motherfucking STEAK!

We are also going to demonstrate another new kitchen toy as well as another new sous vide technique so we will have run the full goddamn gamut of sous vide action by the end of this post.

Last week we prepared our fish for sous vide using the water displacement method.

Remember, that’s where we put the fillets in a zip top bag and left a slight opening before submerging in water to displace the air, then sealed the bag and shit?

Remember?

Today we’re using this.

Our vacuum sealer.

The way this works is the very front of the unit is where your sealer is. The unit is hinged and you simply open, place the open edge of the bag over the heat element and press down to seal. If you’ve ever used a shrink wrap machine it’s the same concept. See that little slide doo-hicky on the back? That’s the cutter where you cut off the excess plastic. You lift the edge of the plastic strip up and place the bag over it. Close the plastic and slide the cutter over the bag.

I ordered a shitload of bags for the sealer as well as some plastic rolls so I can sous vide a variety of sized items.

Today?

Bet. Your. ASS! Look at that fucking thing! Brilliant red in color and extra fatty goodness all around. Shit damn now I can work with this here motherfucker!

When I said I’m going back to eating meat I meant that shit.

Simple prep today with a liberal application of salt and pepper. Freshly ground pepper of course. I’ve got plenty of time later to fuck with marinades and such but in order to give a true initial read on the proper outcome of this cooking style we’re keeping it basic.

Liberal application I said. Apart from the final sear this is our only chance to impart flavor during the steaks long soak in the sauna.

Let’s try out one of those bags I mentioned. Get that steak in there and give it a seal.

Then make with the shrinkage. It took me two tries to get it to vacuum seal properly. You have to be pretty careful where the bag is placed.

That’s what it should look like.

Next we prepare the sauna.

There’s a “tell” right there what our side dish may be if you look carefully enough.

Now all we gots to do is plug ‘er in.

Here’s a very thorough guide to the various cuts, temperatures, cooking times etc. for cooking steak in a sous vide. It’s probably the most detailed site I found. Very Helpful.

link via anovaculinary.com

Our target temp today is 132 degrees. I like a medium rare/leaning rare steak personally.

Since we’re cooking steak I’ve got a quick question for everyone.

If you’re at a nice swanky steakhouse what’s your preferred side dish?

For me while I do indeed enjoy a perfectly cooked baked potato but if I’m going after full fucking flavor?

Gratin potatoes. All day.

Now appetizers are a different story entirely and I can plow through some seared ahi or New Orleans style barbecue shrimp or…

Oh fuck. I must be hungry because that shit sounded fucking awesome just now.

While the water bath is getting up to temp let’s get busy with our side dish.

Peel your ass up a biggol russet potato.

Yes we’ve made gratin potatoes many, many times on Sunday Gravy and here’s a link for the full recipe.

Slice that potato up using a mandolin.

Grab some cheese. Hey 2Pack, you’ve fully converted me to asiago. In the past this would have been gruyere.

Grate up your 3/4 cup of cheese and then prepare for the sauce making.

Make the sauce. That’s a pint of half and half, salt, pepper and don’t forget the nutmeg!

Layer the potatoes in a baking dish.

Then some equally thinly cut slices of onion. Layer this a couple of times.

Then the cheese sauce.

Grate some lovely parmiggiano reggiano over the whole works followed by a nice sprinkling of some chives.

Into the preheated 375 degree oven they go. Forty minutes or so should do it but be sure to check after 30 minutes just in case.

Let’s see how our sous vide is doing.

There we go. One hour of cook time in a 132 degree bath should yield a perfect medium rare steak.

Into the tub goes the sealed bag-o-steak.

Has kind of a manta ray thing going doesn’t it?

While the steak has it’s schvitz let’s check on the potatoes.

It’s fine, they will require a ton of time to cool down.

Oh yeah. That will play.

When the steak has bathed for an hour remove it from the tub.

One of the fun things about using this cooking method is you can just grab this shit with your bare fucking hands. It’s kind of bad ass actually.

As mentioned last week, the trick to making the steak lovely and presentable is to give it a hard, hot and fast sear. High heat is your friend.

Lots of recipes call for blazing the heat under the skillet to the point where you open all of your windows, turn the oven fan on and maybe even grab an additional fan to blow the smoke out of the kitchen.

I’m going to get a proper sear on this fucker.

That will get the damn job done. Preheat the skillet over HIGH heat and leave it alone for about 5-7 minutes before adding in some cooking oil. Use canola or peanut oil due to their high smoke points. Important tip!

When the skillet has “het up” slap that steak down.

Give it about 3-4 minutes in this smoking hot skillet, then flip.

Let’s grab a plate!

You will notice the not quite perfect sear on the steak. I took too much effort to ensure a proper medium rare and I wasn’t going to fuck that up by cooking it in the skillet too long. Again, first effort for a sous vide steak.

Close up time.

Look at that ribeye cap! The proper way to consume a ribeye steak is to start with that fucking cap right there. That’s where you get the fatty unctuousness that is the main reason you’re eating a ribeye in the first fucking place. Leave the lean parts for last.

Now we get a close up of the gratin potatoes.

Goddamn was this good. I mean, fuck! It’s got cheese and cream and onion and garlic. What? It’s as close to a “no miss” side for steak as you can get. Rich, savory, creamy. My god, man. It’s incredible.

How was the doneness of the steak you may inquire?

I fully understand now. Get your mind and eyeballs off of the “not quite perfect” sear on the steak and just focus on the flavor. Deep, rich, meaty and yes bloody deliciousness. Simply seasoned with the salt and pepper and that’s ALL that is needed. Alternate bites with the gratin potatoes and you’ve officially arrived at luxury dining.

Perfection. The perfect medium rare yet still close to rare as you can imagine.

As Lt. Colonel Kilgore in Apocalypse Now said “I like my meat rare. Rare but not cold.” With the sous vide you can achieve this result over and over again without screwing up a juicy, and goddamn ridiculously expensive cut of meat.

Hell of a way to break back in the full carnivore thing right?

God DAMN do I love a good steak.

I’ve got a few more ideas bouncing around the old cerebellum of mind for future sous vide uses and I have a feeling you’ll be able to read all about them here on Sunday Gravy.

How does it feel to be back on the old “meat wagon?”

It feels good, my friends. Damn good.

Thanks for being there people.

It’s always appreciated.

Let’s just enjoy food.

Make the most of the rest of your weekend and I’ll see you all back here next week for your weekly Gravy fix.

Take care out there.

PEACE!