Tag: sous-vide

1. Antipasti (appetizers)12 Comments

Foie Gras Sous-vide with Sauternes, Beetroot and Roquefort

StefanGourmet

Georges Pralus of Restaurant Troisgros in Roanne, France, discovered that foie gras cooked sous-vide kept its original appearance, did not lose excess amounts of fat and had better texture. This was a major step in the development of sous-vide techniques for the restaurant and home kitchens. Although I’ve been cooking sous-vide, I had not cooked foie gras sous-vide yet. Since it was such a breakthrough dish, I felt I had to give it a try. The combination of foie gras with the botrytis dessert wine sauternes is famous, and since sauternes is also good with roquefort and roquefort is good … Continue reading Foie Gras Sous-vide with Sauternes, Beetroot and Roquefort

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)22 Comments

Neck of Lamb Sous-Vide

StefanGourmet

The ‘secondo’ (main dish) for my lamb extravaganza was this: neck of lamb sous-vide, rack of lamb, parsley root puree and roasted chervil root, served with a lamb jus. The recipes for the parsley root and chervil root will follow in my next post, this post will deal with the neck of lamb. The neck is one of the tastiest cuts of lamb, but also one of the toughest because the neck musles are used a lot. It is ideally suited for cooking sous-vide, which will make it melt-in-your-mouth tender while keeping it succulent. For a good crispy crust I both … Continue reading Neck of Lamb Sous-Vide

1. Antipasti (appetizers)14 Comments

Smoked Ham of Lamb

StefanGourmet

I had picked up a very nice double magnum of 1998 red Sancerre from Henri Bourgeois at the winery, and decided to open it for a dinner party with friends who I knew would enjoy it. A double magnum equals 4 regular bottles, so I had to think of several dishes that would be eaten with this wine. I decided that if we would drink one wine with all three savory dishes of the meal (antipasto, primo, secondo), then an appropriate theme would be to base all the dishes on the same main ingredient. Since red sancerre (similar to red … Continue reading Smoked Ham of Lamb

1. Antipasti (appetizers)14 Comments

Amazing Sous-Vide Vitello Tonnato

StefanGourmet

If you’ve never had vitello tonnato before, you probably think veal and tuna are an unlikely pair. But in fact this classic dish from the Piemonte region in Italy (called vitel tonnà in the Piemontese language) is a great combination. Traditionally, vitello tonnato is made by poaching the “girello” cut of “Fassone” veal (a prized Piemontese breed of veal) in a stock with aromatic vegetables and white wine, sliced thinly and served with a sauce of canned tuna, hard-boiled eggs, capers, anchovies, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and a bit of the cooking liquid. Girello (also known as tondino … Continue reading Amazing Sous-Vide Vitello Tonnato

Cooking24 Comments

The Proof of the Duck is in the Eating

StefanGourmet

I was intrigued by Conor’s Canard à l’Orange post. He cooks the duck breast on the skin side over low heat for 30-40 minutes to render the fat out of it, while I always do this as quickly as possible over high heat. My theory behind this was that this would lead to less overcooking of the duck meat, but since Conor knows his business I thought I needed to give his method a try. Empirical evidence is better than theoretical speculations. Or in other words, the proof of the pudding duck is in the eating. I started with a … Continue reading The Proof of the Duck is in the Eating

Asian cuisine12 Comments

Wagyu Flank Steak Sous-vide Teriyaki

StefanGourmet

Recently I tried wagyu flank steak sous-vide for the first time, and liked the results with 24 hours at 56C/133F, but decided that I wanted to try 48 hours at 55C/131F as well since I was expecting that would be even better. Turns out my expectation was correct! This time I made it teriyaki style and it was outstanding. Please note that you could use the same method to prepare regular steak teriyaki, the only difference is that the steak would only need 4 hours or so at 55C/131F instead of 48. In this recipe, the teriyaki sauce is not … Continue reading Wagyu Flank Steak Sous-vide Teriyaki

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)11 Comments

Sous-vide Rib Steak finished on the BBQ

StefanGourmet

  Once a year Kees throws an overnight party on our boat with about 25 friends, which involves a BBQ, a lot of beer, and a lot of fun. This year I decided to tag along (drinking wine rather than beer) and had a great time as well. I brought along 5 kilograms (11 lbs) sous-vide pre-cooked beef that was finished on the BBQ that was a big hit. All of it was devoured in five minutes. It was good quality marbled Irish beef, but since it was a cut that can usually only be prepared as a braise or … Continue reading Sous-vide Rib Steak finished on the BBQ

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)5 Comments

Pork Ribs Sous-vide

StefanGourmet

When Conor wrote about pork ribs, I knew I had to try pre-cooking them sous-vide rather than boiling. Sous-vide cooking allows us to get ribs that are both tender and succulent. Since I had never made pork ribs before, I wanted to experiment a little before serving them to my friends at a BBQ. For this trial run I seared the ribs in a hot frying pan rather than firing up a BBQ, since it was only the two of us on a week night. I tried two flavors: Conor’s paprika – honey – soy marinade and Italian style sage … Continue reading Pork Ribs Sous-vide

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)28 Comments

Wagyu Flank Steak, Pan-seared versus Sous-vide

StefanGourmet

On nice days I often walk from the train station to work, rather than taking a tram or subway. On my way to work I will then walk by the fanciest butcher shop that I know of in Amsterdam (and probably in the whole country): Slagerij De Leeuw. This is not a place to get your daily meat, but for special occasions they have great stuff like organic foie gras, Rubia beef from Spain, and wagyu beef (imported from the US). Wagyu is usually outrageously expensive, but the flank steak (referred to as “bavette”) looked great and almost reasonably priced. … Continue reading Wagyu Flank Steak, Pan-seared versus Sous-vide

1. Antipasti (appetizers)17 Comments

Lobster Carpaccio with Gorgonzola Sauce

StefanGourmet

A few months ago we had a wonderful dinner at Combal.Zero** near Turin (Italy). My favorite dish of the evening was lobster carpaccio with gorgonzola sauce. It was such a surprising combination that I wanted to try to make something similar myself. The result was pretty good, although it was not as good at Combal. I know that Davide Scabin does a lot of experimenting to get a dish just right, so it was to be expected that my first try would not be as good. Unlike Davide, I served the claws with the dish and they were cooked. I … Continue reading Lobster Carpaccio with Gorgonzola Sauce

Asian cuisine18 Comments

Japanese Fried Chicken, Drenched Daikon and Noodles in Broth

StefanGourmet

I’ve been trying more recipes from Shizuo Tsuji’s great “Japanese Cooking:  A Simple Art”. Since I had some left-over dashi, I decided to make two dishes that require dashi. I am not sure if this would be served together in Japan, but it did taste well together and I was well pleased with the result. I pre-cooked the chicken sous-vide for an easier way to get chicken that is cooked through (and pasteurized) as well as juicy, but the original recipe doesn’t require that so you can also make this without sous-vide equipment. The recipes make use of light Japanese … Continue reading Japanese Fried Chicken, Drenched Daikon and Noodles in Broth

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)28 Comments

My First Home-made ‘Slow Food’ Hamburger

StefanGourmet

I do not eat a lot of fast food. I don’t care so much about the calories or fat (that just means eating a bit less of it), but I do care about the taste. If something isn’t necessarily the healthiest food in the world, then it should taste real good! And most fast food just tastes generic and often even bland. Just like most people, I love pizza, and I love hamburgers. But for me it has to be good pizza, or in this case a good hamburger! I came across an article on Serious Eats about finding the … Continue reading My First Home-made ‘Slow Food’ Hamburger

Basics6 Comments

Dashi sous-vide

StefanGourmet

Dashi, a stock from kombu seaweed and bonito flakes, is as essential to Japanese cooking. It is used as a basic ingredient in so many dishes that it has a big influence on the taste of a Japanese meal. It is used in many soups or sauces, including miso soup and tempura sauce. Kikunoi is a famous restaurant from Kyoto with three Michelin stars that has been named after the well from which it draws the water for its dashi. We ate at the Tokyo branch, where they use dashi made from water from the original Kyoto well. That’s how … Continue reading Dashi sous-vide

1. Antipasti (appetizers)12 Comments

Sous-vide Artichoke Salad

StefanGourmet

An artichoke salad is a simple antipasto, perfect for the summer and best to prepare sous-vide for maximum flavor and tender artichokes with some bite to them as well. Most of the work goes into cleaning them, but fresh artichokes are so much better than from a jar or can. As is usual with antipasti, you just need some good olive oil and a bit of parsley to turn some artichokes into a great antipasto. Ingredients artichokes good extra virgin olive oil salt lemon fresh flatleaf parsley Preparation This cleaning method is for large tough artichokes. For small tender ones, … Continue reading Sous-vide Artichoke Salad

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)5 Comments

Radishes Risotto with Monkfish and Pancetta

StefanGourmet

I liked pasta with radishes, so I thought I’d try risotto with radishes as well. The pasta with radishes seemed to need a little pancetta, and since pancetta is also good with monkfish I decided to combine the three of them. And it worked! I cooked the monkfish sous-vide, but if you don’t have sous-vide equipment you could just pan-fry the monkfish, being careful not to overcook it. Ingredients For 2 servings 225 grams (1/2 pound) monkfish fillet 80 grams (3 oz) pancetta, thinly sliced 1 bunch radishes with nice-looking leaves 2/3 cup risotto rice such as Arborio 2 cups … Continue reading Radishes Risotto with Monkfish and Pancetta

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)17 Comments

Lamb Shoulder sous-vide with Goat Cheese

StefanGourmet

Lamb shoulder is really good if it’s slow cooked, so sous-vide is the obvious way to cook this cut of lamb. The meat will be amazingly tender and juicy. When slow-cooking lamb, make sure it’s from an ewe (female lamb). Rams (male lambs) have a strong smell that will be accentuated by long cooking. At Librije I discovered how good lamb and goat cheese are together. If you don’t have sous-vide equipment, roast a leg of lamb in the oven and serve it with some pieces of good French raw-milk goat cheese at room temperature (don’t let it melt) and a … Continue reading Lamb Shoulder sous-vide with Goat Cheese

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)5 Comments

BBQ’ed Lamb skewers with Balsamic (served on a Pink Piano)

StefanGourmet

I like to BBQ under two conditions: (1) using charcoal instead of gas and (2) marinating the meat yourself (or by a reputable butcher). Using charcoal makes for a much hotter grill that enables you to cook food with a crispy outside and a juicy inside and a real smoky BBQ flavor. Pre-marinated meat is usually low-quality meat with a marinade that overpowers the taste of the meat. Pre-cooking the meat sous-vide is not a requirement but certainly a good idea, as it makes for more tender meat, easier BBQ’ing (it is always cooked perfectly as soon as the outside … Continue reading BBQ’ed Lamb skewers with Balsamic (served on a Pink Piano)

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)10 Comments

Stuffed fillet of Venison (Involtini di Capriolo)

StefanGourmet

I picked up some more roe deer venison, which is still in season in the Netherlands, and created this ‘Italian style’ dish that is not an existing dish that I know of. You could also use regular venison or even veal or beef for this, but venison makes it just that bit more special. You can cook the involtini sous-vide or in the oven. Ingredients For 2 generous or 3 normal servings 400 grams (0.9 lbs) fillet of roe deer venison or regular venison 50 grams (2 oz) pancetta, chopped 25 grams (1 oz) dried porcini mushrooms 2 cloves garlic, … Continue reading Stuffed fillet of Venison (Involtini di Capriolo)

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)14 Comments

Classic Ossobuco alla Milanese sous-vide

StefanGourmet

Ossobuco is a classic Italian dish from Milan that most people know as veal shanks braised in tomato sauce. Originally, the veal shanks were actually braised in veal stock with just a hint of tomato. I like this classic version, because it gives a meatier flavor. With sous-vide cooking, you could braise the veal shanks at a lower temperature to obtain a different texture. This time, I’ve used Modernist Cuisine’s recommendation for veal shanks, which is 72 hours at 62C/144F. The meat comes out with a classic flaky structure and is very flavorful but just a bit dryish, and that’s … Continue reading Classic Ossobuco alla Milanese sous-vide

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)12 Comments

Pork Belly sous-vide

StefanGourmet

Next to beef short ribs, pork belly is a meat that is often mentioned on eGullet as a favorite for sous-vide. I usually don’t eat pork belly, but I thought I’d give it a try and was not disappointed! Modernist Cuisine gives 60C/140F and 65C/149F, both for 72 hours, as ‘best bets’ for pork belly sous-vide. I tried both, and liked 60C/140F much better because it is as tender as 65C/149F, but much more juicy (the 65C/149F was really dry). Please note that at this temperature the fat doesn’t render, so you end up with layers of tender meat and … Continue reading Pork Belly sous-vide

Asian cuisine6 Comments

Chicken Ramen sous-vide

StefanGourmet

Since it’s K.’s birthday today, I thought it would be appropriate to blog about a recipe from her blog $35 a week that I tried. Thanks for the recipe and happy birthday! The recipe she used asks for a slowcooker, so I couldn’t resist to use sous-vide instead. I had never made ramen myself before. The chicken came out very juicy and tender and I was happy with the overall result. I do wonder whether you actually need a slowcooker (or sous-vide setup) to make something just as good, so that’s something to try next time. I’ll just sauté the chicken … Continue reading Chicken Ramen sous-vide

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)35 Comments

Roe Deer Venison sous-vide with Roe Deer Jus

StefanGourmet

One of the tastiest and most prized types of game is venison from roe deer. A roe deer (Dutch: ree, French:  chevreuil, German: Reh, Italian: capriolo) is a small species of deer that is very picky about its food. If you cannot find roe deer, you can substitute with regular venison. I recently bought a nice back of roe deer venison, part of which I turned into carpaccio and the rest I served like this. The nice thing about buying the whole back was that I also had bones to make a great jus. By cooking the venison sous-vide, you can serve … Continue reading Roe Deer Venison sous-vide with Roe Deer Jus

1. Antipasti (appetizers)12 Comments

Carpaccio of Sous-vide Octopus (Carpaccio di Polpo)

StefanGourmet

Octopus can be very tough and bland, but when you cook it sous-vide it will be tender and flavorful. I wrote about sous-vide octopus (Insalata di Polpo) before, but since octopus sous-vide is so good and I saw a nice idea on GialloZafferano that enables you to slice the octopus more thinly, I decided to write about it some more. The photos on GZ suggest that you can actually get slices of octopus ‘sausage’, but since there is no ‘glue’ to hold them together that doesn’t happen and the slices fall apart. It still looks great, and the thin slices make the … Continue reading Carpaccio of Sous-vide Octopus (Carpaccio di Polpo)

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)3 Comments

Quest for my Grandmother’s Chicken, Part 2

StefanGourmet

Some weeks ago I wrote about my attempts to recreate the memory of my grandmother’s braised chicken. I came pretty close by cooking a stewing hen sous-vide at 64C/147F for 3 days, but I was not completely satisfied with the result yet. In the meantime I have done two new experiments with chicken from the same source, once at 62C/144F and once at 60C/140F. Just a short post today to give you an update of the results. Even after cooking sous-vide for over 16 months now, the difference of only 2C/4F degrees still amazes me. I’ve decided that 62C/144F for … Continue reading Quest for my Grandmother’s Chicken, Part 2

Asian cuisine9 Comments

Steak Teriyaki Sous-vide

StefanGourmet

After trying beef short ribs teriyaki sous-vide, I decided to try rib-eye steak teriyaki sous-vide. The main difference between short ribs sous-vide and (rib-eye) steak sous-vide is that short ribs need 48 hours at 57C/135F to get tender, but steak is already tender and only needs to be brought to temperature. The teriyaki short ribs were a bit dry because the marinade had drawn out too much of the juices. For the rib-eye steak I decided not to marinade the steak before cooking, but only to marinade during cooking. This turned out well: the steak had a nice teriyaki flavor … Continue reading Steak Teriyaki Sous-vide

Asian cuisine9 Comments

Beef short ribs Teriyaki sous-vide

StefanGourmet

Since the first time I ever had beef short ribs was Teriyaki style at Roy’s in Honolulu, I decided I should try to make my own short ribs teriyaki. First I found out that my regular butcher has something very close to short ribs after all, which he calls “naborst” (for all you Dutchies out here who can’t find short ribs either). The ribs themselves have been removed, but that’s not a big deal. I decided that marinating in teriyaki would not be required as the beef would be cooked in the marinade for 48 hours anyway. The result was … Continue reading Beef short ribs Teriyaki sous-vide

Basics43 Comments

How to use juices from the bag after sous-vide braising

StefanGourmet

I don’t like to throw away food and when I’m cooking I definitely don’t want to throw away any flavor. So when I brown meat, I always deglaze the pan to make a sauce out of the browned bits that have gotten stuck to the bottom of the pan. I’ve been cooking sous-vide for over a year now, but until recently I had not figured out how to use the juices that are left in the bag after cooking something sous-vide. Especially when braising meat for two to three days, there can be a lot of juice and since it … Continue reading How to use juices from the bag after sous-vide braising

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)34 Comments

Best temperature for Beef Short Ribs sous-vide

StefanGourmet

Welcome to Stefan’s Gourmet Blog!  You can find an overview of my sous-vide recipes as well as times and temperatures by clicking on “Sous-Vide” above.  If you like what you see here, you can sign up on the sidebar to receive an email whenever I post a new recipe. I’ve only known about sous-vide cooking for less than two years and have owned a sous-vide water bath for about 15 months now, but the early adapters of sous-vide cooking in the home kitchen were already discussing recipes and techniques on eGullet in 2004. I am reading through all of the … Continue reading Best temperature for Beef Short Ribs sous-vide