Tag: Sous vide

Sous vide eye fillet steak with potato gem poutine plus mushrooms and crispy Brussels sprouts

Saturday night dinner is sous vide eye fillet steak with potato gem poutine (provolone and smoked cheddar cheeses and gravy) plus mushrooms and crispy Brussels sprouts.

My personality

I was chatting with a friend today about my personality.

Introverted–99%
Observant–56%
Feeling–51%
Judging–51%
Turbulent–63%
My personality scores

People who really know me won’t be surprised by how introverted I am. I live alone and for now, I’m happy about that. I enjoy my own company. I’ve lived a full life, I’ve been married, I’m divorced, I’ve learnt a lot about myself, what makes me happy, what upsets me, what unsettles me, and what I think I want for my future.

One thing I know about my future, is food will be a feature. Cooking and eating. Perhaps even growing some of my food. Growing up as a little boy, my maternal grandfather spent long periods of time living with us. Mum was pretty ill when she was pregnant with my youngest brother. She’d already had two very difficult births. My grandfather converted our backyard into a market garden. I don’t have a green thumb and the thought of gardening fills me with horror, but I do have fond memories of picking and eating fresh vegetables. Fresh fruit and vegetables taste so much better than what you get in a supermarket.

Faith will also feature more in my future. I’ve been in the wilderness for a long time and around this time last year, a friend started a good thing in my life. It’s been a year of revelation and self reflection and growth.

Saturday dinner. Sous vide eye fillet steak with potato gem poutine (provolone and smoked cheddar cheeses and gravy) plus mushrooms and Brussels sprouts.

Ingredients

  • Eye fillet steak
  • Iodised salt (ground)
  • Black pepper (freshly cracked)
  • Oregano leaves (dried)
  • Potato gems (Tater tots in North America)
  • Provolone cheese (grated)
  • Smoked cheddar cheese (grated)
  • Gravox instant gravy
  • Brussels sprouts
  • Mushrooms
  • Beef dripping
  • Butter

Instructions

Steak

  1. Remove the meat from the wrapping and season liberally with salt, pepper, and oregano leaves.
  2. Vacuum seal in a food safe plastic bag.
  3. Cook sous vide in a water bath at 54 °C for 2 hours and 15 minutes.
  4. Remove the meat from the plastic bag and dry the meat with absorbent kitchen paper. Try to dry the surfaces as much as possible.
  5. Take some mushrooms and roughly break them up with your fingers rather than slice them with a knife. You want a rustic rough look to them. Although, if you feel refined, you can slice them, I was feeling like being a bit rough and rustic tonight. Not that I’m ever refined and sophisticated 🤣
  6. Heat a skillet (cast-iron if you have it) until it’s just smoking hot and add in a little beef dripping to smear the surface.
  7. With long kitchen tongs, place the meat in the skillet and press down firmly for about ten seconds and repeat this with all surfaces of the meat.
  8. After the first turn, add in some more beef dripping and butter and the mushrooms so while the meat is searing, the mushrooms are cooking and the butter is browning.
  9. Remove the meat from the skillet and set it aside.
  10. Spoon the mushrooms and sizzling dripping and butter over the steak.
  11. Allow the meat to rest for 10 minutes.
  12. Slice into just under 1 cm thick slices and hope the meat has a deep red blush to it.

Gary’s “Poutine” and Brussels sprouts

  1. Grate the cheese fresh.
  2. Slice the Brussels sprouts in half and toss in a mixing bowl.
  3. Splash in some olive oil and season the Brussels sprouts liberally with salt and pepper.
  4. Toss the Brussels sprouts with the oil and seasoning to ensure good even coverage.
  5. Heat an oven to 250 °C and place frozen potato gems (tater tots) into a baking sheet (keep to one side) and on the other side add the Brussels sprouts.
  6. Cook until the Brussels sprouts have become crispy.
  7. Remove the Brussels sprouts and then top the potato gems with the grated cheese.
  8. Cook until the cheese begins to brown. The potato gems should be crispy.
  9. Make the gravy according to the packet instructions.

Plating up

  1. Use a spatula to scoop the cheesy potato gems onto a dinner plate.
  2. Add the Brussels sprouts next to the potato gems.
  3. Lay the slices of steak over the cheesy potato gems.
  4. Place the mushrooms next to the meat and then spoon gravy over the meat, Brussels sprouts, and cheese potato gems.

Final thoughts

  1. What do you think of my version of poutine?
  2. Do you like your steak done like this?
  • Saturday dinner. Sous vide eye fillet steak with potato gem poutine (provolone and smoked cheddar cheeses and gravy) plus mushrooms and Brussels sprouts.
  • Grated provolone cheese and smoked cheddar cheese
  • Saturday dinner. Sous vide eye fillet steak with potato gem poutine (provolone and smoked cheddar cheeses and gravy) plus mushrooms and Brussels sprouts.
  • Saturday dinner. Sous vide eye fillet steak with potato gem poutine (provolone and smoked cheddar cheeses and gravy) plus mushrooms and Brussels sprouts.
  • Saturday dessert. Natural no added sugar yoghurt with raspberries and pineapple pieces.

Fusion duck and penne pasta

Fusion duck and penne pasta

Vacuum packed duck breasts

Rather than go and buy noodles, I thought my duck and laksa-paste flavoured soup would work just as well with penne pasta.

Ingredients

  • Sous vide duck breast
  • Penne pasta
  • Spring onions
  • Laksa paste

Instructions

Penne pasta

  1. To maximise the resistant starch content, I cooked the pasta at lunchtime. I drained it and put it into the refrigerator until I needed it. 
  2. I cooked the pasta according to the instructions on the packet.

Duck breast

  1. I cooked this yesterday, and you can find the recipe and full story on the blog.
  2. I took the refrigerated duck breast out of its vacuum bag, dried the duck with absorbent kitchen paper, and then sliced the cold duck meat thinly.

Meal preparation

  1. I cut up some spring onions cutting the white parts at an angle for that fancy look and cutting the green parts to form fine rings.
  2. I boiled some water and added a tablespoon of laksa paste, and stirred it through.
  3. I then added in the cold penne pasta and allowed the pasta to warm through.
  4. I turned off the heat and mixed through the spring onion and sliced duck meat.

How to eat this

  1. Eat this meal from a bowl with chopsticks and a spoon.
  • Vacuum packed duck breasts
  • Sunday tea. Leftover sous vide duck with pasta and laksa paste soup.
  • Natural yoghurt with no added sugar with raspberries and blueberries

Final thoughts

How do you feel about combining a laksa flavour with penne pasta?

Sous vide duck breast with lentils, broccolini, and potato mash

Tonight I made sous vide duck breast with lentils, broccolini, and potato mash. For the full recipe and story go to Yummy Lummy.

  • Vacuum packed duck breasts
  • Dick Boning knife and Dick Butchers knife
  • Sous vide duck breast with lentils, broccolini, and potato mash
  • Sous vide duck breast with lentils, broccolini, and potato mash

Filet mignon and crunchy chickpea salad

Filet mignon and crunchy chickpea salad

Check out the full recipe and story at Yummy Lummy.

  • Ground black peppercorns
  • Ground black peppercorns Filet mignon
  • Ground black peppercorns Filet mignon and crunchy chickpea salad
  • Ground black peppercorns Filet mignon and crunchy chickpea salad

Sous vide New York strip steak and fennel salad

Sous vide New York strip steak and fennel salad

Sous vide New York strip steak and fennel salad

Ingredients

  • New York strip steak
  • Iodised salt
  • Queensland nut oil
  • Butter
  • Sherry
  • Cream
  • Fennel
  • Red onion
  • Radish
  • Lime juice
  • Pomegranate arils
  • Coriander
  • Parsley
Sous vide New York strip steak and fennel salad

Instructions

  1. Season the steak with salt.
  2. Vacuum seal the steak and cook in a water bath at 55 °C for 2 hours.
  3. Remove the steak from the bag and empty the juices into a container.
  4. Dry the surfaces of the steak with kitchen paper.
  5. Wipe the cooking surface of a cast-iron skillet with some Queensland nut oil.
  6. Heat a cast-iron skillet until the oil begins to smoke.
  7. Sear the steak on all sides and then add a nudge of butter to the skillet and baste the steak.
  8. Add the meat juices from the vacuum bag.
  9. Remove the steak from the skillet and place on a plate to rest.
  10. Deglaze the skillet with some cooking sherry and add some cream to make a sauce.
  11. Slice the fennel, red onion, and radish with a mandolin (use a safety glove to avoid significant hæmorrhage).
  12. Add the fennel, red onion and radish to a bowl with some lime juice and water to prevent the vegetables from oxidising.
  13. Drain the liquid from the bowl and place the salad vegetables into a salad bowl.
  14. Chop the coriander and parsley and add to the salad bowl.
  15. Add the pomegranate arils to the salad and toss the salad (whatever you do, do not look up toss the salad in the urban dictionary).
  16. Place the steak onto a dinner plate which has been warming on the water bath.
  17. Add the salad next to the steak.
  18. Spoon the sauce from the skillet over the steak.
Sous vide New York strip steak and fennel salad

Sous vide eye fillet with lentils à la dijonnaise

I’ve got leftover lentils from last night and steak plus some broccolini—a pretty nice Sunday dinner on a long weekend.

Sous vide eye fillet steak with mashed lentils à la dijonnaise and broccolini

Ingredients

  • Eye fillet steak
  • Iodised salt
  • Black pepper
  • Leftover lentils à la dijonnaise
  • Broccolini
  • Olive oil
Tied up eye fillet steak after cooking sous vide (under pressure)

Instructions

Steak

  • Tie the eye fillet with cooks string.
  • Season the steak with salt and pepper.
  • Seal the steak in a vacuum bag.
  • Cook sous vide (under vacuum) for 2 hours at 55 °C.
  • When finished, remove the steak from the vacuum bag and dry the surfaces with absorbent kitchen paper.
  • Sear the steak in a hot cast-iron skillet using high vapour point oil like Queensland nut oil or rice bran oil.
  • Add a nudge of butter to the skillet and spoon the melting butter over the steak.
  • Allow the steak to rest and then slice thinly with a sharp knife.

Broccolini

  • Wash the broccolini in water and then rub olive oil on the heads.
  • Season the broccolini with salt and then cook in an oven at 200 °C for about 20 minutes.

Leftover lentils à la dijonnaise

Plating up

  • Spoon the lentils onto a dinner plate which has been warming on the water bath.
  • Transfer slices of steak over the lentils and spoon burnt butter over the steak.
  • Place the broccolini next to the steak and lentils.
Sous vide eye fillet steak with mashed lentils à la dijonnaise and broccolini

Sous vide salmon with Dijon creamed baby green peas

Sous vide salmon with Dijon creamed baby green peas

Sous vide salmon with Dijon creamed baby green peas

Ingredients

  • Salmon
  • Cooking salt (iodised)
  • Baby green peas (frozen)
  • Dijon mustard
  • Cream

Instructions

  • Brine the salmon in ice-cold water with a handful of salt and leave overnight in the refrigerator.
  • Vacuum seal the salmon and then cook sous vide (under vacuum) for 40 minutes at 50 °C.
  • When the salmon is cooked, open the bag and gently peel off the skin.
  • Place the skin on a lined baking sheet and put into a hot oven (240 °C) for about 10 minutes to make the skin crispy.
  • While the salmon skin is cooking, boil some water in a saucepan and then add a cup of frozen baby green peas and bring the water back to the boil.
  • Turn the heat off and wait for the peas to become tender.
  • Drain the peas and put them back into the saucepan and turn the heat back on and add a small knob of butter.
  • Then stir through some Dijon mustard and cream.
  • Serve everything on a dinner plate which has been warming on the water bath.
Sous vide salmon with Dijon creamed baby green peas

Sous vide salmon with crispy skin plus bacon and Brussels sprouts

Sous vide salmon with crispy skin plus bacon and Brussels sprouts.

Sunday salmon cooked sous vide (under vacuum) with lots of crispy bits like the salmon skin, bacon, and Brussels sprouts.

Sous vide salmon with crispy skin plus bacon and Brussels sprouts

Ingredients

  • Salmon
  • Cooking salt (iodised)
  • Brussels sprouts
  • Streaky bacon
  • Sour cream
Sous vide salmon with crispy skin plus bacon and Brussels sprouts

Instructions

  • Brine the salmon in cold water with a handful of salt and leave the salmon overnight in the refrigerator.
  • Wash the salmon in cold running water to remove all the albumen.
  • Seal in a vacuum bag.
  • Heat the water in a water bath to 50 °C and cook the bagged salmon for 40 minutes.
  • While the water bath is warming, slice the streaky bacon with a sharp knife.
  • Put the Brussels sprouts into a lined baking tray and mound the sliced bacon on top of the Brussels sprouts.
  • As the bacon cooks the fat renders, and the Brussels sprouts absorb the bacon fat. 
  • Cook the Brussels sprouts and bacon in an oven (starting cold) at 200 °C for 40 minutes.
  • Once the salmon has cooked, open the bag and then gently peel off the skin.
  • Place the salmon skin on a lined baking sheet and put it into a hot (240 °C) oven for about 10 minutes to get the skin crispy.
  • Serve everything on a dinner plate which has been warming on top of the water bath and add a little sour cream.
Sous vide salmon with crispy skin plus bacon and Brussels sprouts

I hope you’re enjoying your Sunday evening. If you make this dish, please let me know. Have a good night.

Sous vide salmon with curry coconut cream frozen vegetables

Sous vide salmon with curry coconut cream frozen vegetables.

Yesterday, I brined, and then cooked fillets of salmon sous vide (under pressure). I ate one piece of salmon last night and left the other fillet for tonight.

Sous vide salmon with curry coconut cream frozen vegetables

Ingredients

  • Salmon cooked sous vide
  • Red cabbage
  • Baby green peas
  • Parsley
  • Coconut cream
  • Cooking sherry
  • Curry paste
Sous vide salmon with curry coconut cream frozen vegetables

Instructions

  • Turn on the oven to about 250 °C and remove the skin from the cooked salmon.
  • Pit the skin on a lined baking sheet and dry the surface with some absorbent kitchen paper.
  • Season the skin with some iodised salt and put the salmon skin into the oven for about 15 minutes.
  • Shred some cabbage and sauté in some Queensland nut oil in a hot skillet.
  • Once the cabbage has softened, add in a cup of frozen baby green peas.
  • Once the peas are hot, splash in some cooking sherry and cook off the alcohol.
  • Stir in a tablespoon of curry paste and get all the vegetables coated.
  • Add in some continental parsley leaves.
  • Pour in some coconut cream and bring it to a boil and then turn down the heat to simmer and reduce.
  • Put the cold salmon into the skillet and break it up into chunks.
  • Turn off the heat and allow the heat to penetrate the salmon.
  • Serve in a bowl and add the crispy salmon skin on top.
  • Add a few cherry tomatoes to the bowl too.
Sous vide salmon with curry coconut cream frozen vegetables

If you make this, please let me know. Thank you.

Sous vide salmon and creamed kale

It’s Sunday night, and I’ve cooked some salmon and served it with creamed kale with a like Dijon flavouring.

Sous-vide salmon with crispy skin and Dijon creamed kale with cherry tomatoes

Ingredients

  • Salmon
  • Iodised salt
  • Kale (washed)
  • Dijon mustard
  • Cream
  • Cooking sherry
  • Cherry tomatoes (washed)

Instructions

  • Put the salmon into a container, add a handful of salt, cover with cold water, and refrigerate for a few hours.
  • Wash and rinse the salmon in tap water and dry with absorbent paper.
  • Seal the salmon in vacuum bags.
  • Cook sous-vide (under vacuum) for 40 minutes at 50 °C.
  • When the salmon has finished cooking, remove it from the bag and then peel off the skin.
  • Put the skin on a lined baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes in a hot oven to get it crispy.
  • In a skillet add some Queensland nut oil and turn the heat up.
  • Sauté the shredded kale until it wilts and add a glug of cooking sherry.
  • When the alcohol has boiled off, add a dollop of Dijon mustard and then a good glug of cream and stir through.
  • Add the cherry tomatoes at the end.
  • Serve everything on a dinner plate which has been warming on top of the water bath.
Sous-vide salmon with crispy skin and Dijon creamed kale with cherry tomatoes

If you make this, please let me know.