Christmas Sous Vide Steak Dinner
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and Happy whatever other holidays have happened in the last whirlwind few weeks.
Do you ever wish you could have back all of the naps you took for granted as a kid? Because I do. These last few weeks have been flying by which is both good and exhausting.
For work, we had our annual holiday party and it was so much fun. After months and months of planning, the 4-hour even flew by. The party took place at the JW Marriott in downtown Austin and it was lovely. We had drink luges, a live band, three-course dinner, trivia, and amazing door prizes. Of course there were things that didn't go as planned, and definitely, things I wish I could change, but I know what to do better for next year.
Last weekend was Christmas and my parents flew down to celebrate here. We ate a lot of food, and for Christmas Eve dinner we made steaks and used the immersion circulator. It's a really great tool to have for cooking, especially when you want to be precise. The water bath keeps things at a constant temperature to prevent over or under cooking food - and when you get expensive cuts of meat - it's a necessity. Think of it as a mini hot tub. Another great item to have with the immersion circulator is a vacuum sealer, but it's not needed.
The first thing you'll want to do is set up your circulator. My current set up is a large food storage container, an ANOVA immersion circulator, and stainless steel lid organizer. Fill the bin pas the "minimum" line on the immersion circulator and set the circulator to the desired temperature. I set mine to 130 degrees Fahrenheit because I like my steak medium rare.
While the water is heating, it's time to seal the steaks. The cut of steak isn't super important, but it's important to get a thick steak. The NY Strip Steaks we purchased were about 1.5 - 2 inches thick and about a pound a piece. I seasoned the steaks with salt, pepper, and a few sprigs of rosemary and put them into a bag and vacuumed it shut.
When the water is up to temperature, place the sealed steaks into the water bath and let cook for at least an hour. This is a perfect time to start making the sides. We had mashed potatoes and asparagus with the sides so I used this time to prep them. Once the steaks are done in the water bath, they are a very ugly shade of gray and very unappetizing. Don't worry, it gets better.
When the steaks come out of the circulator, they are fully edible, even though they're very unattractive to look at. The next step is where the crust is formed. Take the steaks out of the bag and dry them off. Originally we were going to sear them on the grill, but the grill wasn't getting hot enough, so cast iron on the stovetop it was. All the windows were opened, the fans on high, and the pan screaming hot. We put the steaks in, let them cook for 30-60 seconds, and then flip. The first time I did this, my whole apartment smoked out so I took all the precautionary measures one can take to prevent that from happening. You can continue this until the crust is how you'd like it, but the steak is fully cooked so any additional heat will continue to cook it.
Now, normally when I do this, I am fully 1000% focused on the steak and the cast iron. But this was Christmas and so things don't always go to plan. My parents thought Wallis was missing, so right as the steaks were searing, we went on a hunt for him. I don't ha
ve a big apartment. It's a 500 square foot studio. I looked under the bed, in the closet, in the bathroom, behind the couch and even out in the hallway and full panic hit. I put my mom and sear duty, and I finally found Wallis hiding under the bed. The cat was fine, the steaks were fine, everything was fine, but seriously why do holiday dinners always have to be extra stressful.
If you want to learn more about Sous Vide cooking, Serious Eats is going to be your best bet for all things immersion circulated.
I'm hoping to have a quiet New Years to catch up on some much-needed sleep and chores around the apartment. I'm trying to think of some nice NYE treats to make, so if you have any suggestions leave it in the comments below and I will try to get them up before the holiday!
Sous Vide Steaks
Ingredients:
2 - 1.5" to 2" inch thick steaks (NY Strip, Ribeye, TBone, Porterhouse, Filet)
Salt & Pepper
Rosemary
Thyme
Instructions:
Set up immersion circulator and bring water up to 130 degrees or desired temp.
Prepare the steaks by bringing them up to room temperature and patting them dry. Generously season with salt and pepper, and top with rosemary and thyme sprigs. Place into your vacuum sealer or in a Ziplock bag that has all the air squeezed out of it.
Place bags of steak into the immersion circulator and let them cook for at least an hour. Once done, take out of the water bath and out of the plastic bag. Once again pat it dry, and sear in a hot cast iron or on the grill.
Let sit for 10 minutes and then serve.