Monday, February 7, 2011

Recipes: Steak Oscar Sous Vide

Ingredients
2 Hanger steaks (you can buy in bulk and butcher the beef yourself, as in this recipe, or purchase the steaks pre-cut at the butcher shop)
1/4 cup Cabernet

8 pc. asparagus
1 cup fresh chopped tarragon
1 clove fresh garlic
1/2 lb. crab meat
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups semolina
2 eggs
1/4 cup White wine


Slice the steak along the seam (horizontally), then using a Weston 9” Food Slicer, slice the steaks into 2” pieces.


Put about 10 cups ( gallon) of water on the stove at medium heat until it reaches 130oF (for medium rare - see a Food Temperature Chart for other steak temperatures), then reduce the heat to the lowest setting to stabilize the temperature. The easiest way to do this is to place the digital thermometer indicator into the water and set the temperature to 130oF so that it sounds when you reach your desired temperature.

Vacuum seal the steaks with the Weston Pro 2300 vacuum sealer. Place fresh asparagus with 1/4 cup fresh tarragon and 1 clove fresh garlic into a Weston Vacuum Sealer Bag and seal. Vacuum seal crab meat with butter.

Place the vacuum sealed steaks into the water for at least 45 min. After 45 minutes, you can leave the steaks in for several hours and the steaks will not cook any further. Monitor the temperature of the water to ensure it stays at the correct temperature throughout the cooking process. While the steaks cook, heat water to 185oF in a separate pot. This is where you will cook the asparagus.
 During your downtime, prepare the tarragon pasta with a Roma by Weston Electric Pasta Machine.
Mix together semolina, eggs, white wine, and fresh chopped tarragon. Knead the dough by feeding it through the rollers of the machine several times at the thickest setting. Feed the dough sheet through the machine until setting 7, then feed the thin sheet through the spaghetti cutter and string the noodles over a Roma by Weston Pasta Drying Rack.

Once the steaks are done, set them aside and use the same water to cook the vacuum sealed crab meat (140oF for 25 min). Cook the asparagus at 185oF for 25 min in a separate pot at the same time.

Prepare the sauce by boiling champagne vinegar and white wine until reduced to 2 tablespoons. Let cool slightly (so that eggs do not immediately cook in the liquid). Beat in egg yolks. Whisk sauce in a double boiler, beating in the melted butter until you reach a perfectly smooth mixture. Set aside (but try to use as soon as possible after preparing). Add lemon juice just before serving.
When there are about 5-10 minutes left on the crab meat and asparagus, boil the pasta for 2-3 minutes, until fully cooked, drain, and toss in a little olive oil (no need to rinse). Pan sear the steak in cabernet just to brown the outside (not cook it) – the steak will be cooked perfectly to temperature all the way through, which means that it will not be brown outside as a steak is expected to be. Pan-searing it merely adds a nice, browned crust without taking away from the tender perfection of the meat.

Serve the steak immediately with the asparagus, crab meat, and pasta all on top and drizzle with bĂ©arnaise-style sauce.  Enjoy with a loved one.

Consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish or eggs may increased your risk of foodborne illness.

Tools
Weston Pro Vacuum Sealer & Vacuum Sealer Bags
Weston 9" Food Slicer
Roma by Weston Electric Pasta Machine
& Pasta Drying Rack
Weston Marinade Injector
Digital thermometer

Techniques
Using the Roma by Weston Electric Pasta Machine