first time sous vide recipe?

[Anonymous Modernist 535]

my cousin has loaned me her sous vide machine and i'm falling over myself to use it, but not sure where to start. i have a million ideas in my head. what would be a good recipe to start for your first time using the sous vide technique? i wan't something that would be a main course entree - meat or fish. thanks for your suggestions!

[Cheviot]

Two first time favorites seem to be duck confit and 72 hour brisket. I haven't tried the confit yet, but 72 hr brisket (at about 55.5 deg c) is delicious.

[Anonymous Modernist 535]

thanks!! as it happens, i love brisket. i appreciate the feedback!

[Judy Wilson]

We have a few different recipes on in our recipe library that use sous vide. Off the top of my head, we have the rare beef jus, carbonated cranberries, short ribs, and the Thanksgiving Stew. I might be missing something there, though, so you should check it out!

[Anonymous Modernist 535]

judy, thank you so much! that short rib recipe looks like something i can actually do with the tools at hand. just have to find some xantham gum - ha!

[Anonymous Modernist 3281]

The first thing I ever sous vided was a porterhouse steak... 131f for about 90 minutes. I was so impressed with the results that I've sous vided quite a lot since then.

One of my favorites from MC is the sous vide turkey wings. I made a more sophisticated wet brine for it though, that involved bay leaves, cloves, onion, garlic, ginger, brown instead of white sugar, and a few other spices. That has become very popular around here.

I would throw some eggs in (well, carefully, heh) at 147f and check out the quite interesting texture.

also just take a salmon filet with some butter and herbs, salt and pepper, (herbs in a satchet which is a rolled up bit of food safe plastic wrap open at the ends) for about 20-30 mins at 122. That's a great thing to try because it's rare to get salmon so nice and moist without sous vide.

searing is a very good idea for most of these items, for a very short amount of time.

[Anonymous Modernist 7891]

This may be too late for the original poster, but I have a couple of handy recipes designed to get one's feet wet and let the ingredients shine:

1. Sous Vide Roast Beef

- 2.5 - 3.0 lb cut of beef - thick like a roast is best. You can use premium cuts, but even top sirloin works well.

- 4 cloves of garlic, minced

- 1.0 - 1.5 Tbsp. of freshly ground black pepper

- 0.5 tsp. of dried thyme

- 1.0 - 1.5 tsp. salt

Combine the garlic, black pepper and thyme and rub the beef thoroughly. Sprinkle salt *lightly* (saltiness tends to build as the roast cooks). Seal and put in a water bath at 59.5 C. for 2.5 - 3.25 hours, depending on thickness. Check periodically after two hours by feeling the bag with your hand. If the meat feels "squishy" keep cooking. The meat should have a light firmness when cooked through.

When finished, rest the meat in the bag for 5 min. Then sear in a pan with oil (pref. peanut) over high heat. Slice & serve.

2. Rosemary Dijon Chicken Breast Sous Vide

- 2 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts

- 3 Tbsp. dijon mustard

- 3 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped

- 3 cloves of garlic, minced

- 1.0 Tbsp. freshly ground black pepper

- 2 tsp. salt

Combine the mustard and all seasonings and rub the chicken breasts, coating thoroughly. Seal the breasts (two halves per bag) with only a little excess rub. Put in a water bath at 65 C. for 20 minutes.

Remove the breasts from the bag, wiping off the excess rub. Take care to remove the rosemary, as it is still relatively raw and will otherwise overpower the flavor. Sear for 1-2 min. on high heat with olive oil. Be careful not to cook the breasts while searing.

Hope this helps the OP and future readers...

[Anonymous Modernist 535]

thank you very much! i will try that roast beef recipe soon!