Sous Vide - Beef Bourguignon

I felt Julia Childs smiling down on me, until she saw the Sous Vide device, then felt sudden skepticism & scorn; but given the results, she might reconsider.

• 2 slices bacon, cut crosswise into small strips

• 3/4 lb beef (stewing chuck is traditional; the long low cooking will gelatinize connective tissue collagen, rendering this quite tender; I had some tri-tip on hand, so splurged with that), cut into 1” cubes

• 1/2 tsp koshering salt (in retrospect, my bacon contributed sufficient saltiness, & I might omit this)

• 1 Tblsp cornstarch

• 1 onion, peeled, halved, & sliced into half-moon slices (resist the urge to dice; you want the texture of the slices)

• 2 carrots, scrubbed (peeled if you must) & roll-cut into small chunks

• 1/2 bottle of a full-bodied dry red wine (Burgundy or Cote du Rhone would be traditional; I had a Pinot Noir)

• 1/2 c beef broth

• 4 sprigs fresh thyme

• 1 Bay leaf

• 1/2 Tblsp tomato paste

• 5 ounces cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced

• 1 Tblsp all-purpose flour

• toss beef cubes with salt & cornstarch to coat thoroughly

• Render the bacon in a skillet & brown lightly ‘till crisp; remove with slotted spatula & cool, reserving grease in pan

• in bacon grease, sear beef, turning to get good color on all surfaces; remove & set aside to cool (I added a t’ch of olive oil, as my bacon was rather lean)

• add carrots & onions to oil in pan; I added another t’ch of olive oil; sauté, softening & getting some good color in the onions & softening the carrots (the low temperature of the Sous Vide cooking to follow will have no effect on further. softening of the carrots, so be sure they’re sufficiently softened here); add garlic in the last minute of sautéeing

• remove onions & carrots; add to bacon & beef; when cool enough to handle, place in a large (1 gallon) Sous Vide bag

• add tomato paste & bay leaf to bag

• In skillet, add wine & deglaze, scraping up all the browned bits; add beef broth & thyme; simmer to reduce by ~1 quarter; you want to boil off most of the alcohol before sealing in the bag

• cool, & pour into Sous Vide bag, covering the meat & veggies; there should be enough to fully submerge the meat & veggies

• seal (I found my vacuum pump worked fine if I keep the bag upright, the valve near the top, pressing against a wall & taking care to pull the pump off once the broth reached the valve, sucking up less than 1/4 tsp of broth into the pump’s vestibule; else use the water displacement technique)

• cook in water bath at 140°f, 16(!) hours

• when nearly done, sauté mushrooms in butter until softened; remove mushrooms & set aside

• when cooking is done, pour broth into skillet

• make a paste with 1 Tblsp softened butter & 1 Tblsp flour;

• whisk into hot broth & simmer, whisking, to thicken (should coat the back of a spoon)

• combine all in skillet, tossing to coat

• garnish with fresh thyme & serve on mashed potatoes or cauliflower puree, or with a fresh baguette

Meat was fall-apart tender; carrots had a bit of bite to them. Delicious overall.

Julia Childs suggested this was the best thing that could be made with beef; I gotta agree.