Sous vide has long been used by restaurants to prepare and hold large batches of food and as a terrific way to tenderize proteins. Smaller, more affordable versions of the machines are available for home cooks, which has created a new generation of what I call Sous Vide Geeks, who are experimenting with all kinds of recipes. See chef Johnny Vee's note at the bottom of the recipe for an alternate cooking method.
RIBS
2 pounds beef chuck short ribs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup olive oil
1 shallot, peeled and sliced
1 sprig rosemary, de-stemmed and chopped
POTATOES
3 large Yukon gold potatoes
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
ASSEMBLY
2 tablespoons truffle oil
2 cups demi-glace*
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 shallots, peeled
8 ounces mixed mushrooms (button, brown, shiitake), sliced thickly
Microgreens
Serves 3
RIBS
1. Season the ribs with salt and pepper. In a bowl, combine the shallots, olive oil, and rosemary. Add the short ribs, turning them in the marinade to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
2. Discard the marinade and place the short ribs in a vacuum pouch, then seal it. Preheat the water in a sous vide circulator to 60 degrees, place bag in water, and cook for 72 hours.
POTATOES
1. Preheat oven to 365°.
2. Using a mandoline, slice the potatoes ½ inch thick. Place the cream in a medium bowl. Stir in the Parmesan, salt, pepper, and potatoes. Stir to coat well.
3. Place the mixture in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, cover with foil, and bake for 35 minutes or until a knife can be easily inserted into the potatoes. Uncover and bake for 15 more minutes to brown the top.
ASSEMBLY
1. Mix the truffle oil with the demi-glace in a small saucepan set on low heat.
2. Heat olive oil in a medium pan and add shallots and mushrooms. Sauté until the mushrooms start to brown and shallots are tender. Remove from heat and keep warm.
3. Remove the short ribs from the sous vide pouch and place on an ovenproof dish. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes; remove and slice the meat into 3 equal portions.
4. In a hot pan, sear the slices. Turn heat to medium high and continue cooking until the meat is warmed through, about 3 minutes.
5. Cut potatoes into 3-by-3-inch portions (reserve remaining potatoes for a future meal).
6. Place meat and potatoes on a heated plate and ladle warmed demi-glace over the beef. Top with sautéed mushrooms, shallots, and microgreens.
*Demi-glace is a rich reduction of beef and veal stock with vegetables that restaurants make and finish meat dishes with. Home cooks can find it in the soup section of the grocery store. Look for the More Than Gourmet Classic French Demi-Glace brand and dilute 1 part demi-glace concentrate to 4 parts water.
Note: If you don’t have a sous vide, don’t worry. I recommend this as an alternative: Sear the ribs in olive oil. Place in a Dutch oven and add ½ cup chopped onion, ½ cup chopped carrot, ½ cup chopped celery, ½ cup red wine, and ½ cup beef stock. Cover and braise in a 300° oven for 2–3 hours, or until fork tender.
Read more: This recipe originally appeared in "Simply the Best" by Chef Johnny Vee.