Thanks to all the recent mouth-watering posts brought to me by friends and Pinterest, I finally decided to jump on the sous vide bandwagon and give it a try using venison.
ALL GREEK TO YOU?
Actually, sous vide is a French term meaning “under vacuum”. Bon Appétit describes the method as “the process of sealing food in an airtight container—usually a vacuum sealed bag—and then cooking that food in temperature-controlled water.” I think of it as a cross between slow-cooking and poaching. When I learned that sous vide makes it virtually impossible to overcook meat, I couldn’t wait to experiment with wild game—the easiest type of meat to ruin by overdoing.
One problem: I don’t have one of those fancy-schmancy sous vide devices.
Solution: Do it the cheapo way.
CHEAPO WAY
Get your food thermometer out and heat a large pot of water to 134 degrees F.* Put seasoned meat in a Ziplock, place unzipped bag of meat in pot, and secure the thermometer and Ziplock with a clothespin. Maintain the 134-degree water temperature (to within a few degrees) for 1-2 hours. Remove meat and sear with a blowtorch or in a preheated pan with butter (about 30 seconds per side) to finish.
*I chose the temperature based on my desire for the finished product to be medium-rare. My steak was about half an inch thick. Note that thicker steaks will require a longer cooking time. Refer to this sous vide cooking guide for appropriate temps based on type of meat and desired doneness.
MY MARINADE
For approximately 1 lb. of venison steak, I used:
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
- 1 ½ tsp. Kosher salt
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- Several grinds of black pepper
Place all ingredients into a quart-sized Ziplock bag. Rinse steak with water and place in bag with marinade ingredients. Seal bag and mush it all together, then place in refrigerator to marinate at least four hours. Remove from refrigerator one hour before cooking.
VERDICT
Deliciousness. The venison was melt-in-your-mouth tender and I loved the hint of rosemary in each bite. As for the cooking process, let’s just say I need to add a sous vide device (probably this one) to my birthday list. Although the alternate {cheapo} method I used was not difficult, the thermometer required a lot of babysitting. Every time the temp went down to 133°, I had to fire up the burner, warm the pot over low heat for a couple minutes (till it reached 136°), then turn it back off.
As tiresome as that was, the awesomeness of the perfectly tender steak was well worth it. The sous vide method was also a good alternative to grilling outdoors (our preferred method of cooking meat) since it was like, 10 degrees outside.
To make it a meal, I served the sous vide-cooked venison with steamed broccoli, mashed potatoes, and a rich mushroom gravy.* According to our kids, it was “Mmmn, mmmnn, good!” I totally agreed.
*Steven Rinella’s The Meateater Fish and Game Cookbook has a good recipe for brown gravy. His balsamic reduction would be a superb topping, as well.
