[https://i.imgur.com/2u6QNxD.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/2u6QNxD.jpg)
Hey all,
I know my presentation needs some work but pretty pleased with how this turned out.
Firstly I seared the 1.5kg topside of beef in a cast iron pan, then took it out and covered it with bovril (beef extract), salt, and pepper before vacuum sealing and cooking sous vide for 5 hours. Once taken out from the sous vide it was patted dry and left to cool in the fridge. Make sure you keep the juices from the bag for the gravy as explained below. With about half an hour before you’re ready to serve, take the meat out and sear in a ripping hot cast iron for a second sear and leave to rest for about 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
For the potatoes they were peeled and sliced evenly, washed and put into a pan of slightly salted cold water. They were then brought to a boil and left alone, until a fork could easily break apart the boiled potatoes. Then drain the water, and add a small amount of milk and butter (plus garlic puree if you like) and mash until smooth.
For the parnsips they were top and tailed, chopped into equal(ish) sections, seasoned and mixed with honey, cumin, and vegetable oil. Then added to a preheated oven at gas mark seven for an hour. Moving the veggies around every fifteen minutes until cooked.
For the carrots they were chopped and seasoned the same as the parsnips, but instead of cumin we used mixed spice / allspice. They were cooked in the oven for around the same time as the parsnips.
One thing to bear in mind, parnsips and carrots cook pretty quickly on a single layer, but if you have a large dish of veggies they can take much longer to become tender. Keep checking every fifteen minutes and stir them into the dish.
The Yorkshire Puddings. Firstly preheat your oven to around 210C / 410F and let it come to temperature. Add your pudding dish (I used one that could make 12 small ones at a time) with a small amount of oil, say a teaspoon in each circle mould. Put that in the oven and let it come to temperature. Say 15-20 minutes depending on how good your oven is. In the meantime put in to a bowl 70g / 2.469oz of plain flour, then slowly mix in a mixture of 100mls / 3.38 fluid ounces of milk and 2 eggs until the batter is smooth and without lumps. Then season with salt and pepper.
Now wait until the oil is hot in the pudding dish. Then take out the pudding dish remembering to shut the oven door and keep that heat in. Add the mixture in to each of the moulds, say two – three tablespoons worth per mould. Then put the pudding dish back in the oven and leave it alone for about 25 to 30 minutes. DO NOT open the oven in-between. Trust me. Leave it alone and magic things will happen in the oven. You should have roughly half the mixture left to do another batch after this if you want to!
Last is the gravy. Take the juices from the sous vide bag and add it to a small saucepan. Add some water, some beef stock / bovril, season with salt and pepper allow to reduce. Skim off any scum that comes to the top. In a separate small saucepan lightly heat about three tablespoons of butter, then once starting to melt sift in and stir some plain flour until you make a kind of playdoh texture. Leave to heat up and the butter should bubble and start to smell nutty. Your aim here is to get rid of the flour taste, but to use it as a thickener for your gravy. Once you’re happy with the butter and flour mixture, start adding your reduced meat juices (jus) and stock bit by bit to your flour and butter mixture. Keep mixing all the time and you’ll find it’ll go thick like a proper gravy. Reach the consistency you want and stop adding the meat juices / stock mix.
As I said I know I need to work on my presentation on the plate. But after cooking it all I struggle with that side, but thankfully it tastes great so my wife and I are happy.
I always ensure that I check this sub reddit for timings before I cook anything sous vide. So I wanted to give back a recipe that’s taken a few attempts to get right for me. Thank you for a great and supportive community!
Dining and Cooking