Sous-Vide Boneless Short Ribs with Cabernet Sauvignon Reduction

For the holidays I was gifted a wonderful new toy – the Anova Precision Cooker, a sous-vide immersion circulator.  As soon as I opened it, my head danced with images of the perfectly tempered, snapping, shiny chocolates I’d make with it. Meanwhile, my husband (a.k.a. Bear) had other ideas. His head booted any thought of chocolates (he always prefers the salty and savory over sweet); instead, his head danced with the juicy short ribs he would nicely ask me to make for him.  As evident by this, my maiden post on my culinary journey, he won. So, after some research, the plan in place for January 4th was sous vide short ribs with Cabernet Sauvignon Reduction. The hope was a meal of juicy, slowly cooked short ribs topped with a robust, flavorful sauce, served with mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables. It was a success. The recipes below are for 2 people, but can easily be adjusted for rumblier tumbly’s. The Short Ribs – this is the easy part. Cook time: 24 hours at 159ºF Ingredients:

• 3 boneless short ribs, trimmed of excess fat
• salt & pepper

Equipment:

• Vacuum-sealer or Ziploc Freezer Bags  (I have a FoodSaver that I highly recommend, however many people testify to the efficacy of Ziploc Freezer Bags that have been expelled of all air, including the makers of the Anova Precision Cooker).
• Large Stock Pot
• Anova Precision Cooker (or other immersion circulator)

If you have an Anova Precision Cooker or other similar immersion circulator, then you have likely already fallen in love like I have after just one use. To prepare your succulent short ribs for their 24-hour hot bath experience, simply clamp your Anova Precision Cooker to the side of your stock pot. Fill your pot with water (hot, cool, cold- it doesn’t matter), leaving room for water displacement when you add your short ribs.  Clean your short ribs of as much excess fat as you can and are able to without destroying the cut of the meat. Lightly season the meat with salt and pepper. Place short ribs in a Ziploc Freezer bag or vacuum sealer bag, expel all air, and seal the bag tightly closed.  Immerse your sealed meat in your stock pot filled with cool water. Set your Anova Precision Cooker to 159ºF for 24 hours. Add more water as it evaporates, but otherwise that’s it!

Note: As explained in my review below, instead of the 24-hour/159ºF recipe above, if you have additional time, set the Anova Precision Cooker to 135ºF for 72 hours for a more tender short rib, and a full Five Fork experience. Cabernet Sauvignon Reduction – this sauce makes the meal.

Cook time: about 40 minutes Ingredients:

• 1½ cups beef broth (or water with one bouillon cube)
• 1 cup cabernet sauvignon (I used Crane Lake – $3.99 at Wegman’s and, unexpectedly, it’s quite tasty for such an inexpensive wine (I should know because I’m still enjoying it as I type this))
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tsp. delicatessen mustard (I used Ba-Tempte brand, but any spiced deli-style mustard would be wonderful)
• 4 scallion stalks, chopped, white parts reserved for another use (about 1/2 cup, but excess would be okay)
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped (I used curly parsley, not flat leaf)
• 3 tbsp. butter (salted)
• 1 tsp. corn starch (optional – if yours reduces and thickens to desired consistency, then leave this out. If your sauce doesn’t thicken quite in time like mine, then mix the corn starch with a few tablespoons of the cabernet mixture in a small dish until smooth, then stir it into the remaining liquid. Stir constantly until thickened)

Bring the beef broth and cabernet sauvignon to a boil in a small pot. Reduce to medium heat and reduce by half, about 20 minutes. Whisk into the pot the pepper, mustard, scallions, and parsley. Continue heating on medium heat until thickened. If it does not reduce and thicken to your liking by the 40 minute mark, add the corn starch mixture (method above), and stir until thickened.

Serving

Remove the short ribs from the water bath. Serve one short rib atop a bed of fluffy mashed potatoes, and top with a generous pour of the cabernet sauvignon reduction. I also served with roasted carrots, yellow onion, and kale. Enjoy fulfilling the rumbly in your tumbly!

The Fork Review

Cabernet Sauvignon Reduction: 5 Forks Bear and I agreed on this meal, which is a rare occasion. The sauce was incredible. It’s not an exaggeration to say that both of us were dragging our fingers across our empty plates at the end of dinner to get a few last tastes of the this marvelous creation. I even saved the little bit of leftover to drizzle on my rice for tomorrow’s lunch, it’s that good. The Cabernet Sauvignon Reduction wholeheartedly deserves the Five Forks rating that we gave it.

Sous-Vide Boneless Short Ribs: 4 Forks

As for the Sous-Vide Short Ribs, I cannot say enough how much I loved the ease of the Anova Precision Cooker or how tear-with-a-fork tender & juicy the boneless short ribs tasted. That said, the recipe above earns a solid Four Forks. In a pinch I wouldn’t change the recipe above at all, however if you have more time, then I’m confident that the Boneless Short Ribs also deserve a Five Fork rating if adjusted for a 72-hour cook time at 135ºF. The slower cooking temperature for a longer amount of time will make the meat incomparably more tender than the 24-hour four-fork version.

 Overall: 4.5 Forks Overall, Sous-Vide Boneless Short Ribs with Cabernet Sauvignon Reduction earned a 4.5 Forks score – a perfect way to start off 2015’s culinary adventure on The Rumbly Tumbly!