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Home > posts > 2016 > 02 > 2016-02-14_2143_valentines.html

Valentines' Day Dinner: Sous-Vide Tenderloin, Winter Caprese, and Asparagus

/posts/2016/02/2016-02-14_2143_valentines.html

The plan for this meal was to be surf and turf, but the lobster tails were, unknown to us, frozen. Thankfully, I had prepped cauliflower fritters^[@rev] for the next day and we decided to make them for tonight (though we ate them after)

Anyway, we had sous-vide beef tenderloin (same cut as filet mignon). We had some at the Santa Fe Foodie Classic. I knew I had done it before so I figured we'd dit it again.

Sous-Vide Tenderloin

I was a bit nervous since Meredith really doesn't like steak and this cut was very expensive (especially since it was from Whole Foods).

I used the same method as the first time (2015-03-27)^[@rev]. I used my STC-1000 based temperature controller with the crock-pot. The controller is more a thermostat so it's either one or off (and there was no cooling method).

I followed the Serious Eats (LOCAL^[@rev]) guidance and did it with 131°F aiming to be around medium-rare and medium. Actually, I had to use celcius so I did 55°C (<==> exactly 131°F). I set it with a 0.3°C (the minimum) with the heat on the high setting. Again, there was no cooling so I watched the temps and it seemed to go between 54.7°C (130.46°F) to 55.5°C (131.9°F).

I couldn't find the vacuum sealer bags so I just used heavy-duty freezer bags and I submersed them in the water to get rid of all of the air. I was also able to weigh them down with the meat at the bottom of the bag so they staid in the water (see the set up).

I prepped it with some salt and pepper (before I read in the Serious Eats article that you shouldn't do that). I started it around 5:30 and let it go for about 2.5 hours.

They really came out extremely tender and flavorful. It was great since it is so easy to overcook this cut of meat, yet this was cooked through perfectly!

In the water bath with the mason jar to hold down the temp probe and pin the bags	Tucked in to keep the heat in
Out of the bath	They look pretty gross at first
Searing on very high heat	Perfectly cooked to medium-rare
You can also see how thick this cut was but also how evenly cooked it was

Other Stuff

The asparagus was just cooked at 425 for 5-8 minutes or so (while searing the steak) with pepper and smoked salt.

I prepped the cauliflower fritters before for tomorrow but decided to make it tonight. Actually, we really didn't need it but we ate some (and took the rest for lunch)

The caprese came from this Whole Foods recipe (local copy^[@rev]). Actually, we just used it for inspiration. We roasted the potatoes, used mozzarella, and then topped it with sage and balsamic. It was actually pretty...ok. The mozzarella, or at least this mozzarella, had very little flavor. I would try something like this again but with better cheese.

Winter Caprese	Cauliflower Fritters (eaten after eveything else)

Sweet Potato Winter Caprese Salad (from Whole Foods)
Local Copy^[@rev] (U:guest, P: name of my dog, all lower case)