Ribeye Sous Vide with Port-Brie Compound Butter & Caramelized Onions

*update- here is the news segment augmentation to this post, featuring the SousVide Supreme, which aired Wed, Jan 19th on Komo 4 News:

If you live in Seattle and you’re desperately seeking entertainment around the 4 o’clock hour this Wednesday, January 19^th, why not watch me make steak live on the news? I can assure you there will be ample opportunity to laugh, and who knows- I may even accidentally light the set on fire. You wouldn’t forgive yourself if you missed that, now would you? Tune in to Komo First News at 4 (broadcast on digital channel 38) and look out for my segment, likely airing around 4:25pm.

As part of my ambassadorial duties, I will be extolling the virtues of the Sous Vide Supreme.  The kind folks over at SVS bestowed upon me the title of “blog ambassador” and if they hadn’t, I would never have gotten to work the word “ambassadorial” into a blog post. For that and many other things, I owe them a sloppy, lipstick-stained kiss on the cheek. If anyone else is interested in making me the ambassador of something, I will gladly accept more ambassadorial opportunities. I was thinking ambassador of stilettos, ambassador of butter, or ambassador of alternative gastronomy would really round out my titular status.  Wow- see how I worked “titular” and “ambassadorial” into one paragraph?

And now for the serious details of my ambassadorship:  I’ve chosen to showcase ribeye as an example of a cut that benefits greatly from this style of cooking. Because the SVS is such a time-saver in the fact that you just pop in the steaks and forget about them until it’s time to eat, I decided to devote my energy toward making fabulous accoutrements to go with the ribeyes.

freshly-churned butter

I came into some fresh, unpasteurized cream from a friend with a cow, and I firmly believe that when life gives you cream, you owe it to yourself to make butter. Butter is easy to churn in a food processor and this stuff was so good I literally scooped and ate quenelles of it fresh off the processor blade. A little reduced port, stinky brie and chopped thyme turned it into the greatest compound butter my taste receptors have ever known.

I smattered port-molasses caramelized onions on the steaks for added appeal. I have this philosophy with port that is similar to that eat-every-part-of-the-animal-movement gaining steam in today’s culinary climate. If you open a bottle for cooking, you simply must carry it through to every part of the dish. Also you must make sure some of it ends up thoroughly glugged and chugged straight down your hatch. There is a scientific reason for drinking the port- it’s all about prepping your palate for the dinner you’re about to eat. If anyone questions you, send them my way and I’ll explain it in great detail with the use of flow charts and Venn diagrams.

I served the ribeyes with new potatoes cooked simply with butter and bay leaf in the Sous Vide Supreme (185°F for 3 hours). Sprinkled with a little Maldon finishing salt, one bite of these potatoes will put a smile on your face that could launch a thousand ships.

I have been playing with warm, composed salads a lot lately. I like the juxtaposition between tender braised greens and crisp young lettuce, especially when that lettuce is actually pea vines. Similar to the use the whole bottle of port philosophy, I also believe in using the greens- stems and all. I made the dressing by pureeing steamed beet green stems with a little of the remaining port I used to poach the pears. I added a touch of pistachio oil for a hint of nuttiness and also to give relevance to the slivered pistachios I dappled over the rest of the salad.

A great way to show off the benefit of cooking en sous vide is to make bias-slices of the steak and arrange them on the plate so you can see the meat edge-to-edge. That way it’s obvious that the steak is cooked to the perfect temperature from crust to core, which is a primary benefit of this cooking method.

And so, my lovelies, if reading all these words and trudging through the subsequent recipe addles your brain with too high a tax, and yet you still want to learn to create this dish, consider employing the use of a visual aid. That is to say, watch me make steak live for you on Komo 4 this Wednesday, January 19^th. If you don’t live in Seattle but you still relish the thought of seeing me be silly on tv, I’m hoping to embed the segment into this post after it airs, if I can convince some kind soul to record it for me.

Ribeye Sous Vide with Port-Brie Compound Butter & Caramelized Onions

Serves 4

Takes 4-6 inactive hours,  ½ hr active time

For the steak:

• 2-1 lb+ boneless ribeye steaks (cut roughly 1” thick)
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp sea salt

For the Caramelized Onions:

• 1-10 oz package fresh pearl onions
• ¼ c port
• 3 tbsp molasses

For the Port-Brie Compound Butter:

• ½ c unsalted butter (of very high quality like Plugra or make your own)
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 3 tbsp brie
• ¼ c port reduced by half in a small saucepan to thicken slightly, goal: 1/8 c
• ½ tsp chopped fresh thyme

1. Set the sous vide water bath to 132° F. Sprinkle the steaks with garlic powder and salt, seal in a single layer in a food-grade plastic bag (like foodsaver), and immerse completely in water bath for 4-6 hours.
2. Process the butter, salt, brie, port and thyme in a food processor until uniform, about 30 seconds. With a rubber spatula, spread the butter mixture on a sheet of parchment. You want it to be about ¼” thick and fairly even. Place in freezer until solidified, then using a cutter or knife, cut compound butter into a pleasing shape (circle, triangle, etc). Place shapes in refrigerator and reserve until service.
3. Boil water in a medium saucepan. Meanwhile, cross-top the pearl onions. Blanch the onions in the boiling water for two minutes. Remove from water and pop onions out of their skins. Heat onions, port and molasses in a small skillet. Stir frequently as liquid reduces. After 5-10 minutes, the pearl onions will take on a caramelized quality. Continue caramelizing until nearly all the liquid is gone and the onions are browned and syrupy.
4. At service: remove steaks from water bath and quickly sear on both sides using a cast-iron pan, a blowtorch, or a grill. (it is imperative to not cook beyond a quick sear or you will cook the interior of the steak) Cut steaks into ½” strips and arrange on four plates. Top with caramelized onions and compound butter.