Red Neck Iron Chef

I LOVE Iron Chef America.  I wish I could cook like they do on that show and I try really hard to mimic them. Most of the time I fall short, it my have something to do with formal training ;)  Anyway... Today AJ asked me if I have ever heard of "Sous Vide" At first I was like "Sous what?" but then a light bulb went off.

IRON CHEF!

EMERSON CIRCULATOR!

He preceded to tell me that no fancy emerson circulator was necessary, we could cook that way with our cooler.

My Mind Was Blown.

AKA, I was very intrigued.  Sous Vide means under pressure and when you cook Sous Vide you have to put the meet in a vacuum sealed pouch and put it in mildly hot water (aprox. 131*) for about 3 hours.   We decided on cooking a rack of lamb.  One problem... We couldn't find a rack of lamb... at any store in Pullman OR Moscow (Idaho, not Russia) So we settled on lamb chops.

And Now... For your viewing pleasure... A step by step tutorial on how to Sous Vide...

First pick your meet, season it, and add in aromatics. I chose shallots, garlic, and rosemary. Vacuum seal it into a tidy little pouch.

Next whip out your handy dandy Coleman cooler (I swear everyone in America has one) and fill it with water.  Not just any water, 131* water.  I bet you are wondering "Where did you come up with 131* Amanda?" and I'll be happy to answer that. The internet, giver of all knowledge.

Now plop your little pouch 'O' meet in the water and hang out for 3 hours.  Be sure to keep an eye on the temperature.  If it gets too cold, add more hot water.

When 3 hours have past take your met out of the water.  It will look like this...

Not very pretty so go ahead and slap them on the grill for a little color

Now plate them up with some delicious sides.  I chose asparagus and potatoes au gratin.  I do not get points for plating.

Our chops were pretty good but the cut of meet was a little fatty for me (and I burnt the asparagus) I did make a super tasty red wine reduction sauce which made up for it a little bit. (Thats what the red on the plate is.  Not blood, reduction sauce)  Cooking Sous Vide did make the meet very tender so tomorrow night we will be trying this process with fish.