Monday, January 16, 2012

Sous Vide Bison with Arugula and Parmesan


Chances are you don't eat enough bison.

This may conjure up images of Native Americans hunting on the plains of pre-colonial America. But they knew something that we seem to have forgotten—bison is a fabulous food source.

It's a favorite in my household. Bison is lean and exceptionally meaty. It's almost always grass-fed and raised on smaller farms. And most importantly, it tastes great. I have two sources for bison—Lindner Bison at my farmers market and my local Whole Foods, which has been carrying beautiful rib eye and NY strip steaks. While it used to be tough to find, bison is becoming more common.

Bison does taste great when cooked traditionally, but it's a prime candidate (pun intended) for sous vide cooking. This is due to its lean nature. Not only does it come out of the water bath at a perfect medium rare (my preference), but it also becomes phenomenally tender and juicy.

I've been cooking up NY strip bison steaks in my Sous Vide Supreme and then serving them over a bed of wild arugula that's been tossed with lemon juice and olive oil. The finishing touch? A light shaving of parmigiano reggiano, which gives the dish a nice nuttiness. This is simple, healthy eating at its best.

Notes on this Recipe: If you can't find bison, then regular beef steaks will work great. Also, if you don't own a Sous Vide Supreme (yet), then the bison steaks may be grilled or cooked traditionally, too.




Sous Vide Bison with Arugula and Parmesan
Serves 4 people
Sous Vide Cooking Time: about 2 hours
Gluten-free
Print Recipe

Ingredients
  • 4 bison steaks, fat trimmed (I like New York strips)
  • 4 cups wild arugula
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
  • 1 teaspoon dried garlic powder
  • salt and freshly ground pepper
  • parmigiano reggiano for shaving

Directions
  1. Heat the Sous Vide Supreme to 130 degrees (F). 
  2. Meanwhile, rinse the steaks and pat them dry. Sprinkle with salt (generously), freshly ground pepper, and a little garlic powder. Vacuum seal the steaks into pouches.
  3. Place in the Sous Vide Supreme and cook for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours (see instructions). Once they've finished cooking, remove from the pouches.
  4. Whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss with the arugula and plate either on one big platter or four individual plates (the dish may be served family style or plated individually). 
  5. Quickly sear each steak in the grapeseed oil and then remove it to a plate or cutting board. Slice the steaks horizontally (as pictured) and layer over the top of the arugula mixture. 
  6. Shave the parmigiano over the top and finish with a little freshly ground pepper. Enjoy!

1 comment:

  1. hi,
    Hi, this blog is really instructive. I would like to know more about this. i love it...

    cooking sous vide

    ReplyDelete