Sous Vide Cooking- Starting Easy with Eggs

Every day I come home from my day job I see the box starting at me. Daring me. Willing me to open it and play. I honestly have no excuse. At first it was "I'm not sure what to do with it" but that evolved into reading loads of recipes and hints and blogs online. Pinning dozens of recipes and ideas. Then it became "I need to find a friend who has used one before" which of course, was easy. I've even joined a Facebook group of sous vide enthusiasts to get ideas and suggestions and hints. Discussions had, ideas shared, and still.......the box sits there. Judging me. It's time to break out the immersion circulation and end this standoff!

Originally I had bought a nice pork loin to cook for my first recipe. Grabbed some fresh herbs to throw in the bag. Lots of garlic. However, I over estimated the size of my stockpot and discovered that I don't have a large enough vessel to cook in. Ugh, that threw a wrench in my plans, and I ended up using the pork for something else. I thought about some Rubbermaid containers I used to use for herb storage, don't laugh, I had a HUGE herb garden, but must have gotten rid of them. The pressure canner? Surely that would be deep enough.

Once I got my cooking vessel issue sorted out I narrowed down my recipe selections and decided (after sitting in the drive thru of a very very very slow Starbucks one morning) that I need to start by coming up with a copycat version of their sous vide egg bites, and that is what I did. In the course of reading all different types of recipe ideas I came across quite a few recipes for eggs and creme brulee and other soft foods that are cooked in 4 ounce canning jars rather than bags. Genius! The heat of the sous vide is much lower than a canner, so the jars would be perfectly safe, as opposed to food BAKED in canning jars- that kind of dry high heat of an oven can weaken the glass and cause jars to explode. Serious safety hazard. The immersion circulator uses temps much lower than the rapidly boiling water and pressurized heat used in home canning and we know they are food safe.

Cooking eggs in the sous vide is foolproof. Butter the inside of the jar, crack in a fresh egg, one per jar, and plain eggs can be cooked to any temp, from coddled to hard boiled. Beaten in a separate bowl, the eggs can be combined with any kind of omelet ingredient you can imagine- cheese, sauteed vegetables like peppers, onions, mushrooms, cooked and drained meats like ham, sausage or bacon, or even bits of crab or lobster. Fresh herbs. Beaten eggs. While this looks and sounds like something truly luxurious, it's actually quite healthy- you're not frying your eggs in a skillet full of butter and if you keep the add-ins on the healthy side, you get the idea.

Since we are going to be cooking with the immersion circulator today, let's unpack this bad boy and get it set up. The pressure canner pot is the perfect deep vessel for this circulator. There is a spring-loaded clamp on the side of the unit that helps stabilize it on the side of the pot. It's not a tight clamp but works perfectly fine with the curved side of this pot.

For our first batch of eggs we are going to use some familiar flavors- scallion and cheese. You're going to love the soft creamy texture of the eggs. It's almost fluffy. We're adding cottage cheese to add body and to lighten up the texture. I HIGHLY recommend using a blender or food processor to mix your egg mixture. You'll incorporate air into the egg mixture, especially using a blender, and that will keep your eggs super fluffy.

Sous Vide Eggs in Jars

4 large eggs
1/4 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used colby jack)
1 scallion, chopped, white and green parts
salt and pepper
butter or cooking spray

Set up the sous vide per the manual's instruction and set to 172 degrees. 

Lightly butter the inside of four 4 ounce canning jars or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a food processor or blender, combine the ingredients, adding salt and pepper to taste. Pour into the jars, dividing equally. Fix the lids and rings on the jars and place in the bath.

Cook the eggs in the immersion circulator for one hour. Remove from the bath. 

To serve, you can eat from the jars (perfect for taking to work) or loosen the sides and carefully remove the eggs and place on a late. You can brown them under the broiler if you like a little color. I personally don't like my eggs browned so I prefer them NOT broiled.

How easy was that? This, for me, is a Sunday food prep recipe, not something I'm going to make in the morning, but the eggs reheat easily in the micro for breakfast at the office or a snack. Two eggs make a serving, so I can easily see myself setting up a couple dozen eggs, an assortment of vegetables, cheeses and meats, and making a large batch. Like canned foods, you can double stack these little jars in the bath, so long as the lids are completely covered by the hot water, by at least a couple inches they will cook properly. Now I just need to work out some combinations!

Instead of the cottage cheese, use sour cream, cream or half and half, cream cheese

Cheese- use Swiss, Gruyere, Havarti, Colby, Colby Jack, Monterrey Jack, white cheddar

Vegetables- saute until softened:  garlic, onion, celery, bell peppers, hot peppers, mushrooms, asparagus tips, cubed zucchini or summer squash, broccoli or broccolini, scallions, leeks, shredded cooked potato, uncooked chopped Roma tomato, fresh herbs, salsa or pico de gallo.

Meats- diced ham, cooked and crumbled sausage, cooked crumbled bacon, diced turkey or chicken, diced seafood such as crab, shrimp or lobster

FINAL NOTES ON THE TAYAMA- A lot of people I talked to before my first sous vide experience have other brands. I didn't find anyone else who has a Tayama unit. I only had reviews on Amazon to go by and some of those were not that good. However, I was really pleased at the ease of setup and programming. I did not buy a separate plastic tub for the water bath and instead used a great big stockpot and it worked out perfect. The Tayama unit fits snugly against the side of the pot and didn't slip or fall over. It's a very quiet unit. Except for the beeping when it reaches the programmed temp, it's absolutely silent. I would highly recommend this unit to anyone else looking to get started. It's an excellent unit for the price.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Foodie Field Trip- Iowa Pork Blogger Tour Part 2- Iowa Bloggers Tour Dinner

Bet you have never heard the term "porkcentric" before, have you? Executive Chef Dominic Ianarelli made porkcentric happen for all of us lucky lucky Iowa food bloggers. After our long roadtrip and tour of Brenneman Pork we joined fellow food bloggers Cristen Clark of Food and Swine and the husband and wife blogging team Sam and Anna Konchar, who blog at Midwest at Its Best at the gorgeous downtown restaurant Splash for this amazing 6 course dinner and wine pairings event.

If you are not familiar with Chef Dom, you need to get to know him. He is the Executive Chef of Splash Seafood Bar and Grill in the heart of downtown Des Moines, and a owner/partner in the hugely popular Jethro's family of restaurants. Chef Dom is a very well respected chef in the Des Moines culinary scene and was one of the chefs "fighting" to raise money for Central Iowa Shelter Services during the Culinary Fight Night event. 

Our evening started with an absolutely  sublime selection of artisan hams. The first ham was a 400 day aged Surry-ano Serrano style ham. It had a drier texture than the ham most people think of- almost a jerky-like quality, intense ham flavor and moderate salt. It was worth every minute of those 400 days. The second ham was Benton's Smokey Mountain Country Ham. This ham had a tender texture like we are used to, beautiful flavor and pale pink color. It was dry-aged for 18 months. Chef Dom tells us he has been on a waiting list for a year and a half to get this ham! The third ham was produced right here in Iowa, La Quercia Prosciutto Americano. If you like prosciutto at all you need to try La Quercia. It's truly a treat. The hams were served with a house-made lemon parsley pickle and a blend of Dijon and grainy mustards. I really enjoyed tasting first the ham by itself, then with a bit of mustard. The pickles were sensational and acted as a palate cleanser between hams.

Wine pairings were part of the evening's festivities as well and Splash's sommelier, Andy Crounse, has chosen the perfect wines for each course. To accompany the hams Andy chose LaMarca Prosecco. If you aren't familiar with prosecco, it's basically a Italian champagne. It is fermented a little differently resulting in a lighter wine with bright flavors.

Our first course was a stunningly beautiful Roasted Beet Salad with Pork Pate, Pickled Mustard Seeds and Crisp Bacon. Don't get too excited about that bacon. Chef Dom's goal was to create delicious pork dishes that were NOT heavily baconized. The bacon on this plate was nicely subdued. The beets were tossed in a dressing that was made with Jasper Winery's popular All Night White wine, served on top of baby lettuces with the creamy pate on the side. Don't be squeamish about pate either- you need pate in your life. This was phenomenal.

The salad was paired perfectly with my favorite of all whites, Riesling, in this case Julien Frey Riesling. Made in the Alsace region of France this is a dry Riesling with an earthy minerality and green fruit notes. It's nothing like it's cousin sweet Riesling, but very refreshing.

Cheeks are the new It Girl of the meat world and the second course was a flawless presentation of this trendy cut. Braised Pork Cheeks with Shrimp Tortellini, Local Peas and Goat Cheese Fondue. I am almost at a loss for words to describe this dish. The pork cheeks, which were braised in milk, were cooked to the perfect tenderness- they weren't braised to mush, they had a short rib quality to them. The shrimp tortellini were stunningly beautiful as well as delicious. Pork and seafood is the new surf and turf according to Chef Dom and if this dish is representative of that, I'm all in. The goat cheese fondue was creamy and decadent, very mild and was the perfect compliment to the meat and pasta. This dish was a favorite of many of the bloggers!

The second course was paired with my favorite of all red grapes- Grenache- which is blended with Syrah and given only a brief time with the skins to create Commanderie de la Bargemonie Rose. This wine was so elegant, with all the big fruit notes of a full-red Grenache or Syrah but with a lighter touch. I am not normally a big fan of rose wines but I will be looking for this one for myself to enjoy at home.

This dinner took place at Splash, after all, and that of course means lobster. Cooked sous vide for 22 hours, the Lobster Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Maytag Havarti New Potatoes, Corn Sauce and Green Bean Succotash, our third course, was a beautiful dish to look at. The lobster was sweet and tender, wrapped in the gorgeous cut of pork, cooked so gently in that sous vide until it's just the perfect temp. So tender and delicious, I just can't describe it. Rolled up in a red cabbage strip and presented atop the potatoes- oh the potatoes....they reminded me of my mom's scalloped potatoes but kicked up about 300 degrees- creamy with Havarti (who knew Maytag also made Havarti??), golden brown and crusty on top, smooth and melt-in-your-mouth creamy inside and the succotash was so fresh and still barely crunchy, just how I love it.

For this course we are venturing into the reds with the perfect red for pork, Pinot Noir. Andy's choice this course was Raptor Ridge Pinot Noir. Raptor Ridge comes from the Willamette Valley in Oregon and is filled with juicy red fruit notes- cherries, pomegranate, berries and plums. A little hint of warm spice is in there too. Beautiful wine, just beautiful.

Molecular gastronomy was at play in the fourth course, as pork shoulder was disassembled, and reassembled with "meat glue" to create Reworked Pork Shoulder Steak with Creamed Zucchini and Smoked Peanuts. Oohs and aahs accompanied this beautiful dish which was garnished with a Parmesan tuile with black truffle. The pork was beautifully cooked with crispy edges, layers of fat that was reminiscent of pork belly, browned and crispy on top. Chef Dom remarked that in the summer too much zucchini forces a little creativity and this creamed zucchini was a unique way to use this squash, accented with oyster mushrooms, ricotta cheese and mint. The smoked peanuts added a subtle crunch and salty flavor. This was just so delicious, and we were all complaining about how full we were- but we wanted MORE!

Our last wine was just as spectacular as the rest, this red was Qupe Syrah. Dark, dark red fruits and a hint of white pepper make this wine spectacular to drink. I love deep bold reds with those spicy tones. I think they are very warming, and with this pork shoulder steak, as hearty as it was, this wine was the perfect pairing. 

The Chef has quite a sense of humor, and as dessert was being served he told us he thought after all those courses it would be best to finish with something "a little light"..........and then we were each presented with a SLAB, yes, a slab, of Chef Dom's version of Christina Tosi's Confetti Birthday Cake, topped with house-made white chocolate ice cream and crunchy cereal brittle. I could have cried, because the cake was so perfect, so memorable, and I had no more room!

After dinner we headed back to the hotel for a night of much-needed rest, but our "Iowa Tour de Pork" is not over just yet- lots more enticing pork cuisine to come tomorrow, and stay tuned for those hamballs I promised earlier. They are coming up soon!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."