Made this scratch recipe off the cuff for Valentine’s Day. It came out incredible.
Next time I might try dry-pan roasting some of the mushrooms while retaining the sous vide cooking liquid.
We’ve been craving beef braciole and the local go-to restaurant hasn’t had it on special in a long time. easier4.me never made braciole before, but figured it was a perfect application for sous-vide.
This braciole came out amazing and will be a regular dish from now on.
After about 5 minutes of ad-hoc internet searches and a call to Chef Joe we got to work. We asked Chef Joe for any pointers and specifically if eggs belonged in the braciole. His response was “no eggs, the simpler the better; throw some prosciutto in there.”
When Chef Joe sliced into it he asked right away if it was butterflied. It wasn’t, just pounded. I told him I had only looked at a couple ideas on stuffing and not how to prep the steak, but thought it seemed a bit thick. Regardless I didn’t have a knife that might butterfly it easily. Chef Joe reached into a drawer and presented us with a 14″ slicing knife for future use. Because it was cooked sous-vide, the thickness did not affect the taste or tenderness at all.
Yield: 2 beef braciole (enough for 2-6 adults, depending on appetite!)
Ingredients
(2) 2 pound flank steaks
1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
1.5 cups grated parmesan / asiago blended cheese
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1.5 quarts tomato sauce, divided
4 slices prosciutto di Parma
1 pound pasta
Instructions:
Heat sous-vide bath to 131 F Tip: User preference for doneness of beef. Next time we might go down a degree or two.
Put chopped garlic and olive oil in small pan and turn to medium-high heat
When garlic starts to sizzle, cook for 2 min stirring regularly
Set aside
In a mixing bowl combine breadcrumbs, cheese, dried parsley, fresh parsley, salt, pepper, and garlic
Mix well Tip: You can divide at this point if it helps you to evenly distribute
Pound one side of the flank steak to tenderize
Flip
Pound reverse side of flank steak
Repeat for second steak
Spray with olive oil
Sear with torch Tip: A torch works best, but a screaming hot pan would also do the trick. Because it is not very thick you do not want to end up cooking the steak through. If you are going to use your broiler, it may be better to either just do one side (the outside) or to brown it after it is rolled.
Flip, repeat with second side
Repeat for second steak
Lay steak out
Pat the top dry
Tenderize one side Tip: The steak will shrink during the searing process, we still had the tenderizer out and figured a quick touch up couldn’t hurt. It seemed to help with the elasticity for the next step.
Stretch the steak out
Lightly salt and pepper the side facing you
Apply a thick coat of stuffing to the steak, approximately the thickness of a pencil
Lay prosciutto on top of stuffing
Roll the steak tightly, ending with the flap under the steak so it does not unroll
Tie with 3-5 pieces of twine Tip: The ties do not need to be super tight, if they are snug it will keep the shape just fine. You do not absolutely have to tie it up but it will come apart when you cut it if you don’t. See images / video below for untied.
Repeat for second steak
Put steaks in vacuum bag Tip: We divided into two vacuum bags because we attempted one braciole not tied. Dividing would also be useful if you plan to save one for later.
Add tomato sauce
Seal on moist Tip: When sealing with a liquid it helps to elevate the vacuum sealer and be ready to manually hit the seal button. When cooking alone, an easy way to do this is by resting the bag in a drawer below the counter. Another option would be having a second person hold the bag below while you operate the sealer
Cook 16 hours Tip: If your braciole are suspended vertically in the bath, you can flip the bags one or more times during the process.
Transfer to a pot or pan large enough for the braciole to lay flat
Start your pasta
Put braciole on stove until the sauce begins to steam
Can you buy something at the store in a vacuum sealed bag and drop it right in your sous vide bath at home?
At easier4.me we say no way! Always double bag the contents or remove and seal in your own bag. You don’t want what’s cooking to spread in your bath, and you don’t want your bath seeping in to ruin your meal.
The marinated steak tips shown were purchased in a vacuum bag and frozen. We then put this inside another vacuum bag before dropping in the sous vide bath. The cook was 132 F for two hours.
You can clearly see how the liquid has seeped from the store sealed bag into our vacuum bag.
It took us two experiences with chicken to learn our lesson. Since then we’ve seen this happen many times, fortunately we double bag and it does not affect us.
We also recommend washing the original package before double bagging.
These beef tips are from the Butcher Boy Market in North Andover Massachusetts, a first-rate butcher shop with excellent meat! http://butcherboymarket.com/
Prepare a sous-vide bath large enough for your roast, 135 F. Tip: Use a cooler or 5 gallon bucket for larger cuts of meat.
Prepare a vacuum bag large enough for your roast. Double seal the seams at both ends. Tip 1: Make the bag approximately 8″ longer than the roast.
Tip 2: Fold the bag back over itself 3″ before inserting the roast to keep the sealing surfaces clean.
Prep the meat by coating all sides with: Tip: You can use any spice rub you want, just make sure to include pepper and a heavy coating of salt.
Garlic powder
No-salt seasoning
Pepper
Salt
Insert roast into bag. Unfold bag before sealing. Tip: If using an expandable bag use a weight (as pictured) or clamps such as binder clips to keep the bag flat before you seal the second side.
Add a weight if desired. Tip: I recommend galvanized nails secured to the bag with high power neodymium magnets.
Sous-vide for 12-18 hours. Tip: You can cook in as few as 6-8 hours, we recommend overnight at a minimum.
Prepare oven on high broil. Tip: The rack should be as close to the broiler as possible without the roast touching the heating elements.
Combine 2 Tbs butter, 2 Tbs bacon grease, 2 Tbs olive oil, and 1 tsp soy sauce over low heat. Tip: Any fat will work. You will need approximately 1 Tbs per pound of meat to fully coat. Coconut oil is another easier4me favorite.
Melt and stir until butter combo is liquified.
Remove roast from sous-vide bath and pat dry.
Place in roasting pan.
Coat top side with butter mixture.
Broil on high for 5 minutes.
Remove from oven.
Flip roast over.
Coat bottom side with butter mixture.
Broil on high for 5 minutes.
Remove from oven.
Let stand 5 minutes. Tip: You can cover tightly with foil.
