I started the year at a friend's playing board games with some of my favorite humans. I did some errands and saw a movie that weekend, and then on Tuesday, I got my first Covid symptoms.
The first test was negative. The second one was positive. So, if I was isolating, why not sous vide something for 24 hours?
I forget what inspired me to look up barbacoa, which I have had with both lamb and beef. Beef was cheaper this week and I found a pretty good recipe, though I have a few thoughts to make it better:
Ingredients
- 1 3 lb boneless chuck roast
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup beef broth
- 3 chipotle chiles in adobo
- 2 Tbsp adobo sauce (from the chipotle chile can)
- 5 garlic cloves (Considering More for next time)
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
- 1 Tbsp dried oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Instructions
- Preparing the Beef
- Set sous vide machine to 79.5C/175F.
Lightly season the chuck roast with salt (make that generously. Or one pass of regular salt and one pass of garlic salt if your garlic salt hasn't hardened into a solid mass). Put the roast in a sous vide bag, and remove the air through a vacuum sealer or the displacement method. Drop the bag in the bath for 24 hours.
I've never done the displacement method. I do now own some silicone bags that I might try, but I strongly prefer the vacuum sealer.)
Preparing the Barbacoa Sauce
In a food processor or blender, pulse together chipotle chiles, adobo sauce, garlic and beef broth until well blended.
In retrospect, I don't think more than a couple tablespoons of the beef broth is needed. There will be plenty of liquid in the sous vide bag when it's ready.
Pour chipotle mixture into a mixing bowl. Add in cumin, oregano, lime juice and apple cider vinegar and whisk ingredients together. Once mixed, add in bay leaves and let the mixture sit overnight in the fridge to emulsify the flavors.
Finishing
Remove bag from bath. Carefully take chuck roast out of the bag and pat dry with paper towels. Brush a thin layer of oil on the roast, and season the entire roast to taste with salt and pepper.
Heat up large skillet on high and add oil. Sear chuck roast for 60 seconds on all sides, or until browned. Remove from pan, and place on a plate to rest for 5 minutes. Once rested, shred the beef using two forks.
I have a cast-iron grill pan that I use for searing. It gives me a nice color without adding a black crust. I know some people love that, but I've always found it off-putting.
Heat up large skillet on medium low and add a touch of oil. Pour in barbacoa sauce and let warm for 1 minute. Add in shredded beef and toss until the beef is evenly coated in sauce. Let the beef simmer in the sauce for 3 minutes. Remove barbacoa from pan and use this delicious beef for the world's greatest tacos!
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I used this as yet another attempt to make arepas. This time I used instructions from a friend who found a recipe that was as close to his grandmother's as he could find. Still having trouble getting these done in the middle.
They were still delicious. I topped them with the beef, some black beans (from a can; I added some garlic and some lime juice), fresh mozzarella (the mano cheese I ordered was out of stock and several recipes said this was a good substitute), avocado, green onions and chopped serrano pepper:
Overall, I am pleased and will make this again when I'm not isolating and can share it with someone. There are lots of leftovers. I figure on making a rice bowl out of some before I give the arepas another go.
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