Sous Vide: Beef Short Ribs, Variations: 2020

About
This hard working muscle was reluctant to render tender before sous vide. What was once a labor intensive effort now requires only patience.
Ingredients
Beef short ribs, 4 each, approximately 10 oz/300 g each.
Egg whites, powdered (or fresh liquid).
Seasoning/rub as needed--we utilized several. We also have a wide selection of rubs that we have created, linked HERE.
Equipment requirements
Immersion circulator.
Lipavi C10 heat rated container.
Lipavi L10 rack or equivalent.
Heat rated sous vide bags.
Kitchen colander.
Paper towels.
Dredge/shaker.
Spray bottle.
Oven.
Sharp slicer knife.
Sauces:
Barbecue sauce, your favorite market version, as needed. We used our own recipe, linked HERE.
Demi-glace/brown gravy, your favorite market version, as needed We use our own recipe linked HERE.
Optional ingredients:
Mushrooms, sliced as needed.
Tomatoes, diced as needed.
Tomatoes, heirloom cherry as needed.
Roma tomatoes as needed.
Green beans, as needed.
Potatoes, red as needed.
Onions, sliced, as needed.
Instructions
Serves 2-4 Level of difficulty 2.75

Procedure:
After vacuum sealing in heat rated plastic bags, the boneless short ribs are processed at 140 F/60 C for a minimum of 48 hours. Click the link HERE to learn how to measure tenderness in real time. This creates a fully tenderized, pasteurized and preserved product. Cold shock the sealed packages in iced water until they achieve 70 F/21 C and refrigerate at 40 F/4 C. The sealed packages can remain safely refrigerated in this state for at least two weeks.Day of service
Preheat an oven to 170 F/77 C.


Create a surface
Use a dredge/shaker (or sifter) to dust with powdered egg white (or brush with well beaten liquid egg whites). This will create a sticky surface for seasonings to cling to. For people who are allergic to egg products, powdered buttermilk or even flour can be substituted. Egg whites become firm when exposed to heat, and buttermilk does NOT. Exposing a buttermilk based crust to direct heat from the surface of a pan tends to remove the coating as opposed to securing it.


Utilizing Sous-Jus
The juices in the bag provide extra flavor to sauces and soups. The sous vide process causes the release of proteins (myoglobin and albumins) that cloud the sous-jus. They are harmless, but they have an off-putting aroma reminiscent of sulfur and iron. Once brought to a boil, the proteins will coagulate. The myoglobin takes on a dark appearance and the albumins look rather like scrambled egg whites. Click the link HERE to learn how to remove them!

Roasting the Short Ribs:
Roast the short ribs in an oven preheated to 350 F/176 C for one hour.All Roads Lead to Deliciousness
Regardless of how we intend to serve the short ribs, the sous vide processing parameters and crust creation steps are always the same. Wait. WOOT? The seasonings and sauces used vary according to the preference of the practitioner. The accompaniments vary on the basis of whim and little else. Beyond that, all of the following presentations started in exactly this same way.






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