Sous Vide: Smoked Sirloin Cap, Skewered Peppers and Mushrooms

This recipe utilizes the same cut of beef as the recently popularized Brazilian Rodizio steak called "Picanha."

Procedure:

Vacuum seal the roast in heat rated plastic. Sous vide process at 127 F/53 C X 12 hours. After the interval has elapsed, cold shock the roast in iced water until it achieves 70 F/21 C, approximately one half hour. Refrigerate the roast until it achieves 40 F/4 C. Meanwhile, combine the ingredients in the Rub list. Set aside. Remove roast from bag and pat dry. Save the juices for clarification, explained in detail HERE. Place the roast on parchment or a flat surface that is easily cleaned. Dust with flour and shake off any excess. Use plastic gloves to smear the egg white over the entire surface of the roast, top and bottom. Remove the gloves and sprinkle the salt and the rub over the entire surface of the roast, top and bottom. Allow 30 minutes for the seasonings to cling to the roast. Place the roast on a Lipavi rack (or other) for transport. Asparagus Chimichurri/Pesto Remove the tough stems from the asparagus, and cut into approximate 1"/3 cm lengths. Put asparagus, garlic, and half the olive oil in a blender. Process on medium until the ingredients are broken apart, and then process on high until completely smooth. Do not add anything acidic--it will cause the puree to blacken. Refrigerate until needed. Vegetable Skewers: Remove the ends from the peppers and cut into fourths. Remove the ends from the onions, and cut in half. Remove the peel, and cut in half again so that you have curved squares. Remove the stems from the mushrooms. Toss the vegetables in 1 oz/30 g of the olive oil. Spread the vegetables out in a single layer on a sheet pan with the peppers skin side up. Use your oven broiler function (or 500 F/260 C oven) to scorch the vegetables, approximately 5 minutes. The peppers should begin to blister and the mushrooms will wilt. A propane torch can also be used to do this, but it takes a while to treat all the vegetables. Allow to cool somewhat (15 minutes). Assemble the skewered vegetables as shown below. If available, use a Lipavi rack to hold/transport the brochettes. Preheat your smoker to 180 F/82 C Place the roast and the skewered vegetables in the smoker and CLOSE THE LID. Process in the smoker for 3 hours. Avoid opening the lid--no more often than once every hour. This is very important. After the time has elapsed remove the roast and vegetables from the smoker. Arrange the skewers on an ovenproof platter as shown: Keep the vegetables warm in an oven set on 170 F/77 C The roast should look like this: We cut this roast in half to display the desired appearance: Note how the coloring is uniform throughout the roast--this is a result of the combination of the sous vide processing and low temperature smoking. For this presentation, we sauteed some Upland Cress greens. Also shown--smoked pineapple, smoked prawns wrapped in bacon. The asparagus puree is on the far right next to the smoked onion. The flour/egg white coating creates an appealing crust when combined with the spices. The low temperature in the smoker will not darken the vegetables, but it will provide an abundance of smokey flavor. Note the bright green appearance of the asparagus puree. It also provides a very refreshing and mild counterpoint to the vibrant flavors of the meat and vegetables. I hope you enjoyed this presentation. Stay tuned for more recipes implementing sous vide! STILL COMMERCIAL FREE!

Norm King