I’m a sucker for kitchen gadgets. So, when my sister and brother-in-law surprised me with a Joule for Christmas this year, I was excited to start cooking! For my first sous vide experience, I decided it was a good idea to start with a recipe from the collection included on the Joule app: Sous Vide Deer Steaks with Smoked Cherry Reduction by Chef David Draper.
So, I am guessing to start there are already questions like: What is a Joule? What is sous vide? Did you say smoked cherries? And is this really all as complicated as it sounds? I will answer that last question first. No, this is not as complicated as it sounds! It is actually quite easy and very fun!
The Joule in action! You can use any freezer bag you already have at home to cook your meat in. Simply fill a pot with water and set the Joule inside.
Starting with what is probably running through your mind first: What is a Joule? To answer that, I actually need to start with the second question, which is what is sous vide. Sous vide is cooking process that results in using evenly distributed heat to reach perfectly consistent, restaurant quality foods. A French term translating to “under vacuum,” sous vide cooking uses a hot water bath with the food sealed in a bag to cook.
Which brings us back to the first question: What is a Joule? Created by ChefSteps, a Joule is a home-use sous vide tool. Using an app you download conveniently to your phone, you select how you would like your food cooked and then the app starts the Joule and times everything, resulting in perfectly cooked food.
Immediately after receiving my Joule, my brother-in-law tested it out on filet mignon steaks. The result was a perfectly cooked, juicy, moist piece of steak. For my first solo cooking experience with wild game, I decided to use a deer back strap I had, and follow a recipe found on the Joule app.
Cooking the Deer Steaks in Smoked Cherry Reduction
To start cooking, fill a large pot with water and set the Joule in the pot. Look through the photos on the app to decide how “well-done” you want your steak. I like deer steak to be medium-rare. After you select the “doneness,” answer the related questions like how thick is the steak. The Joule will then take the information and create a recommended cooking temperature and time. For my deer steaks, the temperature was suggested to be at 129.2 and cooking time was one hour. Press start on the app, and watch as the water preheats to the perfect temperature.
While the water is preheating, prepare the steaks. You will need a sealable bag for cooking in. Another convenience offered with sous vide cooking is you can infuse more flavors into your meats during the cooking process. Besides the deer steaks, to the cooking bag I added a tablespoon of butter, two cloves of smashed garlic, and a few sprigs of fresh thyme. Seal the bag, and once the water is preheated, clip it to the side of the pot and let it cook!
While the steaks are cooking, you can start on the smoked cherry sauce. This brings us to the third question posed: Did you say smoked cherries? And the answer is yes! I was skeptical of the smoked cherries for this recipe. I actually wanted to skip the entire step of smoking the cherries, but I am glad that I didn’t. With the smoker set to a very low temperature, between 170 – 180 degrees Fahrenheit, put in a few pieces of mesquite wood, and smoke a cup of whole cherries for thirty minutes. Since it was the middle of winter when I was making this recipe, I used frozen cherries and they worked perfectly fine.
Once the cherries are smoked, put them in a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat, add a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, 3/4 cup of port wine, two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, one tablespoon minced fresh sage and a teaspoon of dried ground cloves. Mix everything together and bring to a simmer. Stirring occasionally, simmer the sauce until it thickens, about fifteen minutes. Keep the sauce warm for serving over the steaks.
Once the steaks are done in the sous vide, heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat and add a few swirls of olive oil. Pat the steaks dry, season generously with salt and pepper, and drop them into the hot pan. Cook the steak on each side for about a minute, resulting in a beautifully browned seal on the outside of the steak.
Slice the steak into thin strips and dress it with the smoked cherry sauce. It is so beautiful on the plate and tastes even more amazing.
Conclusions!
The sous vide does create an amazingly even finish on the steaks. The deer back straps were cooked perfectly to medium-rare and it was consistent across the entire piece of meat. It also resulted in a very juicy cut of meat with a crunch seared outside.
The smoked cherry reduction by David Draper was delicious. I thought the balance between the sweetness of the cherry and the smoke would be weird, but it was surprisingly perfect. There was something tantalizing about the savory infused smoke flavor and the sweet added from the port wine and cherries. The balsamic vinegar blended everything together beautifully. I deviated a bit from the original recipe by adding the Worcestershire, and it was an appreciated addition by my diners. They liked the little bit of tang it added to the dish.
Hope ya'll enjoy this dish as much as I did. And if you are thinking about getting a sous vide device, especially a Joule, I would highly recommend it!