Sous Vide Brussels Sprouts

October 27, 2012

Sous Vide Brussels Sprouts

Sous vide Brussels sprouts solves the one problem that ruins pan-roasted sprouts most often: getting the inside tender without burning the outside black. The sprouts spend time in a precisely heated water bath until they’re fully cooked through, then get a short, hot sear or broil just to caramelize the cut faces. Two separate steps instead of one long roast, each doing a job the other can’t.

The bath needs to run far hotter than sous vide meat or fish ever does, into the 183 to 185°F (84 to 85°C) range, because vegetables don’t behave the way proteins do. Below that threshold, the pectin holding Brussels sprout cell walls together never breaks down, and the sprouts stay crunchy and raw-tasting no matter how long they sit in the water. Above it, they turn tender at whatever pace the clock allows, with none of the overcooking risk that a pot of boiling water carries.

A little olive oil or butter and a couple of cloves of garlic go into the bag with the halved sprouts, mostly to help transfer heat and season them from the inside as they cook. Once they’re tender, they come out of the bath damp, pale, and unappetizing-looking - that’s normal, and it’s exactly what the sear is for. Patted dry and dropped cut side down into a hot skillet, or run under the broiler, they brown fast and hard, picking up the color and crisp edges a water bath alone could never produce - a nutty, caramelized char on the cut face against a tender, fully cooked center underneath.

Brussels sprouts take their name from Belgium, where the small stalk-grown buds have been cultivated since at least the 16th century. Their reputation everywhere else was rougher for a long time, mostly because the standard method was to boil them until gray, sulfurous, and mushy - the reason a whole generation grew up thinking they hated the vegetable. Sous vide sidesteps that old failure mode entirely: every sprout cooks through evenly and gently, and the sear afterward supplies the browning and flavor that overcooking always destroyed.

Serve them alongside roast chicken or a weeknight steak, or set them out as part of a holiday spread - they hold well and reheat easily, which is more than can be said for most roasted vegetables. A finishing flavor built on honey and toasted pine nuts, crisp bacon, or a sharp vinaigrette all work equally well once the base technique is right.

Ingredients

Serves 4

680 g Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved (quartered if large)
28 g olive oil (or unsalted butter), divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 g kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
flaky salt, for serving

Directions

Preheat a sous vide water bath to 185°F (85°C).

Trim the Brussels sprouts and halve them, quartering any that are especially large, then toss them with half the olive oil or butter, the garlic, salt, and pepper. Transfer everything to a vacuum-seal bag or a zip-top bag and spread the sprouts into a single layer so as much cut surface as possible touches the bag.

Seal the bag, with a vacuum sealer, or by the water-displacement method for a zip-top bag, and submerge it fully in the water bath, weighing it down if it wants to float. Cook for 40 to 45 minutes.

Lift the bag out of the bath and tip the sprouts onto a paper-towel-lined tray. Pat them thoroughly dry; a damp sprout steams instead of browning.

Heat the remaining oil or butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the sprouts cut side down and sear undisturbed for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until the edges are deeply browned and crisp. To broil instead, spread the sprouts on a foil-lined sheet pan and broil on high for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring once, until browned and lightly charred in spots.

Season with flaky salt and serve right away, while the seared edges are still crisp.

Notes

Timing runs by size. Halved or quartered sprouts are fully tender in 40 to 45 minutes; sprouts left whole need the full 55 to 60 minutes. Frozen sprouts can go into the bag straight from the freezer - just add 20 to 30 minutes to the sous vide time.

Don’t drop the water bath below 183°F (84°C). Vegetable pectin doesn’t break down at lower temperatures, so the sprouts will stay crunchy and raw-tasting no matter how long they cook.

The bagged sprouts keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days after cooking. Reheat briefly in a 185°F (85°C) bath before searing, or sear them straight from cold and give them a little longer in the pan.

For a change of pace, toss the seared sprouts with honey and toasted pine nuts, crumbled bacon and a squeeze of lemon, or a fish sauce-lime-chile vinaigrette - all well-tested finishing variations on the same base technique.