Sous vide rose veal fillet with onion and beer purée, barley and broccoli

  • medium
  • 4
  • 1 hour 30 minutes
Not yet rated

High-welfare rose veal is an underused but incredible meat, offering all the tenderness of traditional veal but with a beautiful pink hue. In this recipe, chef Stuart Collins cooks the fillet sous vide, served with broccoli, crunchy pearl barley and an intensely flavoured onion and beer purée.

First published in 2021

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Veal

Glaze

  • 50ml of Marmite, or yeast extract
  • 50ml of veal stock
  • 50ml of red wine vinegar
  • 50g of dark brown sugar
  • 2 sprigs of thyme
  • 2 tbsp of capers, or ideally pickled wild garlic buds

Purée

  • 500g of onion, finely sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, finely sliced
  • 180ml of beer, Stuart uses a local ale
  • 15ml of Worcestershire sauce
  • 50ml of red wine vinegar
  • 25g of dark brown sugar
  • 3 bay leaves
  • rapeseed oil, for frying
  • sea salt

Popped barley

To serve

Equipment

  • Sous vide or water bath
  • Blender

Method

1
Begin with the pearl barley, glaze and sauce, as all of these can be prepared a day in advance. Pour the pearl barley into a small pan and cover with water. Bring the water to the boil and then reduce down to a simmer. Cook the barley for 15 minutes or until tender, then drain and leave to steam-dry. Place in a dehydrator or an oven set to 50°C and leave for 3 hours to completely dry out
2
After 3 hours, heat a pan of vegetable oil to 210°C and carefully add the dried barley. As soon as the barley puffs up, which should be almost immediately, remove from the oil, drain on kitchen paper and season with salt. Store in an airtight container until needed
  • vegetable oil, for deep-frying
3
For the glaze, place all the ingredients in a pan and bring to the boil. Reduce until the glaze coats the back of a spoon, then remove from the heat. Discard the thyme
  • 50ml of Marmite, or yeast extract
  • 50ml of veal stock
  • 50ml of red wine vinegar
  • 50g of dark brown sugar
  • 2 sprigs of thyme
4
Take 100ml of the veal glaze (reserving the small amount leftover for the meat itself) and combine it with the 200ml of veal stock in a pan. Bring to a simmer and reduce down to a sauce consistency. Stir in the capers (or wild garlic buds) and keep in the fridge to reheat before serving
  • 200ml of veal stock, to finish the sauce
  • 2 tbsp of capers, or ideally pickled wild garlic buds
5
On the day you plan to serve, tightly roll the veal fillet in cling film, ensuring both ends are securely fastened and the cling film is watertight (you could put the wrapped fillet in a vacuum bag and seal it to be extra sure). Set up a water bath to 56°C and cook the veal for 45 minutes
6
Meanwhile, make the veal and onion purée. Add the onions and garlic to a heavy-bottomed pan with a glug of oil and a pinch of salt and cook for around 15 minutes, until they begin to caramelise. Deglaze the pan with beer and reduce until syrupy, then add the Worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, dark brown sugar and bay leaves and cook gently for 20-25 minutes
  • 500g of onion, finely sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, finely sliced
  • rapeseed oil, for frying
  • sea salt
  • 180ml of beer, Stuart uses a local ale
  • 15ml of Worcestershire sauce
  • 50ml of red wine vinegar
  • 25g of dark brown sugar
  • 3 bay leaves
7
Once the veal has finished cooking in the water bath, remove and allow to rest for 15 minutes
8
Take the purée mixture off the heat and allow to cool slightly. Fish out the bay leaves, transfer the mixture to a blender and blitz until completely smooth. Taste for seasoning, then place in a pan to keep warm or reheat before serving
9
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, then blanch the broccoli spears for a few minutes. Drain and set aside. Gently reheat the reserved veal sauce, ready for serving
10
Place a heavy frying pan over a high heat and leave to get smoking hot. Season the rested veal with salt and pepper, add the oil, butter and thyme to the pan and, once foaming, add the fillet. Cook until seared and caramelised all over (you want to do this as quickly as possible, as the meat is already cooked perfectly from the water bath), then transfer to a wire rack or plate and brush liberally with the reserved glaze
11
Place a griddle pan over a high heat and add a dash of oil. Char the blanched broccoli until crisp and blackened in place
12
To serve, cut the glazed veal into portions and place in the centre of each plate. Add a spoonful of warm beer and onion purée next to it. Add a few sprigs of broccoli, top the veal with the puffed barley, and drizzle the sauce onto the plate. Finish with the micro cress
  • micro herbs, to garnish – Stuart uses Tahoon cress

After working with the likes of Gary Rhodes, Michael Caines and Gordon Ramsay, Stuart Collins set out on his own to open Docket No. 33, a small but perfectly formed restaurant in the beautiful town of Whitchurch in Shropshire.

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