Souped Up Tid Bits (Beef Tips in Au Jus)
This recipe is one of Dad's favorites from the Stonepipe Inn. It is a variation of beef tips in au jus. What makes this special is that you must cook the beef in a stainless steel or cast iron pan and avoid non-stick pans, deglaze the drippings, make the gravy, and then strain the gravy with a fine-mesh strainer to get the silky smooth broth-like (thin but flavorful) gravy. It should be a little thinker than as jus but much thinner than a traditional gravy. Dad says that unbrowned dense yeast rolls are required to sop up all that wonderful gravy.
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Equipment
- 1 fine-mesh strainer or Fine Tamis Strainer
- 1 Stainless Steel or Cast Iron Skillet
- 1 Fat Separator
Ingredients
For the Beef
- 1 lbs Beef Tips USDA Prime – tenderloin, sirloin flap, flank steak, parts of the round, or tri-tip
- ½ tbsp butter
- ⅜ cup onions diced
- 1 tsp garlic minced
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp oregano
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin light
For the Gravy
- 2 cups beef broth
- ⅛ cup dry red wine optional
- 1 packet beef bullion sodium free
- ½ tsp rosemary
- ¼ tsp oregano
- ¼ tsp sage
- ¼ tsp thyme
- ½ bay leaf
Instructions
Cook the Beef
- Sous Vide the USDA Prime beef at 135˚F for 1-2 hours, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Melt butter in a large cast iron or stainless steel deep skillet over medium heat.
- Add onions and saute until tender.
- Add garlic and cook until fragrant and golden.
- Remove onion and garlic from skillet and set them aside.
- Remove beef from the fridge and pour the juices into the pan.
- Add the salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and oregano to the beef in the sous vide bag and thoroughly coat the beef. You can also put the beef in a large bowl and toss with the spices.
- Heat the skillet over high heat and add the beef in a single layer. The meat juices and the beef will form a deep fond in the pan. This is good.
- Sear the outside just until brown and slightly crisp. This will only take about 2 minutes. Do NOT overcook, as the meat was already cooked via the sous vide. This is why the meat is refrigerated before putting it in the pan. It allows us to brown the outside without overcooking the inside.
- Remove beef from pan and set aside. (I put it in a 135˚F toaster oven to keep it warm and prevent overcooking.)
Make the Gravy
- Pour 1/2 cup of beef broth into the hot pan to de-glaze the pan and loosen up all the stuck on pieces.
- Stir in remaining broth, wine, reserved onions and garlic, rosemary, oregano, thyme, sage and beef bullion.
- Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Strain gravy through a fine-mesh strainer. (You may want to use a hand blender to blend before straining and adding butter)
- Pour gravy into a fat separator.
- Plate the beef and pour gravy over the beef.
- Serve with unbrowend, dense yeast rolls. (the rolls are fully cooked but not browned) See your baker. (I use Sister Shubert's Parker House Rolls and cover them with foil while cooking to their directions)
Notes
You can prep this meal by pouring the juices from the sous vide bag and making the gravy. Then, put the beef and gravy separately in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, saute the beef for about 4 minutes and heat the gravy in the microwave.It also allows you to remove any congealed fat before reheating the gravy.
Nutrition
Calories: 241kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 6gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 1501mgPotassium: 258mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 153IUVitamin C: 3mgVitamin E: 1mgCalcium: 49mgIron: 2mgZinc: 0.3mg
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