Sous Vide Beer Brats and Potato Salad with Basil-Citrus Dressing

Here's a really simple sous vide recipe with a really complicated side dish!  I loved this bratwurst.  It was perfectly tender and the beer flavored it really well.  I seared it for just a few minutes to make it look nice and add a bit of texture.  I should warn you that because it's cooked at a low temperature, the alcohol doesn't cook out.

The potato salad is fantastic!  And pretty.  And I don't really like potatoes that much.  I think the cherry tomatoes make this salad particularly awesome, their acidity goes nice with the creamy dressing.  The citrus is not overwhelming, the ratio in the recipe is just right. For once I didn't add extra and I'm glad. The original recipe also called for roasted carrots, but I left those out because I don't like cooked carrots very much.  Honestly, I think adding them would make the salad too busy.  This salad involves a lot of prep work and it has to sit in the fridge for a bit so it's not good for a work night meal.  We ate the whole batch in the same night so I don't know if it keeps well for the next day.  I'll definitely make both the brats and the potato salad again!

Sous Vide Beer Brats

from Qandabe.com

Serves as many people as you have bratwursts

Ingredients

2 bratwursts (or more)

1 bottle of beer.  I used a wheat beer.

Method

1) Set your immersion circulator for 137 F (58 C).

2) Put your brats in a food saver bag (if you have a vacuum sealer) or a zip lock bag.  Cover with beer. Vacuum seal the brats or close the zip lock bag, getting out as much air as possible.  

3) Cook for two hours.  

4) Remove brats from the bag, discard beer.  Sear in a hot skilled for 1 or 2 minutes per side, until it looks the way you want it.  

Potato Salad with Basil-Citrus Dressing

From The Wine Lover's Cookbook

Supposedly serves 3 though it probably could serve 4-5, but 2 people ate all of it.  Oops. 

Ingredients

Salad:

1.5 lbs small red potatoes (I used fingerlings for this batch)

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper or to taste

1/2 lb cherry tomatoes, halved (I used red and yellow, they're pretty!)

Dressing:

2 green onions, minced

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1.5 tsp fresh lemon juice

1.5 Tbsp fresh orange juice

3/4 tsp fresh lime juice

1/2 cup sour cream

1.5 tsp honey

dash of your favorite hot sauce (I used Tabasco)

1/8 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 375 F.  Prick the potatoes a few times with a fork or knife.  Toss potatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper and place on a foil lined baking sheet.  Roast for 1 hour.  

2) Whisk together all the dressing ingredients except the olive oil.  Then whisk in the olive oil at a slow drizzle. Chill until ready to add to the potatoes. 

3) After the potatoes are done roasting, take them out of the oven and let them cool.  Quarter them. 

4) Mix potatoes, tomatoes, and dressing together.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.