Sous Vide Italian Sausages with Autumn Grapes and Rosemary
Carolyn Jung is a James Beard Award-winning Bay Area food journalist, whose work has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Every Day with Rachael Ray, Coastal Living, Via magazine, Food Arts, Edible Silicon Valley, Wine Spectator and other publications. She is the fo ...
When sausages are cooked with a precision cooker, they get plumper and juicier than if just thrown on a grill or into a frying pan.
When they are cooked sous vide with fresh grapes and rosemary, they get wickedly delicious with the flavors of autumn.
This dish couldn’t be more simple. The sausages, grapes, rosemary and a couple of pats of butter cook together so their flavors meld. A drizzle of balsamic vinegar is stirred into the grapes just before serving to accentuate their fruitiness and to add a zingy sweet-sour note.
Serve with crusty bread, and a green salad or sautéed greens such as kale or Swiss chard.
This dish cries out to be enjoyed with a nice glass of red wine such as Pinot Noir or Beaujolais. And that’s never a bad thing, is it?
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Anova
Pro-level cooking techniques made simple.
Ingredients for 4
2 ½ cups (590 grams) seedless red or purple grapes, stems removed
1 tablespoon (15 grams) chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons (30 grams) butter
4 sweet or hot Italian sausages
2 tablespoons (30 mL) balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
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Step 1
Attach the Anova to a large pot of water and set it to 71 degrees Celsius (160 degrees Fahrenheit).
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Step 2
In a plastic bag, place the grapes, rosemary, butter and sausages in one layer, and vacuum seal. (Note: I keep the sausages together in one half of the bag because when you vacuum seal the bag, the grapes will have a tendency to create indentations in the sausages if you intersperse them. It doesn’t affect the flavor, but it can make the sausages look strangely dimpled.)
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Step 3
When the water has reached the optimum temperature, add the bag, and allow to cook for 1 hour.
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Finishing Step -- Stovetop
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Step 0
Remove the sausages to a plate. Pour the grapes and any liquid from the bag into a small saucepan. Simmer the grapes with the balsamic vinegar for about 3 minutes on medium-high heat. Season with salt and pepper.
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Finishing Steps -- Grill
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Step 0
Grill the sausages on medium-high heat for about 3-4 minutes until nicely seared. Serve the sausages with the grapes.