sous vide pork osso buco with wild mushroom pearl barley risotto- cook off recipe

I have been experimenting and testing recipes using the Sous Vide Supreme for the last few weeks using delicious meat provided by Donald Russell. Sous Vide is such a good kitchen equipment to have. I don’t think it’s suitable for every ingredient unless cooking in huge quantities.  You have to plan in advance your menu and logistics. This kitchen gadget is not cheap but I hope it will become more and more accessible because it’s brilliant!
As part of the food bloggers cook off I have finally decided on my recipe. I love Italian food, my inspiration was the risotto dish using pearl barley, instead of the traditional Arborio, Carnaroli, Maratelli and Vialone Nano to name a few. After many testings and tastings  I decided to pair it with pork osso buco from Donald Russell.
Here is a very tasty recipe:

Pork Osso Buco and wild mushroom Pearl Barley Risotto – RECIPE

Yield: 2 people (main dish/Primo) 

Ingredients: 
Osso Buco
700g of Pork Osso Buco (4x osso buco)
1 garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper to taste
100ml of white wine
15g of butter
8 juniper berries
handful of parsley, chopped

Risotto 
100g pearl barley
1 garlic clove, minced
500ml of cold chicken broth, I used a homemade*
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of white wine (100ml)
20g of wild mushrooms
30g of Parmegiano Reggiano, grated
30g of butter- divided in two equal portions

Method

Osso Buco:
1) start by preparing the sous vide (water bath): add water to it and set the temperature, in this case 70C
2) while waiting for the water to reach the desired temperature, prepare the pork: place them into the small sous vide pouches, 2 per pouch,  add salt and pepper to taste and the juniper berries; vacuum seal the pouches.
3) by now the sous vide should have reached the desired temperature, if not wait and when it reaches 70C, set the timer : 24 hours of cooking.
4) place the pouches into the sous vide, close with the lid provided and let the machine do it’s magic.
5) If you plan to eat straightway, about 60 minutes before the end of the osso buco cooking time, start making the risotto (directions below). Otherwise, once ready, chock freeze the meat in their unopened pouches, place them in the fridge for a couple of days or freeze until needed.  Defrost them and reheat the meat and make the sauce:
6) once its cooked, take the pouches out of the sous vide and cut open the pouches on a deep bowl, drain the juices to make the sauce and reserve the osso buco
7) the sauce: place the osso buco juices in to a pan, add the white wine and reduce to 1/4, add the butter cook for a further 3 minutes and parsley.
8) while the sauce is reducing, place the osso buco under a very hot grill and sear each side for 30 seconds only, until mahogany brown color is reached. You could use a blow torch or pan fried it, however, in this case the bone get’s in the way when pan frying.
9) serve immediately with the sauce.

Risotto
1) place the pearl barley in a saucepan and cover with cold water, soak for 5 minutes, drain and rinse with cold water.
2) place 15g of butter and fry the minced garlic in another pan, until tender
3) add the pearl barley, add the cold 500ml of chicken broth, salt and simmer for 45 minutes
4) after 45 minutes, add the 100ml of white wine and simmer for another 10 minutes
5) add the Parmeggiano Reggiano grated and wild mushrooms
6) check for salt and add freshly milled pepper.
7) serve dusted with more Parmeggiano Reggiano and pork osso buco.

for a chance to win a Sous Vide Supreme and Donald Russell products click here for details of  public vote:  Sous Vide Supreme
Facebook fans of Sous Vide from Europe, US and Canada can participate
in the voting, where Sous Vide operates.  Any further query please  contact Sous Vide Supreme on their facebook page.

Public vote timings: CLOSED

End: March 31st, 2014. 6pm GMT.

4) Winners announced on Facebook: 31st March 2014, 6pm GMT
Disclosure 2: I, Rosana McPhee, am not responsible for the delivery of the prize, or
from any loss or damages relating to the prize. Once the winner is
announced, any issues relating to the prize is a matter entirely between
the winner and SousVide. I am not responsible for any loss, damages,
injuries (financial or otherwise)  or inconvenience related to the
winner not receiving the prize or that result in any way from acceptance
of the prize. By participating in this competition, the winner
authorises SousVide to publicly announce their name on social media,
including their twitter and facebook handle.