Crunchy And Lightly Charred Carrots, Sous-Vide-Que Style

Say goodbye to bland, overcooked carrots and hello to our bright sous-vide-que carrots recipe.

Growing up, I couldn’t stand eating carrots. After all, my only experience with them was the occasional scoop of soft and flavorless steamed carrot coins served by the cafeteria lunch lady at school.

Later in life, however, I discovered the magic of fresh vegetables, including just how bright and vibrant the flavors can be when the vegetables are not steamed, frozen or canned.

Unlike many soft vegetables, cooking whole carrots on the grill can be a real challenge. Cooked carrots often taste best when heated just enough to become slightly tender yet still a bit crisp or crisp-tender. The Sous-Vide-Que method of cooking helps give cooked carrots just the right snap. 

All about sous vide

Explore the world of Sous Vide Que, the ultimate marriage of water and smoke, by clicking here to download our ebook “Sous Vide Que Made Easy” for $3.99 on Amazon (free Kindle app runs on all computers). Or get the book and others FREE as a member of the AmazingRibs.com Pitmaster Club. Click here to join.

While meat proteins cook and transform at water bath temperatures between 131°F and 155°F/55°C and 68.3°C or more (see our simple sous vide temperature guide here), carrots require temperatures in the 185°F/85°C range and a total cooking time of at least one hour, depending on the thickness of the carrots. Once the sous vide bath is complete, hit the grill for a quick char and carrots will never disappoint you again!

Note that while we don’t usually recommend adding spices, herbs, or marinades to the sous vide bag (read more about the science behind this recommendation in our Sous Vide Que deep dive ebook here), the addition of butter and fresh herbs in this recipe essentially creates a flavorful sauce for tossing the carrots in after they char without the use of an additional saucepan.

Sous-vide-que carrots recipe

Charred Sous-Vide-Que Carrots Recipe

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Grilling carrots can be a challenge but the addition of sous vide ensures that they are cooked to perfection before being grilled. A temperature controlled water bath cooks the carrots until fork tender. Once perfectly cooked, the carrots a grilled over high heat just long enough to give them a nice char and smoke.

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Servings: 6 servings

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Side Dish, Vegetable

Cuisine: American

Difficulty: Moderate

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

 

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• 2 pounds rainbow carrots
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 fresh sage leaves 
• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
• Morton Coarse Kosher Salt

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Method

 

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1. Prep. Prepare a sous vide immersion circulator, such as Joule by ChefSteps, according to the manufacturer's instructions and set the water temperature for 185°F (85°C).
2. Peel the carrots. Place the purple, red, and orange carrots into one zipper freezer bag then place the yellow and white carrots in a second bag in order to keep the darker colored carrots from staining the lighter ones. Divide the butter, sage, and rosemary between the two bags. Carefully submerge the bags in the water bath until most of the air has been removed and then seal the bags. Once the bags are submerged, cook for one hour.
3. Fire up. Prepare a grill for medium high heat cooking.
4. Cook. Once the grill is ready, remove the carrots from the bags and set the remaining liquid aside to use later. Place the carrots on the hot side of the grill. Grill until lightly charred, four to five minutes.
5. Serve. Remove carrots from the grill, immediately toss with the herb butter sauce from the sous vide bag, and plate. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt just before serving.

Notes

About the fresh herbs. If fresh herbs aren’t available, simply substitute 1 part dried herbs for every 2 parts fresh herbs. For this recipe, four sage leaves equal approximately 1/2 teaspoon dried sage. Four sprigs fresh rosemary equal approximately one teaspoon dried rosemary leaves. For more on fresh herbs, please visit The Science of Fresh Herbs.

About the salt. Remember, kosher salt is half the concentration of table salt so if you use table salt, use half as much. Click here to read more about salt and how it works. 

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