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sous vide short rib melt

Sous Vide Short Rib Melt

This sous vide short rib melt combines perfectly tender and super flavorful short ribs with buttery toasted sourdough bread, dijon aioli, white wine and thyme caramelized onions and melty gruyere.

Course Main Course
Cuisine Sous Vide
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 10 minutes
Servings 3 sandwiches

Ingredients

For the short ribs:

  • 1 lb boneless beef short ribs
  • salt & pepper
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme
  • 1 tbsp avocado oil

For the white wine & thyme caramelized onions:

  • 4 tbsp salted butter
  • 1 whole yellow onion sliced thinly
  • salt & pepper
  • 1/2 tsp fresh thyme, removed from stem
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar

For the dijon aioli:

  • 2 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 3 tbsp mayonnaise

For the sandwich:

  • 6 pieces sourdough bread
  • 3 tbsp salted butter
  • 8 oz gruyere cheese sliced thin or grated

Instructions

For the short ribs:

  1. Heat water bath to 132 degrees.

  2. Liberally salt and pepper short ribs and place in bag with fresh thyme. 

  3. Vacuum seal or use the water displacement method to remove air from a ziploc bag.

  4. Cook at 132 degrees for at least 4 hours (4 hours works great but short ribs are very forgiving and will just get more tender as time goes on, anywhere from about 4-12 hours will be great! I tend to go more like 4-6 because I'm impatient. The short ribs in the photo cooked for 4 hours).

  5. While the short ribs are cooking, make the caramelized onions (see instructions below!).

  6. Remove from bag and dry very well. Brush lightly with avocado oil.

  7. Heat a cast iron pan over high heat until very hot, at least 5 minutes.

  8. Add the short ribs and sear for about 30 seconds on *one* side.  Remove from pan.  (You're just trying to get some color on one side here. They are thin so they will overcook very quickly! You want very hot and very fast). 

  9. Slice short ribs against the grain and set aside.

For the white wine & thyme caramelized onions:

  1. Cut a whole yellow onion into thin slices.

  2. In a cast iron pan over medium heat, melt the butter.

  3. Once the butter is melted add the onions, salt and pepper, thyme, white wine and brown sugar.  Stir to combine.

  4. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all liquid is reduced and onions are caramelized, about 30 minutes. Set aside for sandwich assembly!

For the dijon aioli:

  1. Combine in a bowl and stir until well mixed. Set aside.

To assemble the sandwich:

  1. Lightly spread dijon aioli on each piece of bread.

  2. Layer short ribs, onions, and cheese on each sandwich.

  3. In a cast iron pan over medium low heat, melt butter and add sandwich. Toast, flipping intermittently, until golden brown and cheese is melted (if using a panini press spread butter on outside of bread).

  4. Slice in half and serve warm or cold!