Erika Turk was NOT your typical university student during her time at college. Ramen and take out were not her normal meals. Instead? She got an
Anova and ate like a queen for her four years. The best news? Now that she's out of school and living in Dallas, she's set herself up for sustained deliciousness. Read along and learn how Erika uses Anova to enrich her life, and try your hand at her wicked-delicious sous vide lamb chop recipe.
Meet #anovafoodnerd Erika Turk
Working in real estate, often from her home office, Erika makes sure that just about every day she's whipping up something delicious. Erika's love for cooking started when she was a young teenager, and around 13 or 14 years old she was placed in charge of the large holiday meals her family often enjoyed. In the 10 years since, she's seen her love of cooking grow, but nothing compares to that fateful day when she pulled trigger on Anova and started living sous vida loca. At the time, she had just recently heard about this thing called
sous vide. She immediately thought it was such a great method of everything being precise, yet super-flexible with the timing. "Cooking wasn't always super-realistic with a busy schedule so Anova was perfect for me."
Cooking sous vide with Erika
Since the Anova entered her life, Erika has been on an ascent she never thought possible. Sous vide definitely took her to the next level, and one she didn't even know existed. Her favorite dish to give a precise warm-water bath? A beautiful ribeye steak. She's even befriended the butcher at the local grocery store, and they have a secret arrangement where he saves the good stuff for her! A close second favorite is
sous vide apple butter pork tenderloin, because sous vide allows a cut that is traditionally dry to be transformed into an expensive tasting meal with little effort.
Last Thanksgiving, Erika invited all her friends over who didn't have a chance to travel for the holiday, and she threw a full on Sous Vide Shindig. She cut the turkey up and followed one of her biggest culinary influences, J. Kenji López-Alt's, recipe for
sous vide turkey, and served it alongside some perfect medium-rare ribeye steaks. She was able to enjoy the company and not spend the day stressed out in the kitchen, because Anova did the heavy lifting. Erika had multiple friends tell her that it was the best Thanksgiving spread they had ever been a part of. The caveat? She was sworn to secrecy so their Mother's and Grandmother's didn't find out!
"Someone who hates carrots ate 1/2 pound of carrots in one sitting."
Every Monday night Erika gets together with her friends to hang out and watch some reality TV. Since Erika is the sous vide guru, she cooks for the whole crew, and Anova makes it easier than ever. "Everyone I feed is so picky, so its been really cool to make things they actually like! Someone who hates carrots ate 1/2 pound of carrots in one sitting. I can make sure veggies are cooked perfectly. Generally things people are gun shy about chicken, pork chops, etc, all come out perfectly."
After moving to Dallas from Southern California about a year ago, she's quickly become a lot of people's favorite person. Erika admits to not knowing when to stop. Oftentimes when she's done cooking she has several extra portions left over. She loads up the car, and makes door-to-door deliveries to friends around town! With 3 Anova's, she's got plenty of firepower in her arsenal to feed the masses, and takes an immense amount of pride in being able to do so, and feel confident everyone will enjoy.
Super-simple sous vide lamb chops with Erika Turk
Erika recognizes that lamb chops are a notoriously difficult cut to nail. Overcook it and it becomes dry and gamey flavored. Being one of her favorite dishes, Erika realized Anova would make it juicy, tender, and scrumptious every time.
She starts out by seasoning the lamb with salt and pepper, then dropping it in a 132°F / 55.5°C for two hours. While the lamb is soaking, she whips up a fresh and light chimichurri butter. When the lamb is done cooking, all it needs is a quick sear on the grill or in a hot pan. Topped off with the chimichurri butter for that final kick of flavor and this meal is ready to impress! Elegant enough for a special occasion, but easy enough for a weekend cookout.
You can keep up with Erika's sous vide stories on Instagram
@foodandfrenchies where she is always sharing her most recent sous vide successes. Next time you flip on your cookers, be sure to give her recipe for
sous vide lamb chops a whirl, available on the
Anova Recipes Site, as well as the
Anova App. You will not be disappointed! Happy cookin', nerds!
