Leg of lamb

I like lamb. I prefer the Australian and New Zealand variety, as they tend to be grass fed, and they are less fatty than the American or Canadian lamb we have tried.

This is a short note on making lamb sous-vide, simply because what just came out of the plastic bag was too good to forget how exactly I made it.

I got a boneless butterflied leg of lamb, about 5lb or so. I always take the time and trim it - take off the outer layer of fat, and I also cut away as much of the internal fat as I can, definitely all the large chunks. This too, at least in my experience, not only reduces the amount of saturated fat one consumes, but also reduces the gamy taste.

Once the lamb is cleaned, it appears like a large collection of chunks that are barely held together. Take advantage of the many surfaces of the meat being exposed, and season it. This this time I used salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, rosemary powder, oregano powder. Also good is a combination of ground cumin, chili powder, e.g. korean chili, or ancho chili, or New Mexico chili, and always garlic. You can also smear crushed garlic all over the meat.

I season the meat quite liberally.

For easier handling, and later cutting, I tie the meat together using butcher's twine. YouTube is your friend is you want to learn how to tie a piece of meat straight from LeCordon Bleu.

The meat goes in a plastic bag. Add a chunk of coconut oil, or some olive oil. Vacuum seal with manual pulsing so that the oil is not pumped from the bag, clogging your vacuum pump.

Cook in a 140F bath for 8-9 hours. I tried different time/temperature combos, and this one works best for my taste. The result is a beautiful medium-rare to medium lamb that is very tender but not mushy. Dry the lamb with a paper towel, and torch it to sear the outside. If you don't have the torch, sear the lamb quickly in a hot heavy skillet.

I like to serve this with horseradish sauce: Take a 1.5 inch chunk of horseradish root, clean the dirt away, peel the skin, and grate it on a fine microplane grater. You may find yourself crying while you grate, and that is OK, the horseradish is helping you remove stress hormones and other things from your body. I grate horseradish straight into a bowl, and then place the bowl for about 10-15 minutes outside, on the fresh air. That will remove lots of harshness. You can also stir 1TB of lemon juice into the horseradish to slow dow the oxidation.

Just before serving, mix a few TBs of sour cream and a small pinch of salt with the horseradish. You just made creamed horseradish. I like to add a touch of lemon if I didn't add the lemon before venting the horseradish.

Slice the lamb, serve it with a dollop of the creamed horseradish and a slice of crusty bread. Or use whatever other combo you desire. Here is a simple appetizer-style presentation.

If you have leftovers and you'd like to freeze the lamb, I recommend creating lamb goulash. Let's leave that for another post!

Torch versus pork tenderloin

Pork tenderloin is an annoying cut of meat. Very annoying. It is supposed to be simply delicious. Yet it has a tapered shape, so it doesn't cook evenly. If you make it into medallions, they are so very easy to overcook and dry out. You can butterfly it, pound it out, make a roll, and roast. And again chances are it will turn out dry and stringy.

In other words, pork tenderloin is a challenging piece of meat to cook. When you are in a hurry, or when you have a time, making it well requires skill and practice. I admit that I pretty much gave up it. Much embarrassing for someone who pretty much grew up on pork and potatoes.

Every pig has two tenderloins only, so the cut is precious. Years ago, I was very surprised to see the large numbers of tenderloins available in the stores. So I googled "number of pigs slaughtered per year" and learned that the US alone processes more than 120 million pigs. That is one pig per about three people in the US. Or 240 million tenderloins, which means almost one per person in the US. We better learn how to tame that beast of a cut.

A simple sous vide setup

In waltzes the sous vide circulator. The circulator is, in principle, a surprisingly simple device. It consists of a heater and a small propeller that moves the water around. And a thermometer and a fancy logic device that makes the circulator actually work. The goal is to cook the food at a very precise temperature that is much lower than the temperature of your skillet or the temperature of your oven. It also turns out that a few degrees make a big difference in the texture of the meat you are cooking. If you are curious, the Modernist Cuisine web site has a nice article on why sous vide reigns supreme.

When you cook sous vide, the food goes into a plastic pouch. So, I trimmed the tenderloin to remove the tough silver lining from the surface, seasoned it with salt, pepper, the ever more omnipresent Korean chili powder, and I added some ground thyme. For fat, I added a tablespoon or so of coconut oil.

It is best to vacuum-seal the bag. One, the cooking will take place in a water bath, so one better takes measures to prevent the water from invading your food. Second, the closed bag creates a very humid environment. That, in combination with the low temperature of cooking, will lead to an incredibly moist result.

The unappealing tenderloin after a 2h bath at 140F

My sous vide setup is really basic. I used a food-grade bucket to which I attach the circulator. The bucket needs water, of course, and a pouch with the food. I cover the bucket with plastic wrap to keep evaporation under control. My European background makes me cringe when I think of the energy inefficiency of the setup. One day, I dream, I will find an insulated bucket that will be at least as aesthetically pleasing as my plastic bucket. Given that I am an engineer, my aesthetic standards are not quite at the Steve Jobs level, but I still refuse to use a blue cooler that I bought in a sudden energy-guilt attack.

The tenderloin takes 2-3 hours to bathe at 140F. Many people prefer 135F, which is still high enough to eradicate the bacteria. My mom was visiting, and pink pork is not what she is used to, so I went with 140F. The bath renders a perfectly fine tenderloin lacking any appeal. Seriously, I wonder how sous-vide was even discovered, given how critical appearance is for the food. Would you really believe that a wet chunk of meat has a potential to be delicious?

Today we know, that searing the meat is mostly for looks and for the crunchiness of the crust. Searing in the flavors, not so much. And the best searing apparatus is a torch. I love my source of flames. No matter what you do to it, the flame doesn't go out, it is very light, the flame is trivial to regulate, and the fuel is both cheap and easily accessible. Most importantly, the sound of the torch transforms the kitchen into a true cooking adventure.

Torching the tenderloin!!!

I dried the tenderloin with a paper towel to remove as much moisture as I reasonably could. No worries if the meat is not completely dry, the torch will take care of that. The meat goes into a cast-iron pan, which is generally indestructible and help ensure that your kitchen does not end up catching fire. Just be careful that you don't melt away the seasoning on the pan. As long as you point the torch to the food and move it around, all will be good. Use tongs to turn and hold the meat, searing your fingers would make you miss that delicious tenderloin for sure.

You will know when the searing is done. The unappealing slab of meat will yield place to a deliciously looking tenderloin, waiting to be sliced and salivated over.

The torched tenderloin

When you slice the meat it becomes obvious why sous-vide, and why torching. Even the picture below can communicate how juicy the meat is, and how evenly cooked it is. Moreover, look at the very thin rim of overcooked meat around the edge of each slice. This is the result of searing with the torch. If we cooked the tenderloin in a pan, or if we baked it, that rim would extend pretty much to the center of the meat, resulting in unappetizing dryness.

BBQ-ed dungeness crab

Dungeness crab is readily available in SF Bay area, confirming this is one of the more fortunate places on the planet, not only in terms of technology job opportunities, but also in terms of abundance of top-quality produce.

Here is a trivial way to prepare dungeness crab. No fuss, and a very tasty outcome.

Start with fresh crab. Local Asian stores have them available pretty much all season at somewhat reasonable prices. Our skinny friend Sujeong claims the right quantity is one crab per person, and I will not object. It is wise, though, to have modest plans for consuming much else.

I am very aware of perennial debates about what is the best way to kill the crab to minimize its agony. Some advise to whack it with a bat, some suggest a needle, some say just plunge it in a big pot of boiling water. I suggest you do whatever you think is appropriate. Last time I cooked crab they showed no signs of life by the time the water was boiling, so I was able to bypass the dilemma.

Bring a large pot of salted water to rolling boil, and drop the crab(s) in the water. Let them cook for about 5 minutes max. I use long tongs to extract the crab from the pot, and I let it cool for a few minutes in the kitchen sink so that I can handle the crabs easily with my bare hands. 10 mins or so should suffice.

After that I clean the crab using a technique very similar to what is shown in the video above. I like to cook the crab first to have it retain moisture, but you could clean it first and immediately cook it on the BBQ. Once the crab is clean, you can tear the legs from the body to make further cooking easier. If you wish, you can crack the legs slightly to let any liquid drain out, and to aid with peeling the shell off when you consume the crab. This will result in a different texture of the meat than if you leave the shell intact. I prefer it that way, but the final call is yours.

Toss the crab is a bit of oil to prepare it for the barbecue. I use oil with a high smoking point, such as avocado oil that decomposes at 500F. Frankly, I see no point in using extra virgin olive on the BBQ just to have it decomposed in a second. Place the crab on a medium heat BBQ for about 3-4 minutes per side, lid closed. 

The crab... There was barely any left to make a picture

When the crab is done, put it in a large bowl. Sprinkle the crab with a pinch of salt and a good pinch of korean chili powder. Add a tablespoon or so of coconut oil. For years, we have been using the extra virgin coconut oil from Nutiva. 

Put the bowl on the table and dig in, use your hands. Refrain from throwing the shells over your shoulders, only Asterix and Obelix are allowed to do that, and only when they devour boars.

If you insist, of course you can use melted butter with garlic or whatever other dip makes you happy. The trick with the coconut oil, korean chili, and salt is that some of it sticks to your fingers when you eat the crab, and adds to the taste of the crab. No need for anything else.