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!