My mom decided to invite a lot of relatives to the holiday feast (Sukkot) and asked me to cook something "special" for the occasion. I asked myself what kind of meal would be considered special.I also wanted to cook something new and challenging that I have never tried cooking before in sous vide. The answer was clear - a leg of lamb.
I took a risk, as this was the first time for me trying something like that, and for 22 people attending my parents holiday feast no less. I mean, what could go wrong?
I've started my research around the web to find the perfect recipe for leg of lamb cooked in sous vide and I found some useful information.
Leg of lamb can be cooked from 5 to 30 hours, depends on how soft and tender you want your meat to be, and from 55C (131F) to 85C (185F), depending on how thoroughly cooked you want the lamb meat to be - from steak tender to pulled.
Another important aspect of the lamb meat, is it's strong, unique flavor which I'm not a huge fan of.
To tone it down, you need to use antioxidant spices and herbs such as mustard and rosemary.
ingredients
Leg of lamb.
Mustard powder.
Fresh rosemary.
Salt.
Pepper.
The prepping
Begin scoring the leg in order to expose the meat to the antioxidant seasoning.
Cover the entire leg with mustard powder, salt, pepper and fresh rosemary.
Make a cut at about 5cm above the bottom of the leg. This will cause this portion to separate once the leg is ready, resulting in a greater visual appeal of the leg for the plating.
The cooking
Seal the leg in a vacuum bag and submerge it into preheated water in 58c (136f) for 24-30 hours. (Mine was swimming in the tub for 28 hours to get a medium-tender result).
When the time is over, remove the leg from the bag, slightly dry it out with paper towel and remove the excessive mustard coating.
Finish the cooking in the oven on the highest heat for 15 minutes.
The final touchCongratulations, you have cooked the perfect leg of lamb, but should you serve it alone without any side dish?
I prefer serving it with roast potatoes seasoned with herbs.
Boil small to medium sized potatoes until you get the mashed potatoes tenderness.
Season the potatoes with olive oil, butter, fresh garlic, thyme, rosemary, sage, bay leaves, salt and pepper.
Put them in the oven on 190c for 40 minutes.
After 40 minutes, mash them slightly and put them back into the oven for additional 20 minutes.
Final result - the perfect holiday dish
Useful resources
This recipe was inspired by chefsteps
Recommended equipment
Colman's dry mustard powder - https://amzn.to/2RDiQgz
Vacuum Seal Rolls - https://amzn.to/2yfP6NC
Sous vide weights - https://amzn.to/2C0LW3Z
FoodSaver vacuum sealer - https://amzn.to/2QBs77y
Anova precision cooker - https://anovaculinary.com/