Bone-in leg of lamb

I like to cook my lamb rare - red and juicy, but with a bit of

texture. I've typically seen lower temperatures suggested for that,

around 55C, and I'm interested in trying a long slow sous-vide cook on a

bone-in leg of lamb, fresh from the fridge.

What time and temperature would you suggest to get this sort of result?

How long would you salt it for first?

Chris Young says (for a boneless leg): Here are some temperature and time combinations that have worked well for us in the past:

Tender, and somewhat steak-like: 144 °F / 62 °C for 36 hours

Tender, flaking (braise-like): 149 °F / 65 ° C for 24 hours

Whereas Heston Blumenthal gives 3-4 hour in a 80C oven to reach an internal temperature of 55C which is rare.

Todd Shewman cooked boned half-leg of lamb at 15 hours at 56C and

says the meat was perfect.

@Chris - why the big difference in temperature? I usually prefer the results with longer times and lower temperatures. Would you suggest a lower temperature for the result I'm looking for?

Thanks!

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Comments

Tim_Sutherland_52834

I prefer my lamb leg in the oven at 80°C-120°C to an internal temp of 56°C. I always bone the leg and season the inside with salt, pepper and grated garlic. The outside is just salt.

I have SVed lamb legs from 60°C@4 hrs, up and I find the oven a better end product. I only use NZ or Australian lamb. If you SV the leg you will get a better texture by not salting.

I always bone the leg for ease of carving once cooked. I use the bone for stock/sauce/marrow.

John_Russell_1676

Thanks for the tips Tim.

I'm using Welsh lamb, which I prefer for flavour. Scottish and Suffolk marsh lamb are also good - depending on availability and provenance.

I cooked a leg in the oven at 80C to internal 55C and it was good, but I would like to try the longer SV method. In which case shouldn't the temperature should be around 55C?

I'm puzzled why Chris Young suggests a relatively high temperature for SV. Can anyone shed any light on this?

I prefer to maintain the integrity of the leg by leaving the bone in - cooked in the oven I find it tastes better. A whole leg avoids SV issues of bacterial contamination and the difficulty of killing bacteria on cut meat surfaces.

What differences in flavour or texture do you find between the SV and oven, cooking to the same temperature?

Dom_17620

I suggest 62ºc for 4 hours (ish - I use a needle probe that's good to work in the bath, looking for a core of 58ºC), it's what I use at work and I can say the meat is beautiful. Though I haven't tried a long cook time, I don't know if it'd be much use to lamb as the muscles don't have much marbling, and therefore might dry out with extended periods? The same reason I don't bath whole sirloins over night.

I usually take out the bone, open the leg up, remove all the silverskin and fat (leave a little to keep the meat moist!) as it can be a substantial amount depending on the season and make carving and eating a bit of a hassle. I salt the insides and use Activa to bond it together. Then I studd the leg with garlic cloves, wrap it in clingfilm to give it a round shape, along with a sprig of rosemary on top of the skin and vac it. I usually cook it right away (heat setting the activa is fine at this temp) so the salt doesn't draw out too much moisture. I suppose the salting could be replaced with some sort of rosemary brine to great effect, but I've not tried it yet.

I dare say the reason you see so many different temperatures is because people like their lamb with different textures? I like my lamb with a bit of a soft, yielding bite, as opposed to say flaky like a braise or soft like a fillet.

Please play and report back, I'm interested! I wound up finding something I liked and stuck with it, so haven't tried much since!

Tim_Sutherland_52834

I can't remember why Chris has temp that high.

With good kitchen practices, any contamination should be reduced to almost zero. If you had any concern with the surface of the meat a quick blow torch all over prior to boning, would go a long way to easy your mind.

I've SVed almost every cut of lamb - whole heads, cheeks, tongue, necks, breast, shanks, feet, racks, legs, and I've done the same cuts via traditional methods. The texture via SV is either too mushy or too firm for my liking. SV lamb takes too long and does not produce a better product over the oven for me. For the same reason venison and other game I only cook via traditional methods. Sausage and tongue are the only lamb products I use SV for.

Chris_Young_80640

Sorry for the slow reply, but the reason for the higher temperature doesn't have a deep explanation. It happened to be a nice texture when we did the trials. But it would definitely not be your cup of tea if you like really rare lamb.

John_Russell_1676

Update

I cooked two legs of lamb and recently a shoulder sous-vide with my Anova immersion circulator.

The most successful was the shoulder using a Julia Childs recipe for a rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper, soy sauce and mustard paste. I salted the shoulder and let it dry out for four days, then blanched the garlic three times to reduce its pungency, pounded the solid ingredients to a paste, browned the shoulder over a burner then put it in a roasting bag and spread the paste over it. After 12 hours at 54 degrees it was still chewy but after 72 hours it was pink, juicy and tender. I browned it under the grill and used the liquid as a sauce.

The time and temperature came from the ChefSteps Short Rib of Beef tests and recipe which I've cooked many times.

Previously I tried leg at higher temperatures and shorter times, testing intermittently. Both times I salted and peppered the meat before browning and inserted a few sprigs of rosemary into the meat and a couple in the bag. The first one I browned in a maximum oven for twenty minutes or so. 58 degrees and over was over-cooked to my taste after around 6-8 hours; the meat was barely rosy. Still the juice was delicious and the meat was delicately flavoured with rosemary.

The second time I browned it over an open burner and lowered the temperature to around 54 which was pink and juicy but possibly slightly under-cooked and chewy. However I preferred this as the flavour was better.

I would pre-salt the meat again as I prefer the effect, and I think 54 or 55 is about right for pink lamb. The cooking time is longer to tenderise tougher cuts, and my experience is that different cuts of meat can be cooked at similar temperatures for similar results.

John_Russell_1676

Update

I cooked another bone-in leg of English lamb, brined it for an hour, and put it in a roast-a-bag with blanched garlic, sprigs of fresh rosemary and pepper.

Emily Farris and Jeff Akin at Anova suggest 10 hours at 56 degrees C, whereas Sharome Hakman in SousVideSupreme suggests 48 hours at 55 degrees C (131F) for boned legs.

As I was short of time I started it off at 56C for two-and-a-half hours, then 55C for 30 hours and browned it with a Searzall. There were signs of bacterial activity at the beginning as the bag filled with air - in future I'll brown to sterilise before sous-vide - but that stopped and the end-result was fine.

The meat near the outside was very pale pink, near grey, close-textured and dry. Next to the bone the results were better, dense but a deeper pink and somewhat juicier. There was a small amount of deep pink juice in the bag.

This was a fairly lean piece of meat which turned out dry, and I think the lower temperature of 55 C with a shorter time, 10 hours or less, would produce a better result - next time. I also think that rubbing salt on the outside and letting it dry out for a few days helps the flavour better than brining although possibly that's down to the quality of the boiled water I used for the brine.

John_72812

I cooked another 1.2kg shoulder bone-in, and got the results I'm looking for - deep pink, juicy and tender all the way through, concentrated flavour.

55C for around 8 hours gives results which will be hard to beat.

1 Dry-salt with about a tablespoon of ground salt per kilo for three days, leaving it open in the fridge to dry.

2 Brown it by blowtorch, burner or frying pan - I used a Searzall but it was quite time-consuming

3 Bag with sprigs of rosemary and finely-sliced blanched garlic (boil and refresh 3 x 30s I think)

4 Cook for 8 hours at 55 degrees Centigrade (131 Fahrenheit)

Probably worthwhile browning again at the end but I'd run out of time.

7 hours at 55C left the shoulder fractionally undercooked deep in the bone, otherwise perfect, so 8 is probably about right.

There were only a few teaspoons of juice in the bag at the end of cooking.

Dry-salting gives better results for flavour and density than brining - the salt had penetrated right through the meat, and it doesn't become flabby or wet.

Carey_Copeling_257765

Giving this a go tonight.

Massimo_Verderamo_334878

I use 61c for 6 h

John_72812

Update

I found that pre-salting game (rabbit) firms and toughens it, and I prefer the results when it's unsalted. So I tried the same with a bone-in shoulder of lamb.

Browned first then 55C for 10 hours was too rare for my taste; a bit too moist and the connective tissues slightly tough. 56C for a similar time was a better texture, slightly firmer whilst still pink and juicy.

John_72812

Update

2kg leg of lamb, around 10cm at its thickest.

Refrigerated on a rack for a few days to tenderise it

Chilled 20-30 minutes in the freezer, rubbed with sunflower oil, salt and pepper.

Browned in a 220C oven for 20+ minutes

Loosely bagged and chilled in water bath then refrigerated overnight

Added rosemary pounded with 4 cloves garlic; juice and skins of 2 lemons, 30ml olive oil

Sealed and cooked sous-vide at 56C for 7 hours

Covered and left to rest for a couple of hours

Evenly cooked to the bone, firm but very rare, rosy pink and juicy. A thin layer of browning on the outside.

I think the resting has improved the evenness of the cooking; this is my best result yet.