Sous Vide: Double Cut Lamb Chops 2020

Lamb chops are another testimony to the beauty of simplicity. Festive and novel, a little style goes a long way.

Ingredients

Lamb chops, 2 bones each, approximately 1.5 lbs./0.7 Kg.
Note: We cut Oregon lamb racks into chops for this tutorial. Allow approximately 12 oz/350 g per person.

Your preferred seasonings or one of our dedicated blends linked HERE.
Vegetable oil, 2 oz/60 ml as needed.

 

 

Equipment requirements

Immersion circulator, portable or stationary.
Heat rated container, minimum of 2 gallons/8 liters.
Heat rated sous vide bags.
Channel or chamber vacuum device
Cast iron broiler pan or 12″/300 mm skillet.
Oven.

Above: Lipavi C15 container, N15 polycarbonate racks. Lipavi C15L lid.

How do you like your lamb?

People are usually a little less sure about how they want their lamb cooked–many are somewhat surprised even to be asked. Because of the pasteurization capabilities of sous vide, lamb can be safely served at almost any level of apparent doneness,

There is debate as to the exact definition of “rare,” “medium rare,” “au point,” etc. A little practice will help you learn just exactly what temperature achieves your preferred appearance of doneness.

Here are some basic temperature setting guidelines:

Rare: 129 F/54 C.
Medium rare: 135 F/57 C
Medium to Medium well: 140 F/60 C.
Well done: 150 F/74 C.

Procedure:

Serves 1-2
Level of difficulty: 2.0

Preheat the water in your sous vide bath to the temperature that most closely matches your preference.

Processing the chops

After vacuum sealing the lamb chops, process at the preferred temperature for

4-6 hours,
as per your scheduling convenience. There is no “moment” before which the lamb is not ready and after which it is overcooked. Even though the process of tenderization continues at sous vide temperatures, it is extremely slow–a difference of 2-3 hours is usually undetectable to the diner. As the temperature used increases, the tenderization process accelerates. Even so, a rack of double lamb chops processed at 140 F/60 C for 6 hours will not be noticeably different than one that was processed for 4 hours.

For the purposes of this demonstration, the chops were processed at 130 F/54 C for 5 hours.

Set the warming function on the oven to 180 F/82 C. Put the plate(s) in the oven to warm.

Remove the chops from the bag and pat dry.

Sprinkle lightly with the preferred seasonings on the fatty side.

and on the faces as well.

Drizzle or spray lightly with vegetable oil. Preheat the broiler pan (or skillet) to 350 F/176 C.

Sear the chops on all sides, one at a time, until the desired color is achieved. This should take about 30 seconds per side. Remove from the hot pan and set aside for the moment.

Remove the plate(s) from the oven and arrange the rest of the components. In the picture: a rustic relish of tomatoes, onions, capers, Kalamata olives, parsley and extra virgin olive oil. The method for the celery heart is explained HERE.

Shingle the lamb chops from right to left. The recipe for the sauce is HERE.

Norm King

About

A rack of lamb can be divided into two distinct halves. Anatomically identical to what we call a beef standing rib roast, the cut proceeds from just behind the shoulder to the middle of the saddle. The bones of the front half are closer together and form the lamb's sternum. The rear half is somewhat leaner and the bones are much farther apart. It is for this reason that the front half is usually used to create the familiar "double cut lamb chop."
Since lamb is popular in many countries and in many cultures, its flavor profile is complemented by almost any combination of vibrant flavors.

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