Quick update: in the end I put some thyme, rosemary, powdered garlic, lemon zest, salt and olive oil on the scored surface of the meat, then sous vided it for 17h at 60°C. I then popped it in the oven at 220°C for about half an hour.
My daughter described it as "best meat ever" and my wife liked that it was very tender, but personally I think I'd have preferred it with a bit more bite, less like stewed meat and also a bit more pink, so would probably try something like 8h at 55°C next time, although I am not sure how popular that would be with my family.
I do wonder if lamb supplied to different markets has different qualities – Americans seem to think lamb is bigger and tougher than Brits do, so I wonder whether Americans are actually getting hogget or young mutton or something, whilst Britons are getting younger, more tender sheep (this was from NZ, but still could be different specs for different markets). Alternatively, maybe Americans are less accustomed to eating it (it seems uncommon there) so might have a different reference point in terms of what to expect.
At any rate, thank you all for your advice, it was a great starting point and, the meal went down a treat. There's still plenty of leftovers for the next couple of days!
by mattmoy_2000
4 Comments
**This is a generic reminder message under every image post**
Thank you for your picture post to r/sousvide. We want to remind everyone of Rule #5. Posts should be accompanied by something to foster discussion. A comment, a question, etc is encouraged.
If you’ve posted a picture of something you’ve prepared, please explain why in a comment so people can have some sort of conversation. Simply dropping a picture of food in the sub isn’t really fostering any discussion which is what we’re all aiming for.
Posts that are a picture with no discussion can and will be removed by the mods.
Thank you!!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/sousvide) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Glad the family liked it. The leg of lamb I ate in the UK always seemed more tender than anything I had in the US. I figured it was the cooking because leg of lamb in the US I normally make at home (it is less common at a restaurant as you stated) vs in the UK they were nice restaurants for a business trip. What I buy in the US is sourced from NZ too. The boneless leg of lamb at the store I buy averages about 5.5 lbs to give you a sense of size. Take care.
Mint. My umbrella mint.
US regulations allow all sheep meat to be sold labelled as lamb.