The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 793

SEASONING, ROLLING, AND TYING Q: What are some good things to season my lamb with? Salt is a must, and just as with steak or a beef roast, the best time to salt your lamb is either the day before roasting or immediately before cooking If you’ve got the time, seasoning the lamb and letting it rest uncovered on a rack in a rimmed baking sheet in the fridge will season it more deeply, as well as dry out its exterior—allowing for superior browning it With its robust flavor, lamb takes well to all kinds of spice mixes and aromatics With a butterflied leg, you want to apply your seasoning the both the inner and outer surfaces before rolling it up Here are a few of my favorite combinations: • Lots of garlic, rosemary, and anchovies (see here) • Olives and parsley (see here) • Ground cumin and fennel (see here) • Harrissa and garlic (see here) Q: Why do I need to tie up my butterflied lamb leg? If you don’t tie up a butterflied leg, it won’t keep a regular shape during cooking An irregular shape leads to uneven cooking Uneven cooking leads to unhappy bellies Unhappy bellies lead to lack of familial harmony And lack of familial harmony leads to ruined holidays Would you risk ruining a holiday for five minutes of work and the cost of a roll of butcher’s twine? Q: OK, I’m convinced How do I do it? Simple After laying your lamb out flat and seasoning it, roll it up again, with the fat on the exterior, then lay it seam side down over pieces of butcher’s twine that you’ve already thoughtfully laid out in parallel lines on the cutting board at 1-inch intervals, each piece long enough to tie easily around the roast Working from the ends toward the center, tie up the lamb It’s the same process as tying up a beef tenderloin (see here) Your lamb is now ready to cook COOKING IN THE OVEN Q: How do I know when my lamb is done? Can I just follow one of those handy timetables, with X minutes per pound? Absolutety not! Ignore any and every timing chart you’ve ever seen—they don’t work, because they don’t take into account basic things like variances in shape and fat content, both of which can drastically affect how fast your meat cooks Instead, get yourself a good digital instant-read thermometer (Do I sound like a broken record here? Just do it!) Doneness levels for lamb are pretty much the same as for beef, and they are the same whether you are talking leg or rack: • 120°F (rare): Bright red and slippery inside The abundant intramuscular fat has yet to soften and render • 130°F (medium-rare): The meat has begun to turn pink ... 1-inch intervals, each piece long enough to tie easily around the roast Working from the ends toward the center, tie up the lamb It’s the same process as tying up a beef tenderloin (see here) Your lamb is now ready to cook COOKING IN THE OVEN Q: How do I know when my lamb is done? Can I just... digital instant-read thermometer (Do I sound like a broken record here? Just do it !) Doneness levels for lamb are pretty much the same as for beef, and they are the same whether you are talking... you are talking leg or rack: • 120°F (rare): Bright red and slippery inside The abundant intramuscular fat has yet to soften and render • 130°F (medium-rare): The meat has begun to turn pink