Darkroom cooking

[Ron789]

In case you're interested in using your darkroom for preparing large meals.....

I'm expecting some 20 relatives coming over to my place next week for our traditional Xmas family dinner. I decided to prepare some nice lamb but was challenged how to do so for such a big number. I would need some 4 whole lamb shoulders....
So I thought of the following method, that I'm now piloting with 1 lamb shoulder.

Prepare the lamb shoulder with your favourite herbs and spices; I used garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice, extra virgine olive oil and lots of fresh mint.
Put the lamb shoulder in a strong frying bag,

Suck out the air as much as possible - goes fine with the vacuum cleaner. Close the bag tightly.

In my darkroom I have a large wet table with 3 basins, one one them with heating, controlled by a PID industrial controller.
I fill up that basin with water.
Put the bag with the lamb in a developing tray; for 1 lamb shoulder a 12x16 (30x40cm) tray is just fine. Add some water.
Let the tray float in the basin, heated to 60 degree C.
Cover it with a larger developing tray, floating upside down.
Cover the entire basin with some isolating material; I used bubble-wrap.

Now let it sit there at 60 C for 48 - 72 hours. You should have perfect lamb by then. One may put it under a grill for a few minutes to give it some colour.

I'll keep you informed how this turns out!

 

[AgX]

That IS alternative processing in the darkroom.

 

[Sirius Glass]

lol

 

[Mick Fagan]

I think this is a wonderful idea, however I would baulk at your cooking temperature, especially over that time period. Perhaps a few degrees more, may make it a bit of a safer eating experience.

http://www.foodsafety.asn.au/resources/temperature-danger-zone-keep-hot-food-hot-and-cold-food-cold/

Mick.

 

[Ron789]

Hi Mick.... the temperatures mentioned at the website you reference have some safety margin. The challenge with sous-vide cooking is to stay on the safe side but use low temperatures to retain optimal taste and structure. If you look at Dead Link Removed
you'll see:
"Almost all potentially harmful organisms will be killed at 130F/54.5C given sufficient time to heat the food completely to that temperature. Since most sous vide cooking is done between 130F/54.5C and 195F/95C, the food will be safe."
For lamb and most types of meat an extended cooking period at 60 C will ensure meat that is safe. For beef I often did 56 C, for lamb I prefer 60 C.
It is key to really control the temperature within a margin less then 1 degree over a long period of time; that is why I use an industrial PID controller. Ordinary cooking appliances won't achieve this constant level of accuracy.

 

[Mick Fagan]

Ron, I see, good to know you are working safely.

I myself invested in one of these some years ago, been very accurate and more importantly, I can re-calibrate it correctly at home.

http://thermapen.co.uk/

Mick.

 

[AgX]

Ron, so your heating installation seemingly is original, except for that controller.
Did you install the controller in a cardboard box ??

 

[Ron789]

After 48 hours, the lamb shoulder came out just perfect! While lamb shoulder is a fairly simple and cheap cut of meat, preparing it this way results in the most tasty, juicy and tender lamb meat you can imagine!
Only 1 thing I need to improve: next time I will turn it around a few times during preparation; there was one small piece that apparently had not been fully submersed and as a result it was rare rather than medium.

 

[Ron789]

Ron, so your heating installation seemingly is original, except for that controller.
Did you install the controller in a cardboard box ??

You're right: the temperature control of the original installation was way off, so I bypassed that using the external PID controller. I built it into a wine box, reinforced and isolated on the inside. I have another one built into a wooden box from a luxury bottle of Dutch jenever.