Ingredient

WEIGHT VOLUME

SCALING

PROCEDURE

“I Place the steaks on a baking sheet, and freeze for 40 minutes. The goal

* is to freeze only the outer! cm /Vs in, so that the surface can be seared

without cookingthe interior.

O While the steaks freeze, build a large fire in a charcoal grill. When most of the coals are completely covered with gray ash, bank them to one side of the grill. This creates a more intense heat source for searing the meat.

Place a clean rack overthe coals to preheat for at leastlO minutes.

^ Brush all sides of the steaks generously with the oil.

C Grill the steaks oververy hot coals until they are marked and well seared, aboutl minute per side.

/T Place the steaks on a rack over a baking sheet, and leave at room temperature until completely thawed, aboutl hour.

Cut the onions into slices! cm/it in thick.

O Adjust the airflow of the grilt so that the coals maintain a low, even smolder while the steaks are thawing. You will need to add about three coals every 10 minutes to maintain an even temperature. Open­ing and closing the vent every time you add coals also helps remove the ash and keep theairflowing overthe hot coals. Place a steel pan full of ice opposite the banked coals underthe grilling surface. The slow melting and evaporation of the ice moderates the temperature for more even cooking.

Q Arrange the onion slices on the cool side of the rack, overthe pan of ice. Place the steaks on the onion slices. The onions act as a buffer from the direct heat of the grill rack and the radiant heat of the coals. Use an oven thermometer or infrared thermometer to check the air tem­perature of the closed grill at the level of the steaks; it should be about 80 “C/176 “F.

11

12

Cook the steaks covered. Flip and rotate them every 5 minutes, and remove them from the grill when they reach an internal tempera­ture of 50“C/122 °F for medium rare, 30-40 minutes. The core tem­perature changes slowly at first, but then rises more quickly. When the core reaches 43 °C/110°F, check the steaks frequently to avoid overcooking them. The steaks will continue to cook after they are removed from the heat, and should reach a final core temperature of about 54 “C/129 “F.

Remove the steaks from the grill. Let them rest for 5 minutes.

Season the steaks generously with salt to taste. Slice the meat, and serve it immediately.SOUS VIDE LAMB SKEWERS

YIELD:

TIME ESTIMATE:

STORAGE NOTES:

LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY: SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

four servings (300 g)

IV2 hours overall, including 30 minutes of preparation and 1 hour unattended

serve immediately

moderate

sous vide setup (optional), 1 L whipping siphon, four cartridges of nitrous oxide, blowtorch, metal or bamboo skewers, sumac

Tomato juice	300 g	320 mL/1’/3 cups	100%	©	Preheat a water bath to 58°C/136°F.
Red onion, thinly sliced	75 g	/s cup	25%	©	Combine,
Salt	21g	2 Tbsp	7%	©	Pour into a 1 L siphon, and charge the siphon with two cartridges of
Extra-virgin olive oil	9 g	10 mL/2tsp	3%		nitrous oxide. Alternatively, marinate the meat, covered, for 6-12 hours,
Garlic, crushed	6g	2 cloves	2%		and then skip to step 10.
Oregano sprigs			1%	©	Shake the siphon well, and then leave it to infuse for 20 minutes.
	3g	2-3 sprigs
Rosemary sprigs	3g	1 large sprig	1%	©	Depressurize the siphon carefully by aimingthe nozzle upward and slowly releasingthegas.
Lemon juice	3g	3 ml/'/2 tsp	1%	©	Strain, reserving the marinade. Discard the solids.
Sumac	0.8g	V tsp	0.27%
Fresh bay leaves	0.3 g	1-2 leaves	0.1%
Lamb loin, cut into	300 g/0.71b		100%	©	Combine with the marinade in al L siphon, and charge the siphon with
2.5 cm/1 in cubes				© © ©	two cartridges of nitrous oxide. Shake well, and then refrigerate for20 minutes to marinate. Depressurize the siphon. Remove the meat from the marinade, and place it in a zip-top bag. Use the water-displacement method to remove as much air as possible from the bag (see page 6), and seal it. Cook the meat sous vide to a core temperature of57°C/135 °F, about 25 minutes.
Red pearl onions, peeled	80 g	8-10 onions	27%	©	Cook in boiling water until just cooked through, about 3 minutes.
and cut in half				@ @	Cool, and set aside. Thread the lamb pieces and onion halves onto skewers. Brown the meat by using a blowtorch, or sear it on a grill or in a very hot saute pan for 15 seconds on each side. Serve the skewers hot.