Sous Vide Lamb Chops

For Father's Day this year, the kids and I gave David a sous vide machine.  We weren't familiar with this cooking method until earlier this year, but apparently it has been around for quite awhile now.  For those of you who don't know what sous vide is, here's Wikipedia's definition: 

Sous vide (/suːˈviːd/; French for 'under vacuum'), also known as low temperature long time (LTLT) cooking, is a method of cooking in which food is placed in a plastic pouch or a glass jar and cooked in a water bath for longer than usual cooking times (usually 1 to 7 hours, up to 72 or more hours in some cases) at a precisely regulated temperature.

The temperature is much lower than usually used for cooking, typically around 55 to 60 °C (130 to 140 °F) for meat, higher for vegetables. The intent is to cook the item evenly, ensuring that the inside is properly cooked without overcooking the outside, and to retain moisture.  For meats, most likely you'll want to sear for a few minutes on each side at the end to help retain all of the meat's juices and to give it a crisper finish.

David had tried to replicate the method on his own by using a cooking thermometer and adjusting the heat as needed, but it was a bit of a hassle.  Using the sous vide machine makes it almost effortless to achieve the best cooked meats we've ever had.  The machine itself is a small, tubular device and you attach it to the side of a large pot filled with water about halfway full.  They can get pricey, but you can find one for around $80.  The brand we have is "Joule" and it can be controlled with your iPhone and is about in the middle of the road as far as the price.

Recently David cooked up the absolute best lamb chops I've ever eaten, sous vide style.  He got the chops from Central Market, so they were excellent cuts of meat and not crazy expensive.  Sometimes lamb can be a little gamey, but these weren't in the least.  The meat was cooked to perfection, tender and juicy.  We always serve our lamb chops with mint jelly as a condiment.  It adds a nice hint of sweet with the savory chops.  

We're cooking up just about everything using our nifty, new, little toy.  Keep an eye out for more sous vide recipes because we're obsessed.  These are by far the best lamb chops we've ever had whether it be in a restaurant or at home.

8 lamb chops
2 TBSP freshly cut tarragon
1 - 2 TBSP fresh thyme
Handful of fresh basil leaves
Handful of fresh Rosemary sprigs
4 cloves garlic, minced

1 stick of butter, room temperature

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp fresh ground pepper

1 TBSP olive oil

Mint jelly (to serve as an accompaniment to the chops)

Mix tarragon, thyme, basil, garlic, salt, pepper and butter.  Apply a schmear of the herb butter on both sides of each chop.  Put a sprig of rosemary on top and bottom of each chop.  Wrap each chop with a few fresh basil leave before placing in a sous vide bag, 2 chops per bag.  Vacuum seal and repeat with remaining chops.

Place chops in pot of water and turn on sous vide machine.  Cook for an hour to an hour and a half at 131 degrees Fahrenheit for a tender and juicy chop.

Once finished cooking, remove all of the chops from the bags, baste lightly with olive oil and sear at high heat in a cast iron skillet for 2 minutes per side.  Serve with a sprig of fresh rosemary on top.  

Notes:

A trick we learned, is that you can use Ziploc freezer bags if you don't have a vacuum sealer.  To ensure you get most of the air out, place the meat or veggie in the bag, submerge the open bag slowly in a pot of water.  As you do that the air is forced out by the pressure of the water.  Seal the bag when the water is almost reaches the top of the bag, not allowing water in.