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smokin'gal BBQ Pro

Joined: 28 Jun 2010 Posts: 610 Location: Seattle, WA
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Posted: Mon Dec 19 11 6:29 am Post subject: A tale of two dry aged racks of lamb |
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I've been meaning to try my hand at dry aging some racks of lamb. I picked up a couple of Australian lamb racks from Costco. I really wished they were bigger, but figured their flavor would more than make up for their small size. I placed the racks in dry age bags and made a plan to try them at 21 and 28 days, respectively:
(no prep pic of second one)
While I intended to wait for 21 and 28 days, I just couldn't. I took the first one out at 19 days:
Once I started trimming, I was pleased that the trimming loss would be minimal. The ends required more trimming, but the rack as a whole required about 1/8 inch all around. While all meat is graded, I never seen an actual grade stamped on a cut of lamb--or even seen it advertised. I make this point because once I cut off an end to the first rack, this is what I saw:
I'd give that a prime grading. What do you guys and gals think?
I completed the trimming and coated it in a rub made of finely ground herbs de provence, garlic powder, onion powder, sumac, salt, and black pepper:
I let the rack marinate in the fridge while I prepared the side: hot house tomatoes, stuffed with a filling of diced sourdough, parsley, and aged asagio cheese, with olive oil used to add moisture and fat to the mix:
I grilled the rack to a medium rare temp and dinner was served:
How do I describe the flavor of the lamb? I truly expected it to be even gamier than Australian lamb tends to be. But it wasn't the slightest bit gamey at all--very mild, with profound notes of nuttiness and hints of citrus. I could taste the diet the animal ate, and this creature ate well…dandelions, alfalfa, and lemongrass, etc. The mild lamb flavor was kind of an aftertaste. I will definitely try this again, but I may try it with American lamb due to its larger size.
For dessert, I tried my hand at some smoked panna cotta. I started by cold smoking some heavy cream and sugar with a mix of apple, cherry, sugar maple, and a touch of hickory:
Three cups of smoked heavy cream, 1 cup of evaporated milk, 1/2 cups of smoked sugar, and 2 smoked vanilla bean seeds were heated up in a pot:
One tablespoon of unflavored gelatin was softened in some of the cream and milk mixture for about 5 minutes, then this gelatin mix was added into the heavy cream. The panna cotta mixture was poured into 8 oz. ramekins and refrigerated to set:
After I removed the lamb racks from the grill, I set it up for indirect cooking and added a few chunks of sugar maple. I then tossed on a mixed berry blend consisting of cranberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries:
The smoked mixed berries were cooked down in spring water and smoked sugar, with 1 tablespoon of smoked lemon juice. This was then strained and further reduced until the sauce thickened:
The panna cotta was plated, sauced, and dessert was served:
That was a homerun right there! Boy-o-boy was that delicious. Rich, creamy, silky, and lightly smoky--topped off with that smoked mixed berry sauce. Just phenomenal.
Now, I had plans to try the second lamb rack after it had aged to 28 days, but after the first lamb rack, it just wasn't possible. The second lamb rack made it to 21 days before I simply couldn't wait any longer:
I prepared a roasted garlic, twice baked potato to toss on the grill with the rack of lamb:
I decided to cook this one to medium. Served it up with the potato and a mixed green salad, with cherry tomatoes and balsamic vinegar dressing:
There wasn't much of a difference from the first rack of lamb--which wasn't a problem at all.
For dessert, I decided to convert the 3 remaining panna cotta rounds into a smoked panna cotta gelato. I added 1.5 cups of evaporated milk, a touch more smoked cream, a few tablespoons of smoked sugar, and blended it all together:
This had refrigerated overnight and was then tossed into the gelato pro:
Served it up with the smoked mixed berry sauce:
Again. Rich, creamy, smoky deliciousness.
Good eats. _________________ http://www.barbecueaddict.com |
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KulinaryKila BBQ Fan

Joined: 09 Jan 2010 Posts: 183 Location: Manteca, CA
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Posted: Mon Dec 19 11 6:36 am Post subject: |
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This forum is so awesome.....super looking cook and the dessert it's right up my alley. Applause to you!!! |
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Skidder BBQ Super Pro
Joined: 10 Feb 2008 Posts: 1720
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Posted: Mon Dec 19 11 6:49 am Post subject: |
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Speechless pure speechless is all I can say. Very well played my man |
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slackdogbbq BBQ Fan
Joined: 25 Jun 2009 Posts: 129 Location: Loxahatchee Groves, FL
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Posted: Mon Dec 19 11 7:06 am Post subject: |
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Uhhhhhhhhh, WOW! _________________ WSM
Stump's Prince |
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killswitch505 BBQ Super Pro

Joined: 05 Apr 2009 Posts: 3921 Location: Hobbs, NM
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Posted: Mon Dec 19 11 8:26 am Post subject: |
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killer..... _________________ Club Disco
Mrs. K.A.M. wrote: | Those are some of the best looking wieners I've ever seen  |
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TrailerBuilder BBQ Super Pro
Joined: 08 Feb 2010 Posts: 3151 Location: Springfield MO
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Posted: Mon Dec 19 11 10:32 am Post subject: |
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Gal, you never disappoint, and once again you have not with this one. Out of the park amazing. Very nice indeed  _________________ X2 Finished Build
Disco Time
Fire Pit |
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BBQMAN BBQ Super All Star

Joined: 13 Jun 2005 Posts: 15474 Location: Florida
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Posted: Mon Dec 19 11 7:59 pm Post subject: |
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Skidder wrote: | Speechless pure speechless is all I can say. Very well played my man |
How many men go by by smokin' gal?
Just sayin'!  _________________ BBQMAN
"I Turned A Hobby Into A Business".
Providing "IMHO" Since 2005. |
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BBQMAN BBQ Super All Star

Joined: 13 Jun 2005 Posts: 15474 Location: Florida
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Posted: Mon Dec 19 11 8:01 pm Post subject: |
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Great looking meal to be sure, I don't think I've ever seen you cook anything that I didn't want a big plate of!
However, I thought dry aged meat was, well, dry aged?
And that takes a temp and humidity closely controlled environment to do correctly. _________________ BBQMAN
"I Turned A Hobby Into A Business".
Providing "IMHO" Since 2005. |
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tacklebox BBQ Super Pro

Joined: 07 Jul 2009 Posts: 1870 Location: Big Bend, WI
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Posted: Mon Dec 19 11 8:03 pm Post subject: |
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Flipping awesome as usual Gal...keep up the stellar cooks  _________________ ~Joe
This post is not intended to offend, unless I intend it to
Life is like a penis, some times it gets hard for no reason
Pompous Ass Bigoted LIAR #69  |
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phil c BBQ Pro
Joined: 18 Jul 2011 Posts: 587 Location: Center Point, IA
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Posted: Mon Dec 19 11 8:12 pm Post subject: |
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STOP IT! your posts make me so hungy! Your cooking looks phenominal! |
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GF BBQ Super Pro

Joined: 30 Apr 2011 Posts: 2792 Location: Greenwich, CT.
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Posted: Mon Dec 19 11 8:17 pm Post subject: |
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Wow, that looks great. |
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Toga BBQ Super Pro

Joined: 06 Aug 2008 Posts: 2736 Location: Southern Michigan
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Posted: Tue Dec 20 11 12:30 am Post subject: |
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Any left overs you can toss this way?
Those are 2 outstanding looking meals. _________________ "if you cant cook it in bacon grease it ain't worth eating"
UDS
ECB x2
Gasser |
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Virginiasmoke BBQ Pro

Joined: 01 Sep 2010 Posts: 870 Location: Central Virginia
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Posted: Tue Dec 20 11 4:41 am Post subject: |
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I was wondering about dry aging sealed in plastic as well.
I have four 5lb rib roasts dry aging now but I left them uncovered.
Your meals are always beautiful.
I hope whatever man is in your life knows how well he has it. |
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smokin'gal BBQ Pro

Joined: 28 Jun 2010 Posts: 610 Location: Seattle, WA
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Posted: Tue Dec 20 11 5:01 am Post subject: |
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Thanks everyone for checking out my post and for the compliments.
BBQMAN wrote: | However, I thought dry aged meat was, well, dry aged?
And that takes a temp and humidity closely controlled environment to do correctly. |
This has been brought up before on this forum, but the technology I'm using (and the related info) can be found here: http://www.drybagsteak.com/dry-aged-steak-professionals.php
It works great and helps to keep the process safe. You'll find a forum on their website and you can see everyone's results. Impressive stuff.
As far as the dry aging environment, I have a dedicated fridge, along with a hydrothermometer, and two fridge fans. The temp is kept at a steady 36 degrees, and the humidity is usually around 72-75%.
Toga wrote: | Any left overs you can toss this way? |
You already know the answer to that.
Virginiasmoke wrote: | I was wondering about dry aging sealed in plastic as well. |
These aren't regular plastic bags--that's wet aging. Check out the link I posted for BBQMAN. _________________ http://www.barbecueaddict.com |
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Virginiasmoke BBQ Pro

Joined: 01 Sep 2010 Posts: 870 Location: Central Virginia
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Posted: Tue Dec 20 11 7:18 am Post subject: |
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Ah yes... I remember them being talked about now. |
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Mr Tony's BBQ BBQ All Star

Joined: 01 Aug 2010 Posts: 5067 Location: Fredonia Wi
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BBQMAN BBQ Super All Star

Joined: 13 Jun 2005 Posts: 15474 Location: Florida
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Posted: Tue Dec 20 11 9:45 am Post subject: |
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Nope, I missed that thread, but thanks for the link!  _________________ BBQMAN
"I Turned A Hobby Into A Business".
Providing "IMHO" Since 2005. |
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