Sous vide lamb shoulder, bone-in

[TdeV]

I have a 5 lb lamb shoulder, bone-in, which is 3 1/2" at the thickest.

Can I cook this sous-vide? I have Douglas Baldwin's book, but he only goes up to 70 mm and does not go into any exact rules about determining what is too thick to pasteurize. (I see the math; I don't understand it). Many of the links on the sous-vide discussion on eGullet tables do not resolve.

I was planning on doing this for 24 hours at 160 F. Will this be safe?

Thanks in advance.

P.S. Why is there no topic tag for "sous vide"?

Edited for clarity.

Edited December 22, 2012 by TdeV (log)

[nickrey]

If you have an iPhone, get the sous vide dash utility. This allows you to calculate cooking time, temperature, as well as time to pasteurisation for all different types of meat.

[Shalmanese]

Red meat is sterile internally so as long as you're cooking unbroken, whole muscle cuts (which you almost certainly are, nobody jaccards lamb shoulder), all you need is surface pasteurization.

[TdeV]

Thanks, Shalmanese. No iPhone, Nickrey, so what I need is the principles not the app.

[Kerry Beal]

Bone in I did 36 hour at 63º C. Boneless was perfect at 24 hours same temp.

[nickrey]

What Kerry said will definitely be pasteurised and with this longer cooking will break down some of the more chewy elements of the shoulder.

[TdeV]

Turned out this lamb shoulder was boneless wrapped in plastic netting which I had not removed prior to vacuum-sealing the bag. I cooked it 24 hours at 160 F, then broiled it for 2-3 min per side to crisp the edges. It was tender and moist. With it I served small yukon potatoes covered with duck fat and a casserole with cauliflower broken into very small pieces, white sauce, lots of onions and two kinds of cheese: cheddar and a tiny bit of parmesan.

Thanks Kerry Beal, I'll take note of your times for Bone-in.

Delish!