I love Rack of Lamb. But the Ocean Breeze household hasn’t eaten it very often in the past 20 years due to a dislike “Love” has to such gamey beasts (not my opinion…). So if I was going to eat Lamb, it was most likely to happen in a fine restaurant. To me, Lamb just has a different and unique flavor which I like. I surmised that possibly “Love” had some bad versions of this alternate meat. But even when I had an excellent specimen of this classic in a fine restaurant, she was never a fan. It was something between “It’s OK, just not my thing” to “I don’t like it”. At the same time, I’m wondering if I can get away with eating the last morsels off the bones at the restaurant table after devouring it. I’ve been told you’re apparently not supposed to do that, because it’s bad manners. Who comes up with these bullshit concepts? So being that I need to feed the family, add some variety, and attempt to come up with interesting material for this website, I wanted to see if I can improve upon the recipe. And at home, I’m eating off the damn bones.
I had to strategize on this. I reviewed the recipes out there from some of my favorite chefs. I then concurred with my partner in many crimes – Rocco – on some tips as Rocco makes lamb often. Rocco and I share many many ideas on cooking while we hike together. And I tailored a recipe which I believed *might* change the family cycle which follows:
Ingredients
Directions
2 Racks Of Lamb, at Room Temperature
Olive Oil – Extra Virgin and Good
1.5 Cups Panko (I use Japanese Style)
4 Tablespoons Sweet and Spicy Mustard (It was thick)
4 Tablespoons Of Butter (I use Irish, salted), very soft (room temp) or melted if cold
4 Cloves Garlic minced (or more, you can never have too much garlic)
2 Tablespoons Fresh Mint – Finely Chopped
2 Tablespoons Fresh Basil – Finely Chopped
2 Teaspoons Lemon Zest
1 Teaspoon Ground Himalayan Pink Salt
1 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1 – Preheat oven to 450 and Fire up grill to Sear
2 – Combine panko, garlic, lemon zest, mint, basil in a bowl. It might not matter but I wait until later to add the butter
3 – Trim Racks of Lamb if needed but do not cut the fat layer off the top. I remove any excess pieces of fat that are extraneous or not connected to the rack. Rub Olive Oil on Racks, then sprinkle the salt and pepper. Put them on the grill and brown them. I do both sides, but end with the fat side up. I do not know how hot your grill gets, but mine gets hot. I sear for approximately 1-1.5 minutes top and bottom. Remove from grill, cover in tin foil
4 – Add butter to panko spice mixture and stir until smooth and well mixed
5 – Paint the mustard on all sides of the meat however you like. I use a butter knife. A brush would be fine as well
6 – Hand press the panko mixture all over the mustard/meat
7 – Place in the oven, fat side up, and roast until internal temperature of the meat is 127-128 using a thermometer and then remove. This should take about 15 minutes or less. Cover Racks with foil and let rest for 10-15 minutes, or until internal temperature of the lamb is 133 (for Medium Rare).
8 – Cut the Racks into separate ribs and serve
Some additional Notes:
The roasting step can be done on your grill as long as you control the internal temperature of the grill well enough to not burn the panko crust and use a thermometer to know when the meat is done
In my opinion, the best wine you can serve with this meat is a well aged Barolo. I find a bottle of 2010 Brangero Monvigliero Barolo to be absolutely delicious by itself, but with this meal, absolutely stellar! Out of This World! Bravo to you Marco Brangero indeed! I recommend to all that a Barolo needs some breathing time. Give this wine a few hours to open up and it is a pairing made in heaven
I know you are all waiting to know: How did we do getting “Love” over her ambivalence to lamb? For the first time in her life she loved Rack of Lamb and therefore it was a huge success. Mission accomplished and I believe I am welcome to make this again. The lamb itself was from New Zealand (the only one I’ve ever seen at Costco) and had a very nice and mild flavor. But I know what cinched this deal was the mustard and herb – panko crusting. I was told “You can put that crust on anything and it would be delicious!”. And I have to agree with that. In fact we tried the exact same encrusting on some Yellowfin Tuna a few weeks later and it, too, was declared “Delicious” by all partakers. But some advice on the Yellowfin Tuna, an enhancement would have been to use Wasabi instead of Sweet and Spicy Mustard as it will handle it very nicely.
Enjoy, and Thank You for Reading.
One Response
The Hippie Sister states: “American Lamb Is Better!”. And I’m good with that. I just do a lot of shopping at Costco and the New Zealand Lamb is what they have. I will be finding a nice rack of Made In The USA at the butcher next time.
Thank You Hippie Sister!