Lesson: How to Make a Rack of Lamb

You may decide for some crazy reason, that your guests deserve something more special than the traditional turkey, ham or brisket. In such a case, a great option is either a rack or leg of lamb. It will certainly serve to make your guests feel like valued members of the family, rather than the freeloading bit@hes you perceive them to be.

 

SO HOW THE HELL DO I MAKE A RACK OF LAMB?

 

When making rack of lamb, a good rule of thumb is to have 2-3 bones (chops) for each person. However, if you are serving another main dish, feel free to estimate 1 ½ bones per bit@h.

Despite its reputation as a fancy dish, rack of lamb it is relatively easy to cook. There are actually four methods I would recommend for home cooks to use when making a rack of lamb. These will, of course depend on your comfort and skill level. Each have their own pros and cons, and some produce better results than others, but they all can be used to produce a successful and delicious meal. I happen to like the Sous Vide method the best, but you might want to test them out for yourself in the weeks leading up to your holiday meal to decide which one works best for you.

The Four Methods for Preparing Rack of Lamb:

 

PAN ROAST (Dumb Ass)– Here you will start by searing the meat on all sides in a cast iron or other oven-safe skillet and then placing your skillet in the oven.

 

OVEN ROASTING (Dumb Ass)– Here you will place the lamb in the oven at a high temperature to sear the meat and then lower it to finish the roast.

 

SLOW COOK AND SEAR (Dumb Ass)– In this method you will cook the lamb at a lower temperature of between 200 and 250 degrees until the temperature reaches the desired point, and then finish it off with a sear.

 

LOW TEMPERATURE VACUUM WATER BATH OR SOUS VIDE (The Little Chef That Could)– People that have used and mastered this method swear it works perfectly every time, and produces the best results. However, to be fair,  this method may be the most difficult for the sheer fact you will need to control the temperature of the water and create a vacuum seal around the lamb.

 

PAN ROAST METHOD

Though not the simplest of the methods, this one is pretty easy, and even a dumb ass like you can master it. It produces a good result, but does take a little attention to detail. In particular the temperature of the meat will need to be monitored.

Using a sharp knife, clean the fat and meat away from the rack’s bones if the butcher has not already done so. You can purchase lamb racks already cleaned like this.

Place your flavoring marinade or rub in a heavy duty bag and let marinate for at least 3 hours. Overnight would work well also. Remove lamb rack from refrigerator to 1-2 hours before you cook it so that it comes to room temp. Whenever you cook meat, you should bring it to room temperature to help ensure it cooks evenly.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Heat a heavy ovenproof skillet over medium heat, then add the oil.

Brown the rack on both sides in the hot oil. This will take about 2-3 minutes per side.

At this point, put any flavoring, sauce, or rub onto the  meat.

Place skillet in oven and cook for about 15 minutes at which point you can begin to take the meat’s temperature with an instant-read thermometer. Remove the rack when the internal temperature reaches 125 degrees. This will be rare, but it will continue to cook as it sits. Let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes and it will come to a medium rare with a temp of about 130 degrees.

Slice into chops by cutting between each bone, and serve.

If you like your lamb cooked to medium, slice the lamb into chops, arrange them in the skillet, and place them back in the oven for another 5 minutes. Make sure not to cook it further than a medium temp of 130 degrees because lamb cooked past this temperature loses its tenderness.

 

OVEN ROASTING METHOD

This will be the easiest method you can use. I will admit that it won’t produce as superior results as the other techniques, but your guests will certainly be pretty damn happy and appreciative. So, if you’re not as confident in your abilities, and your guests are not food critics demanding restaurant quality fare, this method may just be your best bet.

Using a sharp knife, clean the fat and meat away from the rack’s bones if the butcher has not already done so. You can purchase lamb racks already cleaned like this.

Place your flavoring marinade or rub in a heavy duty bag and let marinate for at least 3 hours. Overnight would work well also. Remove lamb rack from refrigerator to 1-2 hours before you cook it so that it comes to room temp. Whenever you cook meat, you should bring it to room temperature to help ensure it cooks evenly.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and arrange it so the rack of lamb will roast in the middle of the oven. Place the lamb rack bone side down (fat side up) on the pan. Loosely wrap the exposed ribs in a little foil so they don’t burn.

Roast the lamb for seven minutes, then lower the heat to 300°F. Cook for another 7 minutes or so and then begin to test the temperature. Test every few minutes until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat reads 125 degrees. Remove from oven, cover with foil and let rest for 5-10 minutes.

 

SLOW COOK AND SEAR METHOD

This method has proven time and time again to yield a superior result and it’s definitely an easy method so even a bit@h like you can impress your guests. Here’s how it goes:

Using a sharp knife, clean the fat and meat away from the rack’s bones if the butcher has not already done so. You can purchase lamb racks already cleaned like this.

Place your flavoring marinade or rub in a heavy duty bag and let marinate for at least 3 hours. Overnight would work well also. Remove lamb rack from refrigerator to 1-2 hours before you cook it so that it comes to room temp. Whenever you cook meat, you should bring it to room temperature to help ensure it cooks evenly.

Preheat oven to 225 degrees

Place lamb and arrange it so the rack of lamb will roast in the middle of the oven. Place the lamb rack bone side down (fat side up) on the pan.

Place  the lamb into the oven until the internal temperature reaches 125 degrees

Heat olive oil in a pan and have it ready when the rack comes out of the oven so that you can sear all sides of the lamb very close to the time they come out of the oven. Sear until a nice golden brown crust appears on all sides.

 

LOW TEMPERATURE VACUUM WATER BATH (SOUS VIDE) METHOD

This method is a bit more difficult as you need to keep the temperature of the water bath even at 125 degrees and ensure there is a vacuum around the meat. However, the results are the best.

Using a sharp knife, clean the fat and meat away from the rack’s bones if the butcher has not already done so. You can purchase lamb racks already cleaned like this.

Place your flavoring marinade or rub in a heavy duty bag and let marinate for at least 3 hours. Overnight would work well also. Remove lamb rack from refrigerator to 1-2 hours before you cook it so that it comes to room temp. Whenever you cook meat, you should bring it to room temperature to help ensure cooks evenly.

Fill a slow cooker or pot with water and heat to 125 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place the lamb into a heavy-duty plastic zip bag. Keep the top slightly open. Dip the bag into the water, but keep the opening above the surface. This will force out any air bubbles that would cause uneven cooking.

Seal the bag only when the air has been released and a vacuum has been formed around the lamb. Heat the lamb in the slow cooker for at least half an hour but can be in the water bath for up to 3 hours. Don’t worry your pretty little head, if the water is only 125 degrees, the lamb cannot go above that mark. To make sure that the lamb has reached the desired temp of 125 degrees, make sure to place the meat thermometer into the thickest part of the meat.

Heat some olive oil in a skillet until it starts to smoke. Remove the lamb from the water and bag and place the rack on the skillet, and cook on all sides until it is nicely browned all the way around.

Remove from the skillet, slice and serve.

Now, if you haven’t fu@%ked it up, you will have a perfectly cooked medium rare rack of lamb with a great carmelization!

Now that we talked about the methods there are a bunch of great marinades, rubs and reductions that will make your mouth water in the recipes section.

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