Gong Xi Fa Cai (Happy New Year if you’re celebrating the Lunar New Year’s Year of the Horse!)
Since horse is not something I can get easily here (if there was only a Tesco’s!) I decided to grill up a simple herb crusted rack of lamb. The rack was ok…a bit fatty but otherwise pretty tasty. My son Alex and I decided to have an early dinner tonight (around 4PM) so I figured this may be a good quick meal for the two of us.
What you’ll need to do is prepare your herb crust first. Simply take about 1.5-2 Cups of breadcrumbs, a bunch of fresh parsley, fresh thyme, fresh oregano, 4 cloves of garlic (minced) and just a drizzle of olive oil to bind it all together. Mix all the dry stuff, plus herbs and garlic in a hand blender. Add in just a splash of olive oil and make sure it’s not overly wet. If it is, add more breadcrumbs to firm it up. Set this aside.
Get your grill nice and hot. Around 500F will do nicely. Now I used my cast iron skillet to brown the lamb first. Score the lamb fat cap with a sharp knife and season well with Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Once ready, add a splash of olive oil to the hot skillet (be careful here) and once it’s up to temperature start to sear the lamb on all sides. Take your time here and make sure you’re careful not to burn yourself. It can get pretty hot. Once you’ve browned the lamb nicely (see photos) set it aside and insert your trusty probe thermometer. You’re going to shoot for 135F internal temp when you’re all said and done.
I kept the lamb on the skillet throughout the entire time. I added a few small chunks of apple wood and I placed the rack meat side up and closed the dome for about 10 minutes. Note, I’ve not placed the herb coating on just yet. Once you’re done the 10 minute smoke/roast, remove the rack and generously baste it with quality dijon mustard. Once you’ve slathered it on all sides, add your herb crust on the meaty sides of your rack, place it back on the skillet (meat side up) and close the dome. Adjust your temperature to about 400F and watch the temperature until it gets to 135F. That should take about 20-25 minutes or so.
Once you’ve reached your ideal temperature, remove the rack from the skillet and place the REALLY hot skillet somewhere safe. At that temperature, cast iron stays really hot for a long, long time. If you’ve got little ones running around, make sure it’s well out of the way! Let your lamb rack rest for about 10 minutes then cut between the bones, plate and add a side of your choice. For today’s lunch I grilled up some aubergine (eggplant) to go with the lamb.
The herb crust was incredibly tasty and the lamb was done to a perfect medium rare. The only downside was the fat cap was a bit too fatty for our liking. I’ll consider a trim next time. All in all, a tasty, easy lunch that was lip smacking yummy!
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Overall Alex Rating: 8/10