Springtime Special: Rack of Lamb

It’s springtime! Sometimes sunny, sometimes rainy, sometimes hot, sometimes cool. A season for change and rebirth. Spring is an exciting season for a cook, especially in colder climates like ours in Canada. After months and months of nothing but root vegetables, magical green things start poking their heads out of the ground!

For me, spring holds mixed feelings. As a fatty, I love nothing more than to eat the gifts of spring, these tender baby vegetables. But as a former chef I have memories of hours and hours spent cleaning and prepping these selfsame vegetables. Let me tell you, a few cases of fava beans, ramps and fiddleheads later, these “gifts of spring” can take a hint from Elvis and go return to sender.

Anyways, this post isn’t really about that. No, it’s about the vaguely spring dish I cooked the other night and wanted to share with you all. It’s a little late, but this would be a perfect Easter dinner for two. The centerpiece of which is the oft-misunderstood rack of lamb.

Now, rack of lamb is an interesting cut. It’s technically a roast, but it’s just about one of the smallest you’ll find. As stated before, a single rack feeds two people well, maybe you can stretch it to four if you have a lot of other dishes going on. But this isn’t something you make for a crowd.

Rack of lamb is tender, yet still very flavourful. The meat holds all that lamby goodness you either love or hate. As I’ve said in the past, lamb is polarizing, nobody is indifferent about it. If you love lamb like I do though, the rack is a special celebration piece.

Since I don’t work in restaurants anymore, I don’t bother to French the bones. “Frenching”, in this case, means scraping all the meat and fat off the rib bones to make a cleaner presentation. But I like the crispy meat and fat that ends up on the bones. The choice is yours, really.

What isn’t up for debate is that you must not overcook the rack and because it is a bone-in cut, you absolutely MUST let it rest for enough time before slicing. Why the special attention to a bone-in cut? Thank you for asking, I’ll tell you. As the meat roasts in the oven, or even in a pan the bones gradually absorb heat too. Once the bones are hot, they speed up the cooking process exponentially, holding on to their heat. Which is why a cut like a rack of lamb may take 10-15 minutes to go from rare to medium rare, but only another 2-3 minutes to go from medium-rare to medium. Once those bones are hot, the meat attached to them cooks faster.

This is also why resting time is a bit longer than normal. You rest meat, why? So that the internal juices slow down after cooking and redistribute themselves evenly through the meat. You slice too soon and all the juices end up on your cutting board and you look like a schmuck. The fact that the bones hold onto heat so efficiently means you have to wait a bit longer for them to cool.

Having said all this, you don’t need to be AFRAID of cooking a rack of lamb, just AWARE. As long as you’re mindful of temperature and time, you’ll be fine. This isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it type of deal, though.

As for sides, we’re doing some herby mashed potatoes, some peas and carrots (they don’t REALLY go together, but it’s fun to do) and we’ll mustard glaze and breadcrumb the rack. Let’s hit it!

Springtime Rack of Lamb

Ingredients:

• 1 rack of lamb, at room temperature, pat dry with paper towels
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 3-4 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, rough chopped and covered in cold water
• 2 bay leaves
• 118mL (1/2 cup) whole milk
• 142g (5oz.) butter
• Ground nutmeg, as desired
• 30mL (2 tbsp) Dijon mustard
• 15mL (1 tbsp) honey
• 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves only, roughly chopped
• 3-4 sprigs thyme, leaves only, roughly chopped
• 75g (3/4 cup) breadcrumbs
• Extra virgin olive oil, as needed
• 1 shallot, peeled and finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3-4 medium carrots, peeled and oblique cut
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Chicken stock, as needed
• 134g (1 cup) frozen peas, thawed
• 4-5 sprigs mint, leaves only, chiffounade
• 5-6 sprigs Italian parsley, leaves only, chiffounade

Method:

1. Using a sharp knife, score a crosshatch pattern into the fatcap on the back of the rack. This will help it to render. Season the rack all over with salt and set aside on a plate.
2. Drain the potatoes and put them in a medium sized pot. Add 2-3 large pinches of salt and the two bay leaves. Cover with cold water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Allow to cook until fully tender, about 10-12 minutes after reaching a simmer.
3. Meanwhile, set a rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat to 425°F.
4. Drain the potatoes once cooked, and return them to the pot to steam off excess moisture. Mash using a potato masher or ricer in the pot. Add the milk and 4oz. of the butter, mixing gently until a smooth mash has formed. If you desire a looser mash, add more butter and milk. Season to taste with salt and nutmeg, cover the pot and leave over the lowest heat on a back burner.
5. Heat a film of canola oil in large, heavy bottomed cast iron pan or skillet over high heat. Pat the rack of lamb dry again and season all over with kosher salt. Once the oil is hot and just beginning to smoke, add the lamb, fat side down. Sear for 1-1 ½ minutes, then turn and sear the meat side 30 seconds to one minute. Remove the lamb from the pan and set aside on a plate. Allow the rendered lamb fat to cool, and save it if you want.
6. Mix the Dijon and honey with a pinch of chopped rosemary and thyme. Brush this mixture all over the lamb. Mix the breadcrumbs with just enough olive oil so they’re moistened, then using your hands, adhere the crumbs to the meat.
7. Place the crumbed lamb on a meat rack set over a baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes for medium rare. Allow the lamb to rest on a cutting board for at least 20 minutes before carving.
8. As the lamb roasts, heat a film of olive oil in a medium sized sauce pan over medium low heat. Add the shallot and garlic, cook until softened and translucent, 3-4 minutes. Add the carrots, a big pinch of salt, black pepper and the remaining rosemary and thyme. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add enough chicken stock to halfway cover the carrots and the remaining butter. Continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring often to reduce the stock and butter to a glaze.
9. Add the peas to the carrots 2-3 minutes before serving, just to warm through. Add half the mint to the peas and carrots. Mix the remaining mint and parsley into the mashed potatoes and stir in to combine evenly.
10. Slice the rack into two 4-bone portions. Slice again, or if desired, separate each bone. Drizzle the meat with olive oil and a pinch of salt for each chop. Serve with mashed potatoes, peas and carrots.

Okay, that’s by no means an easy one, but it’s springtime on a plate if you asked me! Sure, the carrots are a bit out of season, but you could always just replace them with some peeled and blanched asparagus or some sautéed morels.

Are you gonna try this method for the king of lamb cuts? Lemme know how it works out for you in the comments below or via email! And remember, don’t be afraid of the rack, just be mindful! Ciao for now, friends!