Easter - Rack of Lamb
Instead of doing a leg of lamb, I figured I'd up my butchering skills and french a rack of lamb myself.
The Process
Ingredients
- 6 Bone Rack of Lamb
- Kosher Salt
- Beef / Veal or Lamb Stock
- Wood Chips (I used Hickory)
Cookware
- 12" Cast Iron Skillet
- Creme Brulee torch or similar. If you have a smoker, you can skip this and just use your smoker.
Cooking Instructions
Lamb
- render lamb fat cap over low heat in cast iron. strain and save the fat to brush on at the end.
- Vacuum seal the lamb and the marinade and sous vide lamb for 1hr @ 63ºC
- Remove from bag and pat dry.
- Season lamb lightly with kosher salt
- If you have a smoker, you can make use of it here. I did my smoking on the grill the bootleg way. I made a bowl out of tinfoil and put the hickory chips in there, I got the grill up to temperature so it was ready. Put the foil bow on the grill and ignite the chips with a torch. You'll have to keep burning them until they 'cherry' and begin to glow. Once that happens put your lamb on the grill, fat side down, and close the top. The chips should be smoking.
- After a minute, check to see how the charring looks. Feel free to roll it around by holding the bones so that the front rounded edges get charred too.
- Once it is charred, you can lower the grill to low and let it smoke for 3-5 minutes. We're not going for a smoked piece of meat here. We just want some 'essence'. But the flavors are up to you, so if you want more, go for it.
- Transfer the cooked lamb to a rack and set aside
- brush with liquefied fat just before serving.
Finishing
Lamb
- To finish the lamb, you can warm it up in a 350 degree oven if needed. Again, don't cook it, just warm it through.
- Taking a knife, keep it flush against the inside of the bone and slice downward. Once you get to the bottom third of the rack, you're going to run into the bone. Using your other hand, push the bottom third of the meat towards your knife so that it pushes the bone out of the way. Repeat for each rib.
- Take the fat that you rendered, and with a basting brush, brush the side of the lamb where the meat is visible.
- Sprinkle with some sel gris just before serving
The Finished Dish
Sean Falcon