Easter dinner: rack of lamb, and a near disaster

[wilburpan]

We made a rack of lamb for Easter dinner. It was a classic preparation.

Start with a rack of lamb.

I made a rub by combining fresh chopped garlic, salt, black pepper, rosemary, thyme, and a little bit of red pepper flakes.

I made it into a paste by mashing it in a mortar and pestle. I also added a little olive oil.

I can’t emphasize how good this technique is. You’ll extract much more flavor from your herbs and aromatics with this technique compared to a food processor. And it’s way easier to clean.

I spread the paste on the fat side of the rack, and found that I didn’t make enough.

So I made more.

I put the rack in Smaug, indirect at 300ºF. I left it there until the internal temperature hit 125ºF.

Then I took out the deflector, put the searing grate in, let the fire get real hot, and direct grilled the rack along with some asparagus. Note that I put the bones over the asparagus. This was to keep them from burning, without having to go through wrapping the bones with foil.

This is the part where I had a near disaster. I tried grilling with the fat side down, and then the rosemary/thyme/garlic crust started peeling off. I managed to salvage most of it.

Here are the money shots. My wife made mashed potatoes and roasted cauliflower.

It was delicious. I actually think I could have let the IT go to 130ºF. I like beef medium rare, but I think lamb is a bit better if cooked to medium.

For next time, I could use any tips for getting the paste to stay on the fat side better.

[tinyfish]

That looks great.

How about cooking only indirect but at 425f, that should keep the crust intact.

 

[ckreef]

How about a forward sear, pull the rack, spread the paste then finish it off in the 350* range. This way you're also keeping the paste from burning. I prefer the forward sear anyway.

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Either way delicious looking meal.

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Charles - Prometheus 16.5", Cassiopeia 19" TT

[MacKenzie]

Averted disaster dinner looks extra tasty.

[kjs]

Wilbur , your lamb looks very good. I made rack of lamb as well, sorry had a big group and no time for pics. However I did the lamb sous-vide first, rubbed with a mixture of olive oil, parsley, white wine, garlic, rosemary, thyme, dry mustard, salt and pepper. To finish the lamb I seared it on a very hot, 550° grill. It came out wonderfully and everyone enjoyed it.

Edited March 31, 2016 by kjs
My daughter's boyfriend did take a photo, so I decided to update my post.

[tony b]

Wilbur, you could always diamond score the fat and rub the paste into the slits. 

Nice job anyways! 

[wilburpan]

I did score the fat a little bit, but I could have scored it a lot more than I did. I’ll make sure the score marks are deeper next time.