Rack of Lamb is always a great treat when you go out for dinner. However, it is somewhat easy to make it at home and well worth the effort. In 2010, I posted my original recipe for this disk. Today, on the Food Network, Marcela Valladolid provided a great compote to serve with her Rack of Lamb. I think it would be great alternative to using my original Demi-Glace sauce. So, here goes a great set of recipes for a truly wonderful rack of lamb dinner. This receipe serves 4 people. One word of caution, rack of lamb is best served rare to medium-rare. Therefore, for those folks who like medium to medium-well, give them the end chops from the rack. Do not nuke or over cook the other portions of the rack to satisfy one of your guests.
Ingredients
Basic
- Two packages of Frenched Rack of Lamb (eight chops per rack).
- 10 to 15 medium sized Red Potatoes.
- 1 modest sized package (enough fo 4 people) of French Green Beans.
Lamb Rub (mine)
- 1 Teas. Finely Minced Shallots.
- 1 Teas. Chopped Fresh Thyme.
- 1 Teas. Chopped Fresh Rosemary.
- Salt and groud Black Pepper to taste (be cautious about the amount of salt).
- Blend in a small foodprocessor.
Demi-Glace Sauce (mine)
- 1/2 cup of good red wine.
- 1/2 cup of good chicken stock.
- 1/2 cup good quality Demi Glace de Boeuf (William Sonoma has a great one for $30 per 10.5 oz. jar).
- 1 TB Dijon Mustard.
- 2 TB Butter added to smooth and enrich sauce.
Lamb rub (Marcela's)
- 2 Tbsp. ground whole Black peppercorns
- 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint
- 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh Rosemary
- 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh Sage
- 2 Teas. chopped fresh Oregano
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup Olive Oil
- Pinch of Kosher Salt
Apple-Mint Complote (Marcela's)
- ½ Cup Brown Sugar
- 1 Tbsp. Light Corn Syrup
- 1 Granny Smith Apple, diced into ¼ inch cubes.
- ¼ Cup frimly packed fresh Mint leaves
- 1 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
- Kosher Salt
- 2 TB to 3 TB Herbes de Provence.
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
- Salt and Pepper to taste.
French Green Bean Sauce
- 2 TB Unsalted Butter.
- 1/2 TB Garlic Salt.
Procedure
Herbes de Provence Potatoes
- Wash Red Potatoes in cold water.
- Quarter potatoes if medium sized. Cut into smaller pieces if the potatoes are large.
- In a bowl, incorporate extra virgin olive oil and herbes de provence and salt and pepper to taste.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Spread out potatoes with herb marinade onto a baking pan and cook for about 20 minutes. Check after 20 minutes to see if the potatoes are done. If so, remove from oven and cover with foil.
French Green Beans
- Incorporate 2 TB butter and 1/2 TB garlic salt in a sauté pan.
- Sauté mixture for about 5 minutes under low-low heat. Do not burn the butter, and then rest off heat while beans are cooking. Do not let the sauce firm up. Keep warm near stove top.
- Ideally, using a pot insert type vegetable steamer, stream beans in chicken stock (about 3/4 to 1 inch of stock in pan do not fully cover beans with stock) for about 15-20 minutes. Check often for doneness. Cook until Al Dente. Do not over cook. drain beans and put into serving bowl.
- Add butter sauce, toss and serve immediately.
Rack of Lamb
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Season the top of the racks with pepper only. Do not salt as the rub has enough salt.
- In a sauce pan, sear each rack for 1 minute and 30 seconds on each surface. That is, starting with the top fat side down, sear, then using a tong, sear each of the ends of the rack, and finally, sear with the bone side down. Once seared, set each rack aside to rest uncovered for about 2 minutes.
- Put the racks in a shallow roasting pan large enough to fit all of the racks with the bone side down (top fat side up).
- Using either my original or Marcela's rub - work in rub into top surface of lamb only.
- Bake in oven at 450 degrees until internal temperatue is 125 degrees for rare (about 20 minutes), but check at 15 minutes or slightly more often - do not over cook, 130 degrees for medium-rare or 140 degress for medium. The meat will continue to cook while it rests, so be very careful not to over cook above the temperatures noted above.
- Use an instant thermometer to test internal temperature.
Lamb Demi-Glace Sauce
- Overview of procedure: While lamb is resting prepare sauce. If the roasting pan works well for creating sauce, use it. If it is too large or wide to adequately prepare sauce, then transfer the "pan bits" after you have deglazed with wine and chicken stock to a smaller sauté pan.
- Pour off oils and grease from roasting pan before deglazing pan.
- Deglaze pan using red wine and chicken stock. (Transfer to smaller pan if warranted).
- Add 1/2 cup Demi Glace de Boeuf to taste.
- Add Dijon mustard and incorporate into sauce.
- Bring to slow simmer.
- Add 2TB butter to smooth and enrich sauce.
- Add salt and black pepper to taste.
Marcela's Apple_mint Compote
- Put the sugar, corn syrup and ½ cup waterin a medium heavy pot and bring to a boil. Add the apple and cook until thickened about 10 minutes.
- Add the mint and vinegar and stir to combine.
- Season with salt to taste
Serve Lamb
- Slice racks into individual chops.
- Serve 4 chops per person.
- Using my Demi-Glace - Using a spoon, pour a liberal amount of sauce over the chops.
- Using Marcels's Apple Mint compote - Serve the compote on top of the chops.
- Serve immediately with other side dishes (see below for preparation and serving).
Serving Instructions
- While we often use a sideboard for serving at the Dowden home, I would pass on that for this meal. Watch your timing and cook everything so that all of the food is ready at the same time. You can cook the potatoes first, and while doing that cook the grean beans and the rack of lamb. While the lamb is resting prepare the sauce. Put 4 chops on each plate, add the potatoes and beans and pour the reduction sauce over the lamb. Take any remaining lamb reduction sauce to the table in a serving vessel with ladel.
- If you serve a salad, I would recommend serving it in the French style after the main course.
- Finish the meal with a serving of a light fruit sorbet. I like rasberry or lemon.
Bon Appetit!
Dan Souza, executive editor of Cook's Science at America's Test Kitchen, provided this recipe. Gochu-jang or red chili paste is a savory, spicy, and pungent fermented Forean condiment made from red Chili, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans, and salt. These wings are double fried to make sure they end up really crispy. Enjoy.