Needing inspiration: Rack of Lamb

I have a rack in the fridge and am going to make it tonight, but want to try something a little different.
Usually, I sear it off, slather with Dijon mustard, and top with breadcrumbs that have been tossed with EVOO, salt and lots of black pepper, fresh rosemary and a good bit of minced garlic.

Any ideas for me? I did a search in the FLDG RCPs file, but not much came up. I'd love to try Jenise's goba masala recipe, but Len's a little picky about different spices. Do I recall seeing someone's pistacio crusted lamb rack? Jenise's (again!) maybe?

I need to go to the grocery store today, so don't let non-staple ingredients hinder yor suggestions.

Thanks!

We like to spit roast them, basting with an EVOO, mint, garlic mixture.

crust with olive tapenade for something different

No smoker ? I love to smoke this meat but not everyone has the time and equip.

But here's a fast version, the basalmic vinegar is really a surprise element.

Prep Time: 15 minutes, plus one hour staging
Cook Time: as desired and grill-dependent

lamb ribs, rack (non Frenched)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon hot paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Place lamb in a deep nonreactive baking dish. Combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, rosemary, honey, mustard, oregano, salt and pepper and work into the rack. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Preheat grill to medium. Tie and grill meat on rotisserie, cook leaving short of med-rare. Test for progress to doneness manually in thickest, meatiest side.

Jeff, this sounds great. No smoker here in NC. (We have a BGE in CA.)
I also don't have the rotisserie hooked up to our grill here. Do you think it would work if I just cooked it on the top rack of the grill? I do chicken up there a lot...

Sure, I would just turn it a few times to keep the heat accumulation even. Good luck !

My younger brother (now living in NC) tells me that smokers seem de rigueur in NC, and that he's had a lot of great bbq out as well. I'll be heading that way over the holidays to check this all out.

Similar to your staple, but a touch different....

From the old FLDG...

Topic: RC: Rack of Lamb with Rosemary Scallion Crust
Author: Traci
Date: Mon Aug 13 16:31:08 2001
I really can''t take the credit on this one. Andrew prepared this for dinner on Saturday night and it was so good!

It''s an old Gourmet recipe that he found and wanted to try.

1 1/2 tablespoons OO
1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
1 garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons thinly sliced scallion (including the green part)
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 (1 1/4 pound) trimmed and frenched rack of lamb (7 or 8 ribs)
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup mustard

Preheat oven to 475F.


In a small skillet heat the oil over moderate heat until it is hot but not smoking, add the red pepper flakes, and cook them, stirring, for 10 seconds. Add the garlic and cook it, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the scallion and the rosemary and cook the mixture, stirring, for 10 seconds. Stir in the bread crumbs and salt and pepper, to tase, and remove the skillet from the heat.

Mix the mayo and mustard in a small bowl, set aside.

Heat an ovenproof skillet over moderately high heat until it is hot and in it brown the lamb, seasoned with salt and pepper, turning it for 5 minutes, or until the sides and the ends are browned evenly. Pour off any fat from the skillet, arrange the lamb, fat and meat side up, brush with mayo-mustard mixture. Then pat the crumb mixture evenly on the fat and meat side. Bake the lamb in the oven for 15 minutes, or until a meat thermometer registers 130F degrees for medium-rare meat. Transfer the lamb to a platter, let it stand, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Notes: We did not use all the mayo/mustard mixture. It could probably be reduced.

We served the lamb on a bed of gorgonzola risotto with a side of simple sauteed spinach and then drizzled the plate with a Syrah reduction sauce. Our plates were gorgeous and the food was delicious! The dinner was only made better by the wine...a ''98 Gigondas "Oratorio". I believe this wine is made by a negociant? I was a little worried about how the mustard would do with the wine but it worked.

What a great welcome home after my 3-day trip!

Sure, I would just turn it a few times to keep the heat accumulation even. Good luck !

My younger brother (now living in NC) tells me that smokers seem de rigueur in NC, and that he's had a lot of great bbq out as well. I'll be heading that way over the holidays to check this all out.

It's marinating as we speak. I'll let you know how it comes out.

Yes, you are right. There is a smoker on every deck it seems. At the beginning of last summer when we got here, we said we were going to get one right away. The guy who owns Primo (ceramic smokers) apparently lives in our neighborhood and that's what everyone has here. But now TWO summers have gotten away from us and we still have no smoker on our deck. Maybe next year...we head back to CA a week from today. Where are you in SoCA?

Ironically, we don't have much good barbecue in our area of NC. I'm really bummed about it too, because I'm a nut for it. We did find a place that is in the boonies, about 20 minutes from here called "The Pik - in Pig." It's great--lots of character (and probably characters). They only have ribs on Saturday nights, and you have to call ahead and reserve your order! We didn't know that when we went, but the pulled pork was pretty darned good.

Sorry this is late. Here's a couple of related ideas.

Coat with a Mexican mole (homemade is best) and roast.
Similar, use a SW seasoning rub.

I'm with John: slather on the olive paste.

Thanks everyone for the great ideas. I'll keep them for future.
The night before I had made grilled grouper with a sauce of mostly olives, with some onion, tomato, white wine and butter. So although the olive tepanade sounds like a great coating for lamb, I'll save that for another time.

I marinated the lamb with Jeff Dudley's recipe. It was delicious despite me almost ruining the whole thing. I set all four burners of grill on high, getting it nice and hot, then turned them all down to low and set the rack of lamb fat side up on the top tier of the grate. It stayed there about 10 minutes. I went back out out, turned the middle two burners off, then flipped the rack over to get some browning on the other side. After about 3 minutes I looked out the window and saw lots of smoke. I ran to the grill and the beautiful rack of lamb was on fire. I knew with the honey, plus the fat of the top side of the lamb, the tendancy would be for it to flame, which is why I turned the burners underneath it OFF. What happened though, was the flames from the outside burners lept to the middle to reach the dripping fat. Yikes. I knew it hadn't cooked long enough to get to "warm red center," so I just turned the whole grill off and let the rack sit inside for it to "bake" the rest of the way. Well, it worked. I took it off to rest after about 15 more minutes, and covered it with foil while my garlic roasted potatoes (with a hint of truffle oil--an idea I swiped from Karen's potato thread) finished cooking.

When I cut through the meat it was absolutely perfect. Beautiful dark rose color. The outside didn't really taste burned and even retained a lot of the good marinade flavor. Ironically Len said this was the most tender rack of lamb he'd ever had!

What a great welcome home after my 3-day trip!

Traci, you are a lucky woman!

Whew, I was getting a little worried as I read, but am happy the lamb coasted-home to turn out well. The honey does make it important to keep the heat some distance away, but you managed to improvise quite well.

Is this what they call sear luck ?