Rack of Lamb

Rack of lamb, roasted potatoes, a pepper sauce and arugula cooked by Jared Arave and photographed by Arlie Sommer.

Rack of lamb is a prime piece of meat, celebrated and prepared by chefs and served at Michelin Star restaurants around the world. Thus cooking a rack of lamb can be intimidating even for us. Fear not, the recipe below takes you through the process step-by-step.

Purple Sage racks range in size from 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 lbs. and have 8 ribs. Generally, one rack can serve 2-4 people.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4-1 3/4 lb rack of lamb

2-3 garlic cloves minced

2 T olive oil

1/2 t salt

1/4 t fresh ground pepper

2 oz fresh rosemary, thyme or oregano or

2 T of dried crushed rosemary, thyme or oregano

Notes: Any of the aromatic herbs such as rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, tarragon, mint or marjoram, or a mixture of several herbs, can be used to vary the flavor.

DIRECTIONS

Step 1

Remove lamb from the package, lay on a raised rack, removing the meat from its juices. Refrigerate for one or two days, to dry-age the meat.

Step 2

In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, minced garlic, crushed herbs, salt and pepper. Spoon and rub the mixture over the meat.

Step 3

Place the meat fat side down on a rack or parchment paper in a shallow roasting pan in an oven preheated to 425 degrees. Roast for 15 minutes.

Step 4

Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Remove the rack from the oven invert and brush with the remaining olive oil, garlic and herb mixture. Place the lamb rack back in the oven and continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 140 degrees (for medium rare) about 10-12 minutes.

Step 5

As a final step to brown, place the racks, fat side up in the oven about 8 inches from the broiler for about 5 minutes. Watch carefully and remove sooner as needed.

Step 6

Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before carving.