Traditional Rack of Lamb
Ingredients
Meat
- 2 racks of lamb french cut
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Sauce
- 1 cup red wine
- 2 cups chicken stock dark and rich if you have it
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 bouquet garni sprigs of parsley, thyme and bayleaf tied together
Coating
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme chopped, fresh
- 1/2 teaspoon rosemary chopped, fresh
- 3 tablespoons bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons mustard dijon if you have it
Instructions
Brown the meat
- Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
- Season the lamb with salt and pepper.
- Put the racks in the skillet with the fat side down. Sear all sides until they are all brown. About 5 to 10 minutes.
- Remove the racks from the skillet and set them aside.
Sauce
- Drain the fat from the skillet and put it over medium-high heat.
- Stir the wine in with a wooden spoon. Be sure to scrape all the delicious nibbly-bits into the wine.
- Reduce the wine to about half of its original volume.
- Add the chicken stock and garlic and stir.
- Throw in the bouquet garni.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and then set it to simmer.
- Reduce the sauce until it is about half, then strain it into a small saucepan.
Coating and roasting
- Pre-heat the oven to 375 ºF.
- Using a small bowl, mix the breadcrumbs with the thyme and rosemary.
- Coat the racks (the meaty parts) with the mustard, then use your hands to press the breadcrumb mixture into the mustard for a nice thick coating.
- Either return the racks to the cast iron skilled or transfer them to a small roasting pan.
- Roast for 15 to 17 minutes. They should be medium rare, about 120 ºF when tested with a meat thermometer.
- Remove from the oven an let the racks rest for 10 minutes. Then slice into double chops and serve.