Having a weeknight off is a rarity, and now that sports are ramping back up, being home the same night as B will be a bigger challenge. We took advantage of a Wednesday night in, instead of running out to one of our usual places (which we’ve been doing too much in my book).
The last time I wanted to actually cook dinner — like chop, sear, roast, etc. — the grocery store didn’t have what I was looking for: a rack of lamb. We settled that night for something that I’ve now forgotten. Yesterday, after breakfast at our neighborhood diner, he left for work and I went for the weekly shop, hoping this time they’d have a rack of lamb.
They did.
I’d had over cooked lamb chops in a restaurant a few weeks ago. I needed to right the wrong. A weeknight, herb crusted rack did just that. It sounds complex for Hump Day, but even if I worked a 9 to 5, Monday through Friday job, this wouldn’t have been too hard. We were done eating by 8:30 amazingly, especially considering at 6 I started a batch of cookie dough before making dinner.
To ensure a perfectly done piece of meat, it is incredibly important to pay attention to weights, times and temperature. A little math will go a long way. I was using this recipe from Epicurious and Bon Appétit, but as I’ve found with other recipes, the grocery store cuts are much smaller than whoever the recipe writer’s supplier is. This time, I lucked out and my cut was a lot closer to those written so my times were pretty close. (General common season should lead one to reduce the length of cooking if the weight of meat is less than specified in the recipe.)
The herb-crusting — Dijon mustard, dill, parsley, garlic, cumin — was a great compliment to the flavor of the lamb. After pulling the rack from the cast iron skillet and draining off most of the fat that had rendered out, I made a pan sauce to finish off the meat. Roasted carrots and potatoes with steamed garlic peas finished the plate. Safe to say there were no leftovers (alright, a serving of veggies).
Herb crusted rack of lamb with pan sauce (adapted from Epicurious and Bon Appétit)
- rack of lamb, ~1lb
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
- 1/2 cup chopped flat parsley
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill (+ 1 tbsp for pan sauce)
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1 tbsp
- 1 tbsp butter
- salt and pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Score the fat cap on the top of the lamb with a 1-inch crosshatch, this will help keep the rack from curling up while cooking. Season with salt and pepper. Chop fresh herbs.
Lamb prep, crosshatch
Set a cast iron pan over medium-high heat with a tablespoon of olive oil in it. In a small bowl, mix remaining oil, mustard, dill (reserve 1 tbsp), parsley, cumin and garlic. Taste and season to preference with salt and pepper.
Once pan is hot, roll oil around to coat bottom. Place lamb in pan, fat side down and let sear, 3-4 minutes. Flip and do the same. Use tongs to hold the lamb to sear both ends. Once golden brown all around, situate lamb in pan with fat cup up and cover with mustard-herb mixture.
Take a temperature reading from the middle of the rack BEFORE putting it in the oven, make sure the thermometer isn’t touching bone (ever! This will always be a higher reading). The searing should have only cooked the outside, looking for the internal temperature to still be room temp, 70-75 degrees. Any higher and take a minute or two off the initial cooking time. Place in oven and check after 12 minutes. Should need another 5 minutes, but best to check early because you can add time, but not take away. Total cooking time should be 17 minutes for rare (125˙ internally), 20 minutes for medium (135-140˙), 23 for well done (150˙ never!), but once again, depends on total weight. A meatier rack will need a few extra minutes.
Once cooked to personal preference, let rest on a cutting board under a foil tent. Drain 3/4 of the fat/juices from the pan, place of medium heat. Add white wine and chicken stock and scrap up the few brown bit and let simmer 2 minutes. Add mustard and stir to combined — it’ll take a few minutes to break down and melt in. Once the mustard has melted in, add butter. Taste for salt (shouldn’t need much of any) and pepper. Add saved dill and reduce to low and simmer until ready to plate.
Cut rack of lamb into single or double chops, serve with side dishes of preference and spoon pan sauce over lamb. Enjoy!
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