Roasted Rack of Lamb Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Should I sear my rack of lamb before roasting? ›

Sear your lamb for about 5 minutes or until your begin to see your desired crust and caramelization forming on the fat, then flip your rack. Place your skillet in the oven and roast until your lamb reaches at least 160 degrees for medium.

A high-heated oven (450 degrees F) is recommended for roast lamb rack. And it will take somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes to cook. This part of the lamb is typically served pink--rare (internal temperature of 125 degrees F) or medium-rare (internal temperature 135 degrees F).

For the perfect roast lamb, we recommend seasoning the surface of the meat, and then searing it, especially fat side down in a pan before roasting. Why bother with searing? Contrary to some stories, searing is less about locking in moisture, and all about improving the flavour!

Season lamb racks with salt and pepper and rub garlic-rosemary oil all over them. Set racks fat-side up on a large rimmed baking sheet and let stand for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 450°F. Roast lamb in upper third of oven for 15 minutes. Turn racks and roast for 10 minutes longer for medium-rare meat.

Cook the lamb.

Arrange the lamb with the ribs pointing down. Cook for 15 minutes at 450ºF, then flip over and cook for another 10 minutes until the lamb has an internal temperature of 130ºF.

Washing beef, pork, lamb, or veal before cooking it is not recommended. Bacteria in raw meat and poultry juices can be spread to other foods, utensils, and surfaces. We call this cross-contamination. Some consumers think they are removing bacteria and making their meat or poultry safe.

You want to cover the lamb leg during most of the cooking in order to preserve the tender juicy meat. A leg is not a fatty part of the animal. The easiest way to do this is to cover your dish with another baking dish. If you don't have one that fits, tent the meat with foil.

Whether boneless or bone-in, the perfect leg of lamb should be either oven-roasted until blushing pink on the inside (with an internal temp around 130°F) or roasted long and slow for several hours until the meat is very tender and falls apart to internal temp around 175°F (I often use the slow cooker for that).

For Easy Entertaining, Season Ahead

You can season the meat 1 to 3 days before roasting. Keep it in an airtight zip-top bag in the fridge until showtime. Just be sure to bring it out 1 1/2 to 2 hours before roasting. You want it to reach room temperature for even cooking.

What happens if you don't sear a roast before cooking? ›

It's not really necessary to sear your roast before cooking, but caramelizing the surface gives the cut an incredible depth of flavor, enhanced with the complex layers of nutty caramel and coffee-like bitterness that meat-lovers find delicious.

Lower temp = more succulent meat – Tough cuts like lamb shoulder need slow-cooking to tenderise them. The lower the roasting temperature, the less total moisture evaporation and thus juicier meat.

Fattier cuts of lamb should be roasted long and slow at a low temperature, while leaner cuts of meat should be cooked at a high temperature for the first several minutes and then at a lower temperature the rest of the time. Braising is a popular technique for cooking less-tender cuts of lamb.

The leg and rack of lamb are perfect for herb-crusting and oven-roasting; since the shank and shoulder are a bit tougher, they fare well in stews or braises—the long cook time allows them to significantly break down and become fork-tender.

A rare, or pink, lamb chop that has been seared well on the outside should be fine because any bacteria on the outer surface will have been killed by the heat. But minced or diced lamb or mutton should never be served pink. It needs to be thoroughly cooked and browned. The same goes for burgers.

It's not really necessary to sear your roast before cooking, but caramelizing the surface gives the cut an incredible depth of flavor, enhanced with the complex layers of nutty caramel and coffee-like bitterness that meat-lovers find delicious.

I sear these sides to add those char flavors all around the lamb ribs and too ensure I have more of a medium-well to well-done level of doneness without drying them out too much by cooking longer in the oven. This searing part should only take about 1-2 minutes per side or less. Now you are done!

Browning the meat doesn't take long and has some advantages, including a good looking, caramelised surface and richer coloured dish. It can also give a deeper flavour, and some say a better texture.

We recommend first searing lamb chops on a hot cast iron for 1 minute per side then finish in a pre-heated oven set to 350 °F.