coach tawnee

Lamb is a weekly staple in our house. Rarely a week goes by without some cut of lamb for dinner, and by far my favorite is a nice rack of lamb, which is also super easy to prepare as you’ll see! (Second favorite cut of lamb is saratoga lamb steaks, mmm.) We get grassfed lamb from with Whole Foods, our farmers market or even Trader Joe’s, who surprisingly has great grassfed lamb steaks often. Usually store-bought grassfed lamb comes from New Zealand, which has its pros and cons but we can only control so much, right?

Btw, for the rub, you can totally eyeball all the seasonings and herbs and even the olive oil for that matter. Doesn’t have to be a perfect science here. Just a little of this and that.

Directions

• Prep:
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees, rack in middle of oven.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together seasonings/herbs with olive oil for the rub, except the rosemary. Eyeball it on amounts—about 1/2 tsp. to 1 tsp. each or so, doesn’t have to be perfect).
• Brown the lamb:
  • Rinse and pat the lamb racks dry with paper towels and rub meat all over with pink salt and pepper.
  • Heat a large pan to moderately high heat (enough for a sizzle / moderate sear). Add avo oil or ghee to pan.
  • One at a time, brown the front and back sides (not ends) of each rack, about 1-2 minutes per side.
• Add rub: 
  • Transfer racks to a roasting pan (such as 13- by 9-inch). Set the racks upright; bones sticking up.
  • Rub meaty parts of lamb with oil-herb mixture, pressing hard. Lay a rosemary sprig or two onto each rack horizontally.
    • I’m fine with using olive oil at oven temps of 350 degrees F.
• Oven-roast lamb:
  • 15 minutes at 350 degrees F, uncovered.
  • Briefly remove from oven and cover lamb loosely with a big piece of foil (form a tent shape).
  • Put back in oven.
  • 10 minutes at 350, or until thermometer inserted diagonally into center of meat registers 130-140°F.
    • If you’re cautious with meat temps, I’ve seen the temp rise to 150+ while in the oven, and it still turns out delicious, but keep in mind the temp will also increase more while the lamb sits after coming out of the oven.
  • Remove from oven.
  • Let sit for 5-10 minutes, covered in marinade/juices. (Internal temperature will rise more during this time.)
  • Transfer to serving dish, drizzle over remaining herb-coating from roasting pan (optional), slice into individual pieces and serve.
• Make it a meal:
  • Goes great with creamy roasted butternut squash, and grilled veggies such as zucchini, pepper, onion, and mushroom.