Knothead’s Birthday Spice Crusted Rack of Lamb

© 2013 REMCooks.com
© 2013 REMCooks.com

Knothead came home for his 22nd birthday and asked for rack of lamb. Doesn’t this look tasty??? It was. 🙂

Previously, I posted about how much I like lamb. I don’t fix it a lot because Baby Lady isn’t overly fond of it and doesn’t eat red meat. Knothead, on the other hand, loves lamb and wanted rack of lamb for his birthday dinner. As a loving parent, how could I refuse? My personal preference for lamb had nothing to do with it I assure you. 😉

Normally, when I fix lamb I fix loin chops because I actually like them the best. Daniel typically prefers the leg of lamb but he didn’t want a lot of leftover lamb for the duration of his trip. So, he asked for rack of lamb. We discussed doing a roast saddle of lamb but he wanted the rack. He also wanted Pommes Anna but instead of using yukon gold potatoes he wanted yukon gold and sweet potatoes.  Then he wanted Garlic Broccolini. Because it was his birthday, that’s what we did and this is how we did it.

Ingredients

  • 2 rack of lamb, frenched (approximately 4.5 lb.)
  • 2 Tbsp black peppercorns
  • 2 Tbsp coriander seed
  • 2 Tbsp cumin seed
  • 2 Tbsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp brown mustard seed
  • 2 tsp yellow mustard seed
  • 1-1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 cup red wine sauce (recipe found here)

Instruction

Toast the cumin seeds, peppercorns and coriander seeds in a skillet over medium heat until they are fragrant.

© 2013 REMCooks.com
© 2013 REMCooks.com

Remove from fire, allow to cool, place in a spice mill and mill to a coarse consistency.

© 2013 REMCooks.com
© 2013 REMCooks.com

Mill red and yellow mustard seeds to a fine consistency.

© 2013 REMCooks.com
© 2013 REMCooks.com

Combine spices and set aside.

© 2013 REMCooks.com
© 2013 REMCooks.com

Trim and french the racks. Take the trimmings, place in a roasting pan and render.

© 2013 REMCooks.com
© 2013 REMCooks.com

Sear the racks one at a time, roughly 4 minutes each

© 2013 REMCooks.com
© 2013 REMCooks.com

Remove after searing and season with spice blend.

© 2013 REMCooks.com
© 2013 REMCooks.com

Take racks and interlace rib bones.

© 2013 REMCooks.com
© 2013 REMCooks.com

Place in a preheated 350 F oven for 15 minutes per pound or until an instant read thermometer registers 127 F.

© 2013 REMCooks.com
© 2013 REMCooks.com

Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes. This should net you a final serving temperature between 132 – 135 F, perfect medium rare. Slice the rack two ribs per slice.

© 2013 REMCooks.com
© 2013 REMCooks.com

Arrange on a plate

© 2013 REMCooks.com
© 2013 REMCooks.com

Add the accompaniments.

© 2013 REMCooks.com
© 2013 REMCooks.com

Spoon some of the red wine sauce over the top.

© 2013 REMCooks.com
© 2013 REMCooks.com

Serve & enjoy. The Birthday Boy definitely enjoyed his meal.

© 2013 REMCooks.com
© 2013 REMCooks.com

10 thoughts on “Knothead’s Birthday Spice Crusted Rack of Lamb”

  1. He lies, I wanted the lamb. The other stuff I simply said whatever you want, they were good, but lets face it they’re distractions and filler when I have a full rack and Italian cream cake.

  2. Those racks look perfectly cooked, Richard! Knothead is lucky 🙂 (Although I’m not sure I’d enjoy being called knothead 😉 ) Also like how the lamb is seared in its own fat.

    Those racks are huge btw at 4.5 lbs for two. Our lamb is usually 4 months old or less, which means smaller racks.

    A spice grinder is one of the tools I don’t have — yet 😉 We should really move to a bigger house.

    1. Hi, Stefan. Thanks for the nice compliments. When I bought the racks I was surprised to see how big they were. Typically, the racks I see and buy are about 1 to 1-1/2 lb. These were enormous but very flavorful and tender. We all had a good meal and a good time celebrating Daniel’s birthday. It was good to have him home. 🙂

  3. Those racks looked like they were cooked to perfection, Richard, and I don’t care whose idea the sides were. They both sound great to me, especially the broccolini, a personal favorite.

    1. Thanks, John. The meal was wonderful. We fixed Baby Lady a piece of halibut since she doesn’t eat red meat and she agrees with you on the broccolini. To her, that was the best part of the meal.

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