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.
Remove from fire, allow to cool, place in a spice mill and mill to a coarse consistency.
Mill red and yellow mustard seeds to a fine consistency.
Combine spices and set aside.
Trim and french the racks. Take the trimmings, place in a roasting pan and render.
Sear the racks one at a time, roughly 4 minutes each
Remove after searing and season with spice blend.
Take racks and interlace rib bones.
Place in a preheated 350 F oven for 15 minutes per pound or until an instant read thermometer registers 127 F.
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.
Arrange on a plate
Add the accompaniments.
Spoon some of the red wine sauce over the top.
Serve & enjoy. The Birthday Boy definitely enjoyed his meal.
REMCooks 
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.
Belated happy birthday wishes to you! This dinner is a great way to start off your year.
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.
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. 🙂
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.
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.
racks of lamb always look so impressive! I am sure it was delicious! Happy belated birthday, Daniel!
Thanks for the nice compliment, Andreea. 🙂 I agree that rack of lamb always makes an impressive presentation. So tasty, too. 🙂
Now, I would love a really yummy Italian Cream Cake Recipe!!! Does Knothead share? 🙂
Sadly, no. He actually ate 2/3 of the cake. 😮 I don’t make the cake (I don’t bake) but buy it at the Central Market in Plano.