Best. Lamb. Ever.
We've been buying chicken, eggs, beef, and various cuts of lamb from River Cottage Farm at our favorite Farmers Market for almost a year now. It's where I got the lamb shanks for the New Years Day Garage Pot Roast a couple months ago, for example. We keep going back because it's good stuff, and I'm especially fond of their lamb.
We've never tried a rack of lamb and I had to wait a few weeks to get my hands on this one. This is something special. Not wanting to screw it up, I asked Meathead from Amazing Ribs for some advice. He suggested cutting it up into two-bone chops and marinating in his Sheep Dip before grilling. The idea is that with the smaller chops you'll get a bit of the dark crust with each bite. So that's what we did. And I'm really glad we did.
Ingredients: Rack of Lamb & Sheep Dip. |
Sheep Dip. |
You can find the Sheep Dip recipe here, along with some other good advice about grilling lamb. We added a tablespoon of fresh chopped mint leaves.
Two steps are not pictured:
- Cutting the rack into two-bone chops. Don't be intimidated -- this is very simple. Much simpler than cutting a pork rack of spare ribs into a St. Louis-style rack, for example.
- Marinating the lamp chops. I put them in a one gallon plastic bag with the Sheep Dip while I started the charcoal in the chimney starter. Meathead advices to only marinate for about 20 minutes, which is convenient because after 20 minutes the charcoal is about ready.
Action. |
They were grilled over a hot fire for 12-15 minutes and flipped often as there are really four sides to the chops when cut this way. I pulled them when the bigger chops were at 125 degrees, so the smaller chops were closer to medium than medium-well after resting for a few minutes. Perfect -- big medium chops for the adults, smaller medium-well chops for the kids.
Board Dressing. |
Adam Lang Perry's Charred & Scruffed introduced me to the board dressing concept, and this is the first time we've tried it. The idea is pretty simple and it makes sense -- after you grill the meat and while you're letting it rest, why not flip it around in some oil & herbs to enhance the flavor? Here we used some of the same ingredients used in the Sheep Dip -- olive oil, garlic, rosemary, and mint. I'll be doing this more often.
The obligatory motorcycle or Corvette pic that has nothing to do with nothing. KTM Super Duke R at the Shaker Tavern in Auburn, KY. Guess when it was built? |
Plate One. |
Bingo!
My favorite grilled meal of the year. I don't have words to describe how good this is, so you'll just have to try it yourself. If you're in this part of the country, I highly suggest getting your lamb from Debbie at our Farmers Market. While you're there, you can also stock up on beef from Steve of Dolan Farms and pork from Bill & Linda of Stoney Creek Farm. You'll be glad you did. I always am.
Plate Two. Instagram. |
There are few things I like more than lamb with mint jelly. This pic is for our friend Steve from Borderland Farms who always likes to see a little green on the plate. Or a lot. Interestingly, he produces THE best strawberries we've ever had, and they're not green.
Cheers...
Hey Rob,
ReplyDeleteeven with a freezer full of meat like this I want to move in too!!
One of the things I love most about being a farmer is a partnership like this. We raise it and you make art out of it.
Thanks so much for sharing your appreciation of our meats.
This looks amazing. Love the obligatory photo.
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