There are moments in life that you just need to share with others, quickly. I have been cooking racks of lamb for decades. And on an often basis - hundreds of them. No utensils needed, single bites of evidence of a higher life form in existence. 

Last night was that moment. And I can offer several witnesses if so desired including my wife: “Best Ever”, “Restaurant Grade, actually better”.

So now that I have completely blown managing expectations, here goes.   

Racks of Lamb. 

I get mine from Costco. 

A minimum of 2lbs per rack if possible. 

I usually cook 4 racks at a time, minimum.

I vacuum seal what we don’t eat 

And freeze them. 

Ready to sous vide them whenever. Tastes like just made.

Grass vs. Grain fed.

I MUCH prefer grain fed racks of lamb. 

Far less gamey to my palette.

Australian racks of lamb tend to be completely grass fed.

American racks of lamb tend to be grass fed and then the last several months or so they switched to grain feed. 

Feel free to do your own taste testing. 

I stay far away from completely grass fed animals.

Preparing the racks of lamb.

Very simple. 

You don’t have to do anything if you do not want to.

I tend to clean it up a little.

Take excess fat off and the silverskin.

This allows for more surface area for the seasoning to set into.

That said, I am not obsessively compulsive about it.

Pre Cooking Marinade

Depending on how many racks you are going to cook, change the amounts accordingly:

I put 4 racks in a 2 gallon zip lock bag.

And I did it by eye, so these are approximations. You will get the gist of ratios though:

Olive Oil - .5 to .75 cup

Balsamic Vinegar - .5 to .75 cup

Garlic Powder - 2 to 3 tablespoons

Honey - 2 to 3 tablespoons

Salt - 1 teaspoon at the most

Black Pepper - 1 teaspoon at the most

Herbs de Provence - 1 tablespoon 

Put the racks in, meat side down towards the bottom of the bag, shake it around, seal the bag and take out as much of the air as you can.

Let it sit for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator, overnight is great.

Make sure to shake and rotate the bag every now and then.

The Cook

I used my Weber charcoal grill.

Feel free to use any cooking device you have available.

The only requirement is you need to be able to slow cook it with indirect heat or bake it and then sear or broil it.

Take the racks of lamb out of the fridge 30 to 60 minutes Before cooking them. 

Feel free to gently season them. 

Be CAREFUL of adding salt.

See below for what I did

Two Zone Cooking

I put charcoal in a basket on one side of the grill, and kept the other side void of charcoal. A hot zone and a “cold” zone. I put the lid cover with the vent over the cold side forcing the hot air to circulate over the cold side and the food.

If you are using an oven, bake at 350 degrees until the internal temperature is 123-125 degrees and then take them out to rest for 20-30 minutes.

I added some maple and cherry wood chunks to the charcoal

You be you. I would stay away from strong woods such as hickory and more towards the sweeter, lighter, fruitier woods.

Either way, Charcoal is the best heat source, almost always for any protein.

Seasoning 

I strongly believe in creating levels of seasoning.

Hence the pre-cook marinating. That is step one here.

Step two had two parts for me:

Part A - Lightly apply and pat in Suckle Busters SPG Rub (also some sugar in there)

Then apply more liberally and pat in

Part B: Suckle Busters Sugar Daddy

I put the rack in the Weber, meat side down with the bones resting on each other like a teepee. Covered it and waited until…..

123-125 degrees 

For medium rare, take them off the heat at that point and let them rest for at least 20 minutes. 

The carry over cooking will take them to around 130 degrees

Searing Time

Build up your fire.

Add more charcoal.

Turn up the heat or turn on the broiler.

Ripping hot.

When I cannot hold my hand above the grill grates for more than one second is when I know we are good to go.

While you are getting your heat source prepared and letting the racks rest, make your searing marinade.

The 4th level of flavor here. 

If you are using charcoal, and smoking wood you are getting closer to double digits of levels of flavor. 

Searing (and Serving/Dipping) Marinade

This marinade is so good, I need to work on an intravenous form.

It made heart bursts with joy and cranial nerves explode with excitement.

Apricot Preserves - 1 jar

Balsamic vinegar - 1 tablespoon

Hot Water - 2 tablespoons

Salt - .5 teaspoon

Black Pepper - .5 teaspoon

Mix it all together and brush it on the rack of lambs.

Then sear the rack of lamb.

All sides.

20-30 seconds and flip, and flip, and flip until you get that gorgeous color of caramelization. The smell is ridiculous too. 

When it's done, give it another gentle coat of the marinade and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Then slice and serve, with the marinade close by.

You can do the same thing in the oven using the broil function. Make sure to not let it get too close to the broiler itself. Keep the oven door open and keep a close eye on it. You can always add more sear, you can never remove too much of it.

It sounds like a lot of work. I did not think it was.

It is a quick, easy cook which is great.

About 40-45 minutes to get it to 123/125 degrees.

20 minutes to build the charcoal bed up to blistering hot (during which time the racks had to rest anyway)

2-4 minutes of searing action.

Just overall Game Changing for me. A rare event.

Let me know what you think,

Wishes for a great day,

Hugs and love to all,

David/