Mustard-coated Rack of Lamb

I recently bought a rack of lamb because it was on sale, without thinking deeply on how I wanted to cook it.  All I thought was that I could cook it on the weekend.  In the past, I’ve made  rosemary/garlic/lemon-crusted rack of lamb, but this time, since I had purchased the rack of lamb as an impulse purchase rather than for a concrete cooking plan, I forgot to buy along with the lamb rosemary, parsley, or any other kind of fresh herb.  When the weekend arrived, all I had on hand in way of a herb was some herbes de provence, and I was too lazy to go out shopping.  And so I just made up a simple mustard marinade with ingredients I had lying around in my kitchen.  The result was a very tangy and flavorful marinade that worked very nicely with the rich, gamey lamb.  The mustard and lemon cut the fattiness of the lamb, while the red onions added some texture as well as a faint sweetness.  I’m not so sure if the herbes de provence made much difference in terms of flavor, but it did add a kind of rustic quality to the appearance of the mustard crust.  David was a fan of this simple marinade, and so I think I might make it again in the future!

MUSTARD-COATED RACK OF LAMB

• 1 rack of lamb, frenched

MARINADE

• 1/2 cup mustard (I like stone ground)
• 1/2 small red onion, chopped finely
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• Zest of one lemon
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tbsp Herbes de Provence
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Season the rack lightly with salt and pepper on both sides.

Mix together the ingredients for the marinade.  Using half of the marinade, coat the rack of lamb on both sides.  Keep the remaining half of the marinade for later.  Cover the rack and refrigerate for a few hours.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Take the lamb out of the fridge, and scrape off the mustard marinade (keep the scraped-off marinade to use again later).  Let it stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes.

In a skillet with a drizzle of olive oil on medium-high heat, sear the lamb on both sides — first, with the fat size down, for about 3 minutes, and then the other side for another 2 minutes.

Transfer the rack on to a roasting pan, fat side up.  Cover the rack with the remaining marinade (and also the any marinade scraped off from the lamb).

Roast in the oven until the internal temperature of the lamb reaches 125F for medium-rare, about 30 minutes.  Rest for 10 minutes.

Cut between the bones and serve.  We love sauteed, garlicky asparagus with our lamb racks.

Enjoy!

Tags: lamb