Name: Baked Rack Of Lamb
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Ingredients: 1.5 lb - 2 lb Rack of lamb; 2 tablespoons Olive Oil; 2 tablespoons Rosemary chopped; 3 cloves of garlic - minced; Salt and pepper; 4 whole cloves; 2-3 sprigs Rosemary; 2 tablespoons butter; 1 cup beef stock; 1 tablespoons cornstarch + 2 tbsp water

This oven roasted rack of lamb with simple garlic, and rosemary marinade is as elegant as a holiday centerpiece can be. The lamb has a perfectly caramelized crust with juicy medium rare, deep pinkish meat. To complete it, I have also included the recipe for making a killer gravy from all the drippings.

baked rack of lamb craved into individual chops.

Rack of lamb is one of the finest cuts of lamb for good reasons. And to get the most out of this premium cut, you don’t have to put a lot of effort. For baked rack of lamb Make simple garlic herb marinade, sear it, and then bake to get juicy tender lamb with a bonus of gravy to serve.

Flavours In Your Inbox

Subscribe for recipes straight to your inbox

Honestly, we never get bored of serving a rack of lamb during easter, year after year. This is perfect to serve a crowd (you can cook 2-3 together), barely takes 30 minutes to bake and makes for a stunning showstopper for Easter table-scape or any other special occasion for that matter. If you are not used to cooking lamb, it might feel intimidating, but with a few tips and tricks, it is difficult to mess up.

Before you begin with the recipe, get your meat thermometer out. The last thing you want is to overcook such an expensive cut of meat. Because the cut of meat varies in weight and thickness, also the oven temperature isn’t always calibrated, it’s best not to do the guesswork, rather let the numbers on the thermometer decide when the lamb is ready.

Ingredients

This is probably the shortest ingredients list, almost all of them are pantry staples.

Lamb– Preferably frenched lamb rack. More on this below.
Rosemary- Fresh rosemary is a must. Dried ones are not as flavorful as fresh ones.
Garlic- We are adding minced garlic to the marinade as well as whole crushed to the basting butter.
Olive Oil- In addition to butter, Olive oil adds flavor and prevents butter from burning. Helps tenderise meat.
Butter- For basting the meat and giving it a rich taste.
Salt & Pepper- Coarse, freshly ground pepper for best flavor.

Choosing Rack Of Lamb

While you are spending a good amount of money, it’s important to know your cut of lamb. Rack of lamb is a section of lamb ribs with the loin meat attached. Often sold as a single rack constituting 8-9 ribs on each rack. By default, it has a thick layer of fat cap on top and meat still attached to the ends of the rib bone.

Frenched Rack of lamb – Frenching is a technique where the top fat cap is trimmed, exposing as much meat as possible, leaving a very thin layer of fat around the edges. The excess meat and fat are also trimmed from the rib bones, making it more presentable. It’s worth spending a few extra bucks for Frenched Rack of lamb.

I am personally not a fan of the thick fat cap on unfrenched rack. If not rendered well or cooked well, I find the fat layer stays leathery and gives an unpleasant experience while eating. Cooking an unfrenched rack would be a little different from the steps mentioned below. However, you can buy an unfrenched rack and trim it on your own. Reserve the fat cap as it’s packed with flavor and use it in other recipes by rendering the fat.

Less Is More When It Comes To Rack Of Lamb Marination

You can go all fancy with the marinade, but nothing beats a simple garlic herb marinade that complements and lets the lamb flavor shine.

For the marinade to penetrate the meat, after coating the meat, rest it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, up to 2 days. Make sure the marinade is evenly coated. I use a container with a lid to marinate and brush the dripping marinade from the box in between to coat the lamb evenly. Make sure you remove the meat from the refrigerator 2 hours before cooking and bring it to room temperature for even cooking.

Make marinade of rosemary, garlic, olive oil , salt and pepper. Marinate lamb.

Baking Lamb Rack

Prep the rack– Wrap foil around the ribs before you start searing. It keeps the bones clean and avoids burning while baking. It’s completely optional and only for presentation purposes. ( Note- while shooting the video I missed wrapping the foil while searing and did it before putting in the oven. It was a bit risky as the rib bones were hot)

Sear and bast – Baking lamb directly will cook the meat but it will not lend that caramelized outer layer. Like I sear lamb shoulder before baking, I prefer to sear the lamb rack for 1 minute on each side and around the edges. Searing on medium to high heat also renders some of the fats. Towards the end add 2 tablespoons of butter, fresh rosemary spring, and crushed whole garlic. Bast melted butter for about a minute creating a beautiful crust.

Sear marinated lamb and bast with garlic rosemary butter.

Bake in the oven – Pre-heat oven to 180°C/350°F. Shift the seared lamb onto a wired rack and drizzle 1-2 teaspoons of butter from the skillet on top. Bake for 12-15 minutes. the target internal temperature for medium-rare is 57°C/135°F. For the right juiciness and tender lamb, don’t get beyond this temperature. The lamb will cook further while resting and will reach the desired doneness while serving.

Rest before serving- Very important step and not to be skipped. To retain the moisture back into the meat, always rest the lamb covered once out of the oven. Also, while resting all the juices from lamb will get collected in the tray underneath, which we are going to use to make the gravy. I usually rest somewhere around 8-10 minutes(at least for 5 minutes when in a hurry) before slicing.

Make gravy to serve with rack of lamb

A sauce element along with roasted meat is a complete package, especially if you plan to serve the lamb with any starch like potato or rice.

To make gravy, fish out garlic, rosemary, and any remaining burnt bits of the marinade as it will lend a bitter taste. Leave behind the butter/oil mix in the skillet.
Shift the lamb onto a chopping board. To the baking sheet underneath the rack, add 1 cup of beef stock and scrap to release any brown bits.
Heat the skillet, add 2 fresh sprigs of rosemary and crushed garlic. Saute until fragrant. Add beef stock and let the mix simmer for about a minute or two. Then thicken the gravy with cornstarch slurry.

Deglaze the baking tray and collect all the drippings

Add beef stock and cornflour slurry to make gravy.

Carved lamb chops from a rack of lamb and served with gravy.

What to serve with Baked Lamb Rack

When you have this gorgeously baked medium rare lamb rack with a silky smooth flavor-packed gravy, you would only need some starch like rice or mashed potatoes on the side. Add roasted veggies or a simple green lettuce salad would also be great. Here are a few side dishes that you can serve.

Storing Leftovers If Any

It is better to store an uncarved rack of lamb, so while serving carve only what you need to serve rest can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheating lamb might make it dry, hence it’s better to serve at room temperature.