Help: Rack of lamb

[redrabbit]

I'm cooking on saturday night for myself, my GF and her parents. I'm quite new to cooking and only know a few recipes, but I'm going to attempt to do a rack of lamb.

I was going to use 1 and a half racks of lamb. That would equal 12 cutlets, which would mean about 3 each - does that sound OK?

I am planning on serving this with mash with butter and cream. And also some roasted vegetables.

Couple of questions then:

1. Is 3 cutlets per person enough? We will be having a small starter too
2. What gravy would you serve with it - and how would this be made? Please keep this as simple as possible. I will be offering mint sauce too.

That's about it I think.

Thanks everybody.

 

[Andy M.]

I'd go with two racks, a half per person. It depends on the appetites of the dinner guests.

Add some roasted garlic to the mashed.

Are you planning to do anything to flavor the lamb?

 

[Robo410]

olive oil and rosemary on the lamb? roasted or grilled to med rare, deglaze pan with strong stock and dry white wine, reduce and bind with butter, season with fine herbs s & p and swirl on the plate around the mash, place roasted veg in groups of 3 or 5 to one side and cut and arrange lamb up over the center mash.

 

[redrabbit]

For the lamb I'm going to make a mixture of:

Breadcrumbs, 2 cloves of garlic, crushed/juice of a lemon, and pepper.

I will spread some mustard over the lamb, and press the mixture on top of it.

Still not sure about the gravy though. Maybe I should just use a lamb stock cube.

2 racks of lamb = lots of £££££$$$$$ !!

 

[ChefJune]

Breadcrumbs, 2 cloves of garlic, crushed/juice of a lemon, and pepper

I'd chop some rosemary into that mixture.

i don't think you'll need a bouillon cube for your sauce, but where would you find a lamb one, anyway? You should have a bit of juice and brown bits in the pan. I'd deglaze that with some wine -- could be white, could be red, depends upon what's open in your fridge, or what you're opening for dinner...

 

[redrabbit]

I'd chop some rosemary into that mixture.

i don't think you'll need a bouillon cube for your sauce, but where would you find a lamb one, anyway? You should have a bit of juice and brown bits in the pan. I'd deglaze that with some wine -- could be white, could be red, depends upon what's open in your fridge, or what you're opening for dinner...

You can buy stock cubes for lamb in the supermarket - I seen them earlier.

Not sure if there would be enough juice from the meet to go around. I was planning on cooking the vegetables with the lamb as well, so maybe that would help contribue to the sauce.

Do you think any garlic thrown over the top of the lamb would help too?

 

[ChefJune]

I would roast the vegetables on a sheet pan on the rack below the lamb, not with it. The veggies will actually take longer to cook than the lamb!

Do you think any garlic thrown over the top of the lamb would help too?

I often like to take a couple whole heads of garlic and slice them in half (unpeeled) and roast them alongside the lamb, cut side up, in the roasting pan. When you're ready to serve, put that garlic in a small bowl on the table to squeeze onto slices of baguette! (yum!)

With all that garlic, hope you're planning to serve a Rhone Valley wine with that lamb. I like those best with lots of garlic (and lamb)!

 

[redrabbit]

Thanks for the help.

Not even sure what wine to pick. That's a red wine then? If so, it sounds good.

Not sure abuot what veg to cook.

Maybe, some carrots, brocolli and green beans or something.

I've got big worries about the gravy. The lamb can't go that wrong really, just stick it in the oven and wait. But I would like the gravy to go well. I've NEVER made my own.

I'm worried about if they'll be enough. I.e. I don't want to add more wine than there were juices. Also do I cook this in a pan for a while?

Thanks again for your help.

I really am quite a beginner at all this!

 

[Candocook]

Wine--We just opened a tempranillo that is very good and would be good with lamb--Red Guitar.
If you can find Kermit Lynch Cotes du Rhone, it would be delicious.
Columbia Crest Grand Estates cabernet.
McManis cabernet is also good. Goats Do Roam is reliable and good.

 

[redrabbit]

What ratio of bits/juice from the lamb do you add with the wine.

Also do you cook it together for a bit?

I.e.:

- take lamb out of oven dish
- add wine to oven dish
- stir around
- cook in oven for 10 mins?

Or what?

Do you think it would be OK to just add the red wine to the lamb juice without anything else added?

Don't want to over-complicate things.

 

[lyndalou]

You will need to let the lamb rest for a little bit . Cover it with foil and let it sit on your cutting board. This is so the juices don't run out leaving you with dry (and very expensive) lamb. You should taste the sauce and add some seasoning if you think it's needed. You really don't have to do anything fancy, let the lamb speak for itself.

 

[velochic]

We eat a lot of lamb (dh is from Turkey). I love the flavor of lamb, so I try to keep it simple to let the lamb be the star of the show, rather than some sauce or other flavoring. If you cook your lamb medium rare, it will be juicy enough that you won't need a sauce or some other disguise. I'd just roast it in the oven to medium rare, with simple seasoning of salt, pepper and rosemary. Let it rest, then cut up about 5 ribs per person. Let the lamb shine by serving a simple rice pilaf (which is what they serve with a nice lamb dish in the middle east) to compliment it. For wine, we personally like a lightweight (Chianti, for example) because the heavier Cabs or even Merlots are too much with the gentle tastes of lamb.

Just my opinions. I don't like pretentious meat dishes... if the meat is a good quality and cut, and prepared properly, it doesn't need to be covered up, disguised, or served with other dishes that outshine it.

 

[ChefJune]

Not even sure what wine to pick. That's a red wine then? If so, it sounds good.

Rhone Valley wines come in both red and white, but for sure, I'd choose red with lamb. Depends upon how much money you want to spend. You can get a tasty Cotes du Rhone for $8 to $10, or you can get a fabulous Chateauneuf-du-Pape for $30 to $40, and in between, there's lovely Gigondas and Vacqueras, which should be between $10 and $30. All go great with lamb and garlic!