Lovers of delicious food and real gourmets should definitely try the rack of lamb. However, first, let's learn how to choose ribs, prepare them and cook them properly.
Recipe content:
- How to cook a rack of lamb - the secrets of the dish
- The main preparatory steps for a rack of lamb
- How to marinate a rack of lamb?
- Lamb rack baked on the grill
- Oven baked rack of lamb
- Lamb rack in a pan
- Video recipes
Lamb rack is tender meat on a thin rib bone. Many "signature" popular meat dishes are prepared from this cut. Only young lamb is used for the dish. The loin is usually served in one piece of 7-8 ribs. Lamb pulp is devoid of all the disadvantages that are present in classic lamb: an abundance of fat, dense veins, an unpleasant odor, increased rigidity. Thanks to this, the meat is tender, appetizing, odorless and almost dietary. Therefore, the square is classified as a high grade lamb carcass.
Lamb is cooked in all sorts of ways, with a variety of ingredients. However, most often it is fried in a pan on its own or with vegetables and seasonings, or baked in the oven. It is very difficult to spoil a rack of lamb, but it will turn out tasty and tender only with the right choice of meat and knowledge of the peculiarities of cooking.
How to cook a rack of lamb - the secrets of the dish
- On sale there are whole parts of the carcass with loin and ribs, or processed parts with stripped bones. In the absence of time, choose the second option so as not to waste time on processing. Having bought the whole part, ask the seller to cut off part of the spine so that only the ribs and loin remain.
- When choosing meat, pay attention to its color: a dark shade - a ram was hacked to death by an adult, light meat - a young lamb. Choosing the second option, the dish will be tender and young.
- The lamb is fed only with mother's milk, so the meat is fat-free. An adult lamb (5-6 months old) has already eaten other foods, so fat will be found in the pulp. However, it should be white, in small quantities, soft and resilient.
- Unpleasant pulp smell - the ram is old or not neutered. To make sure the ram is old, burn the fat.
- A good piece of meat, after pressing on it with your finger, returns to its original shape.
- Choose fresh or chilled meat. Frozen loses some of its beneficial properties and tenderness.
- You can find out the frozen pulp by pressing your finger on it: the dent is filled with blood and liquid - the meat was repeatedly frozen, the hole is dry and disappears for a long time - the meat was frozen once.
- The surface of the square should be shiny and damp, not slippery or sticky.
- The bones of the lamb are bluish-pink, the adult ram is white, and the old one is gray or yellow.
- Look at the size of the ribs and the distance between them. Large with a considerable distance - an adult ram, small and close to each other - lamb ribs.
- Lamb is not cooked for a long time, otherwise it will become dry and rubbery.
- Lamb is cooked on the grill for several minutes, stewed over low heat for 30 minutes, baked for 15-20 minutes at 245 degrees for medium roast.
- Lamb fat freezes at 40 degrees, so it should be eaten hot and washed down with hot drinks.
The main preparatory steps for a rack of lamb
- Leave only the pulp, cut off everything else: fatty layers and tendons that are located under the ribs.
- There is a thick layer of meat on the outside of the ribs - make an incision at a distance of 5-6 cm from the ends of the ribs. Separate the edge of the pulp from the bones, grab it with your hand, at the same time pull up and cut with a knife.
- Strip the bone from both sides: step back 5-7 cm from the edges of the ribs and cut the films between the ribs.
- Cut out any excess and scrape off any remaining meat to keep the bones clean.
How to marinate a rack of lamb?
Whether or not to marinate the meat depends on preference. This is not a prerequisite, but if the meat is harsh, then it is better to marinate it for 3-5 hours. Lamb loves marinades, so you can experiment with marinades. Usually, young meat is marinated for at least an hour, older - 10-12 hours. The easiest marinade option is a mixture of olive oil, vinegar, mustard, rosemary, garlic and mint. A marinade made from a mixture of olive oil and lemon juice would be good.
Soy sauce with garlic, yogurt with caraway seeds, or garlic and cardamom work well. A pleasant marinade of olive oil, oregano, chili, lime juice and thyme. Delicious meat after a day spent in a vegetable marinade of carrots, onions, garlic, celery root and allspice. A good marinade based on adjika, cumin, paprika and black pepper.
Lamb rack baked on the grill
A rack of lamb on the grill is cooked for no more than 10 minutes. This is the maximum time it must spend over the coals. For a better grill, slide it off the red coals and cook over the heat of the charcoal grill. Serve the baked rack of lamb with satsibeli or homemade tomato sauce.
- Caloric content per 100 g - 191 kcal.
- Servings - 3
- Cooking time - 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- Lamb rack - 1 kg
- Fresh rosemary - 3 stalks
- Fresh thyme - 3 stalks
- Salt - 1 tsp topless or to taste
- Garlic - 4 cloves
- Freshly ground pepper - to taste
- Olive oil - 100 ml
Step-by-step preparation of rack of lamb baked on the grill:
- Peel the lamb rack of film and excess fat.
- Cut it into portions of 2-3 ribs.
- Pour olive oil into a bowl, add garlic cloves, thyme, rosemary and marinate the meat for 15 minutes.
- Heat the coals in the charcoal grill, place the wire rack and roast the rack of lamb for 5 minutes on each side.
Oven baked rack of lamb
The most common way to cook a rack of lamb is to bake them in the oven. In addition, it is very simple, fast and with minimal effort.
Ingredients:
- Lamb ribs - 1 kg
- Vegetable oil - 3 tablespoons
- Salt - 1 tsp or to taste
- Ground black pepper - a pinch
- Lemon juice - 2 tablespoons
- Thyme - pinch
- Thyme - a pinch
- Rosemary - a few twigs
Cooking baked rack of lamb in the oven step by step:
- Prepare the ribs by cleaning and washing. If desired, chop up the bones or leave intact.
- Combine vegetable oil, lemon juice, salt, black pepper and spices.
- Spread the marinade over the ribs and place on a baking sheet.
- Leave them to sit for half an hour to marinate.
- Heat the oven to 240 degrees and bake the rack for 15 minutes.
Lamb rack in a pan
In the absence of an oven, rack of lamb in a pan is no less tasty. Cooking time is spent as minimum as with other cooking methods.
Ingredients:
- Ribs - 1 kg
- Mustard - 1 tsp
- Tomato sauce - 1 tablespoon
- Olive oil - 2 tablespoons
- Salt - 1 tsp
- Ground black pepper - a pinch
Cooking rack of lamb in a pan step by step:
- Cut the square into portions.
- Combine mustard, olive oil, tomato sauce, salt and pepper.
- Spread the sauce over the lamb on all sides and stand for 15-30 minutes.
- Grease a frying pan with oil and heat well.
- Put the squares and fry over high heat for 2 minutes. Then turn the temperature on to medium and continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes.
- Flip over and turn on maximum heat. Also cook for 2 minutes and cook over medium heat for 4 minutes.
