Herb crusted rack of lamb
Nothing will impress friends more than serving barbecued rack of lamb fresh from the charcoal. This delicate cut delivers rich and tender meat, only made better when gnawed straight off the bone like a smoky lamb lollipop. The trick to getting perfectly pink medium rare lamb while allowing the fat to render and the crust become nice and crisp, is to slowly bring it up to a temperature of 55°C. By Mike Tomkins for Kamado Joe
Ingredients
1 rack of lamb, French trimmed
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
85g breadcrumbs
1 bunch of fresh leaf parsley
1 half a bunch of basil
2 sprigs of rosemary
55g Parmesan
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
Salt & pepper
1 Lemon
2 courgettes
50g salted butter
Olive oil
Mint to serve, roughly chopped
Method
1. Set up your Kamado Joe for direct cooking at 150-170°C.
2. Take a sharp knife and score the lamb deep into the fat, taking care not to pierce the flesh. Score a diagonal pattern and then repeat so the fat is criss-crossed. Season generously with salt.
3. Add 1 tsp of olive oil to a cast iron pan. Place the rack of lamb fat-side down directly onto the grill grates for around 10 minutes.
4. While the fat is rendering, blend or finely chop the garlic, basil, parsley, rosemary, breadcrumbs and Parmesan. Empty the mixture on to a plate that is at least the same size as the rack of lamb.
5. Monitor the lamb’s core temperature using a Thermapen until the internal temperature reaches 43-45°C. This should take 8-10 minutes.
6. Remove the lamb from the BBQ, flip the rack of lamb and brush the fat with Dijon mustard before rolling in the herb and breadcrumb mixture. Transfer the lamb back to the grill with the herb-crusted fat facing upwards. Place back in the BBQ and continue to roast. The internal temperature should read 55°C. This should take around another 8-10 minutes to achieve. Remove the lamb and allow it to rest on a rack or tray for approximately 10 minutes for melt-in-the-mouth lamb when you carve.
7. While resting, slice courgettes into ½ cm slices, melt butter and a splash of olive oil to the grill and cook direct until the courgettes are soft, dress with fresh lemon juice and roughly chopped mint.