The BEST Rack of Lamb recipe resulting in the most mouth-watering, juicy yet crispy lamb chops for an amazing evening in!
Love ordering lamb at restaurants? Now you can make restaurant-quality lamb at home with this elegant, easy recipe.
If you love lamb but have been hesitant to make it at home, now is your time to shine!
I am here to enthusiastically report that if I can make a rack of lamb, so can you. It doesn’t require much skill and the result is so satisfying that you’ll be fired up to prepare it over and over.
Technique is everything when it comes to cooking delicious, tender, perfectly cooked meat, and lamb is no exception.
With a few simple steps, you’ll end up with the most amazing rack of lamb to really impress your family (or guests)!
You don’t need a ton of ingredients or fancy cooking tools! A large cast iron skillet, a meat thermometer, one rack of lamb, and seasonings are all you need to an incredible result.
Ingredients for Rack of Lamb:
Rack of Lamb: First things first, you need a rack of lamb! I picked mine up at a local butcher because I wanted to be sure I got a decent sized rack. If you’re going to go through the process, may as well have plenty of lamb out of the deal, right??
Sea Salt: Sea salt is used as a dry brine to lock moisture into the lamb, thereby producing a flavorful, tender meat!
Italian Seasoning: Because lamb is so flavorful on its own, I don’t go crazy seasoning it, and I don’t find sauces or marinades necessary at all. A generous sprinkle of Italian seasoning gives the lamb that enticing restaurant-quality herby flavor!
Optional: Black pepper and fresh rosemary. I like a sprinkle of black pepper on my lamb, but this is up to your taste! I also like to add a sprig of fresh rosemary to the skillet while searing the lamb to add amazing earthy flavor. This isn’t mandatory at all, but it’s a nice touch.
Here are the steps I take to yield the BEST rack of lamb!
How to Make a Perfect Rack of Lamb:
- Dry brine in sea salt and Italian seasoning for at least 1 hour (up to 24). Dry brining is the same concept as marinating meat, but all you do is rub the meat with sea salt and any seasonings you like and refrigerate it (covered in plastic wrap) for as long as time allots. Even 15 minutes is better than no time at all! This process locks in moisture and ensures you end up with tender meat.
- Bring lamb to room temperature before cooking. This can be achieved by leaving the lamb on the counter in a casserole dish for a couple of hours prior to baking or by placing it in a 200 degree F oven for 15 to 20 minutes prior to cooking.
- Sear in cast iron. This process puts a crispy sear on the fat (which is the best part!!), and locks in the moisture so that the natural juices distribute evenly throughout the cooking process. Be sure to sear all exposed meat/fat for the best result!
- Bake in the oven. In order to cook the lamb to your desired level of done-ness, finish it off by roasting it in the oven. After searing the lamb, it will need about 15 minutes (125 degrees F internal temperature) or 20 to 25 minutes (135 degrees F internal temperature) in the oven at 350 for rare.
- Allow the lamb to rest. This is typically the case with all meat that comes in a large piece. Allowing the meat to rest allows the juices to distribute throughout the meat, which results in better texture and flavor. So don’t skip this step!
How to Make the BEST Rack of Lamb:
Sprinkle the rack of lamb with sea salt and Italian seasoning (and black pepper if desired) and rub it into the meat. Place the rack of lamb in a casserole dish or on a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap or foil. Allow it to sit in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (up to 24 hours).
Before you’re ready to cook the lamb, bring it to room temperature. You can do this two ways. If you have time, simply leave the lamb on the counter for 2 to 3 hours before cooking. As an alternative, you can preheat the oven to 200 degrees F and place the lamb in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
Ready to cook? Let’s go!
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Add 3 tablespoons of avocado oil (or enough to generously coat the surface) to a cast iron skillet and heat to medium-high. Allow the skillet to heat up to 385 to 400 degrees F (you can check the temperature using a laser thermometer) before you begin cooking.
Carefully place the rack of lamb in the hot cast iron skillet fat-side down. Allow it to sear until deeply golden-brown, about 3 minutes.
Using tongs, sear the edges and front of the lamb (any exposed meat/fat) for 2 to 3 minutes, until the whole rack has been seared. This will take a total of 8 to 10 minutes.
While you’re searing the meat, use a spoon to baste the oil and fat over the whole rack to add moisture and flavor to the meat.
If desired, add a sprig of fresh rosemary to the skillet to add some earthy flavor. While the rosemary heats up, its flavors will release into the fat and oil, which are used to baste the meat.
Place the cast iron skillet with the lamb inside the preheated oven and bake for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on your desired level of doneness. Check the internal temperature of the lamb periodically but try not to open the oven too frequently. Medium-rare is 135 degrees F.
Allow the lamb to rest for at least 15 minutes before using a sharp knife to cut the chops off the rack. Seriously, this is important! Set a timer and do a little dance.
Serve with your choice of side dishes.
I made Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower to go along with the meat, but you can also go with my Crowd-Pleasing Roasted Vegetables, Healthy Green Bean Casserole, Sautéed Brussel Sprouts , etc.
Can I Prepare the Whole Lamb Recipe in the Oven?:
If you don’t own a large cast iron skillet or are uncomfortable searing lamb on the stove top, don’t fret!
Do you have to sear the lamb? You don’t! If you would prefer to skip the searing process and just make the whole recipe in the oven, here’s how you do it!
You can perform the whole cooking process using just your oven. To do so, place the lamb on a cookie sheet or in a roasting pan. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, and roast the lamb for 10 minutes (this will take the place of searing the lamb on the stove top), then lower the temperature to 325 and roast another 10 – 20 minutes (depending on desired done-ness).
Difference Between Rack of Lamb and Lamb Chops:
A rack of lamb comes from the rib cage, and lamb chops are the ribs with meat attached that are sliced off of the rack of lamb. You can buy lamb chops individually if you don’t want a full rack.
While lamb chops are also great, I love the rack because generally larger pieces of meat that have a good deal of fat attached are guaranteed to be nice and tender. Plus, I think rack of lamb is an elegant, romantic meal. 😉
Enjoy your newest kitchen adventure!
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Rack of Lamb
Ingredients
- 1 rack of lamb (with 6 to 8 ribs/chops)
- 3/4 tsp sea salt to taste
- 2 tsp Italian Seasoning
Instructions
- Sprinkle the rack of lamb with sea salt and Italian seasoning (and black pepper if desired) and rub it into the meat. Place the rack of lamb in a casserole dish or on a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap or foil. Allow it to sit in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (up to 24 hours).
- Before you’re ready to cook the lamb, bring it to room temperature. You can do this two ways. If you have time, simply leave the lamb on the counter for 2 to 3 hours before cooking. As an alternative, you can preheat the oven to 200 degrees F and place the lamb in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
- Add 3 tablespoons of avocado oil (or enough to generously coat the surface) to a cast iron skillet and heat to medium-high. Allow the skillet to heat up to 385 to 400 degrees F (you can check the temperature using a laser thermometer) before you begin cooking.
- Carefully place the rack of lamb in the hot cast iron skillet fat-side down. Allow it to sear until deeply golden-brown, about 3 minutes. Using tongs, sear the edges and front of the lamb (any exposed meat/fat) for 2 to 3 minutes, until the whole rack has been seared. This will take a total of 8 to 10 minutes.
- While you’re searing the meat, use a spoon to baste the oil and fat over the whole rack to add moisture and flavor to the meat.
- If desired, add a sprig of fresh rosemary to the skillet to add some earthy flavor. While the rosemary heats up, its flavors will release into the fat and oil, which are used to baste the meat.
- Place the cast iron skillet with the lamb inside the preheated oven and bake for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on your desired level of doneness. Check the internal temperature of the lamb periodically but try not to open the oven too frequently. Medium-rare is 135 degrees F.
- Allow the lamb to rest for at least 15 minutes before using a sharp knife to cut the chops off the rack. Serve with choice of sides.
Nutrition
Hey! This looks delicious, but the Pinterest buttons are now missing from your blog so I can’t save any of your recipes now!
Hi Stephanie!
My apologies! I did some site changes recently. You may see a small pop-up box on the bottom of each post with a teal heart. If you click on it, you’ll see the social share buttons and you can click the Pinterest icon to save on pinterest. Let me know if this makes sense! xoxo
Beautifully cooked! I have never liked the taste of lamb, but I have made it for those who do. Because I don’t eat lamb, I am always unsure of the results. Thank you for the guidance.
My pleasure! It’s such a fun one to make, and the flavor is out of this world! xoxo