Grilled Rack of Lamb on a Charcoal Grill
By America's Test KitchenPublished on October 19, 2011
Time
1½ hours
Yield
Serves 4
Ingredients
Before You Begin
We prefer the milder taste and bigger size of domestic lamb, but you may substitute imported lamb from New Zealand and Australia. Since imported racks are generally smaller, follow the shorter cooking times given in the recipe. While most lamb is sold frenched (meaning part of each rib bone is exposed), chances are there will still be some extra fat between the bones. Remove the majority of this fat (see illustrations, below), leaving an inch at the top of the small eye of meat. Also, make sure that the chine bone (along the bottom of the rack) has been removed to ensure that it will be easy to cut between the ribs after cooking. Ask the butcher to do it; it’s very hard to cut off at home.
Instructions
- Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal (6 quarts, or about 100 briquettes) and allow to burn until coals are fully ignited and partially covered with thin layer of ash, about 20 minutes. Place aluminum pan in center of grill. Empty coals into grill, creating equal-sized piles on each side of pan. Position cooking grate over coals, cover grill, and heat until grate is hot, about 5 minutes; scrape grate clean with grill brush. Grill is ready when coals are medium-hot.
- Combine 3 teaspoons oil, rosemary, thyme, and garlic in small bowl; set aside. Rub lamb with remaining teaspoon oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Place racks bone-side up on cooler center of grill over aluminum pan with meaty side of racks very close to, but not quite over, hot coals. Cover and grill until meat is lightly browned, faint grill marks appear, and fat has begun to render, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Flip racks over, bone-side down, and move to hotter parts of grill. Grill, without moving, until well-browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Brush racks with herb-garlic mixture. Flip racks so bone-side is up and continue to grill over hotter parts of grill until well browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Stand racks up and lean them against each other; continue to grill over one hotter side of grill until bottom is well-browned and instant-read thermometer inserted from side of rack into center, but away from any bone, registers 120 degrees for medium-rare or 125 degrees for medium, 3 to 8 minutes longer.
- Remove lamb from grill and allow to rest, tented with foil, 15 minutes (racks will continue to cook while resting). Cut between ribs to separate chops and serve immediately.
Time
1½ hoursYield
Serves 4Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
With its juicy, pink meat, rich crust, and classic stand-up-straight presentation, rack of lamb is a bona fide showstopper—and it has the price tag to prove it. But grill this piece of meat improperly and you’ve made a very costly mistake. That’s why we wanted to come up with a foolproof technique for grilling rack of lamb—one that would deliver a great crust and flavorful, tender meat, every time.
Our first challenge was choosing just the right cut. While the racks from butcher shops and high-end specialty stores cost more than those from the supermarket, they come already trimmed. And once we trimmed all the excess fat from our supermarket samples, we found this meat wasn’t actually much cheaper. However, even the trimmed lamb needed additional butchering, both to remove the “cap” of fat that creates meat-scorching flare-ups and to trim away any excess meat and fat. (For perfect grilling results, we needed fairly lean racks of uniform thickness.)
To cook the lamb evenly as well as to effectively render its fat, we placed a disposable aluminum pan in the middle of the grill and heaped a small pile of coals on either side of the pan. Placing the lamb in the middle of the grill, over the pan, ensured the pan would catch the rendering fat, preventing flare-ups. A wet rub (garlic, rosemary, thyme, and olive oil) was the best way to flavor the meat—marinades turned the lamb mushy and dry rubs simply didn’t work with our grilling method. For a rich crust that wasn’t charred, we applied the wet rub during the last few minutes of grilling, keeping the surface crisp.
Before You Begin
We prefer the milder taste and bigger size of domestic lamb, but you may substitute imported lamb from New Zealand and Australia. Since imported racks are generally smaller, follow the shorter cooking times given in the recipe. While most lamb is sold frenched (meaning part of each rib bone is exposed), chances are there will still be some extra fat between the bones. Remove the majority of this fat (see illustrations, below), leaving an inch at the top of the small eye of meat. Also, make sure that the chine bone (along the bottom of the rack) has been removed to ensure that it will be easy to cut between the ribs after cooking. Ask the butcher to do it; it’s very hard to cut off at home.
Instructions
- Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal (6 quarts, or about 100 briquettes) and allow to burn until coals are fully ignited and partially covered with thin layer of ash, about 20 minutes. Place aluminum pan in center of grill. Empty coals into grill, creating equal-sized piles on each side of pan. Position cooking grate over coals, cover grill, and heat until grate is hot, about 5 minutes; scrape grate clean with grill brush. Grill is ready when coals are medium-hot.
- Combine 3 teaspoons oil, rosemary, thyme, and garlic in small bowl; set aside. Rub lamb with remaining teaspoon oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Place racks bone-side up on cooler center of grill over aluminum pan with meaty side of racks very close to, but not quite over, hot coals. Cover and grill until meat is lightly browned, faint grill marks appear, and fat has begun to render, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Flip racks over, bone-side down, and move to hotter parts of grill. Grill, without moving, until well-browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Brush racks with herb-garlic mixture. Flip racks so bone-side is up and continue to grill over hotter parts of grill until well browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Stand racks up and lean them against each other; continue to grill over one hotter side of grill until bottom is well-browned and instant-read thermometer inserted from side of rack into center, but away from any bone, registers 120 degrees for medium-rare or 125 degrees for medium, 3 to 8 minutes longer.
- Remove lamb from grill and allow to rest, tented with foil, 15 minutes (racks will continue to cook while resting). Cut between ribs to separate chops and serve immediately.
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