Ever since I discovered Chef Michael Smith on the Food Network, I have been a fan of his cooking. This is probably because the way he walks into his pantry and just grabs whatever strikes his fancy. Reminds me of me! So when I was searching for a rack of lamb recipe and came across one of his and in his own way he made it sound so simple (here is the link to video), I couldn’t resist putting it on the menu for that special meal (my birthday – which by now is 2 months past). Without further ado I will get right into the recipe.

Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb

(based on Chef Michael Smith’s recipe)

Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 (8 rib) Rack of Lamb, Frenched and capped
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
Dijon Mustard (about 2 tablespoons)
1/4 cup Italian Bread Crumbs
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp finely chopped fresh mint (use your choice of herbs)
2 tsp oil

Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

Wash the rack of lamb and dry off any water using paper towels. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. I used kosher salt but you can use any.

In a bowl combine breadcrumb, mint, garlic and oil and set aside.

In the meantime, heat a little oil in a frying pan – here I used a cast iron frying pan as I was going to use it to bake the lamb in the oven. Choose a pan that will distribute heat evenly. Sear the lamb on all sides on high heat until they are slightly browned. This is to lock in the moisture in the lamb and keeping it wonderful and juicy when you are done with the cooking (a tip that Chef Michael Smith mentions in the video).

Remove the lamb from the frying pan and let cook for a bit. Spread the mustard on the lamb (meat only). Coat the lamb with the breadcrumb mixture (this should be a thin coat). I made a mistake and mine was quite thick. Although the lamb tasted heavenly both my husband and I agreed that the coating I had was much too thick.

Place the lamb on an oven safe dish and bake until it is done to your liking. To get to a medium, I had to bake for about 30 minutes in my oven. Note that my oven sometimes acts up and takes a little longer than it should. Chef Smith stated 25 minutes for medium. So knowing your oven helps 😀

Now that it is done, take it out of the oven let it rest for 5 minutes. Then cut the rack into half or quarters or to your liking and serve. I served it with garlic mashed potato, steamed vegetables with Garlic Butter Lobster.

Original recipe by Chef Michael Smith can be found here: Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb.