Oven-Roasted Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb
Beef tenderloin. Lobster. Prime rib. Leg of lamb. Proteins that command attention, if for nothing but their price per pound. They are evocative of celebrations — a holiday, wedding, birthday or some noteworthy festivity. Both my French and Scottish grandparents made lamb for special occasions, as did my parents. Usually a leg of lamb — enough to feed a crowd. I loved it. I still do.
Beef tenderloin. Lobster. Prime rib. Leg of lamb. Proteins that command attention, if for nothing but their price per pound. They are evocative of celebrations — a holiday, wedding, birthday or some noteworthy festivity. Both my French and Scottish grandparents made lamb for special occasions, as did my parents. Usually a leg of lamb — enough to feed a crowd. I loved it. I still do.
Trouble is, I don’t want to wait for a rare moment to enjoy it. A Saturday date night at home should be reason enough to uncork a good Malbec and savor the meaty goodness. However, Scott and I can’t consume an entire leg of lamb. Besides, date night should be fun — not work. Enter the Oven-Roasted Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb
Ideally, for date night, dinner should come together in half an hour and this easy rack of lamb recipe holds to that promise.
Ok, maybe forty-five minutes if you and your honey are sipping cocktails while cooking and listening to Pandora. Herb crusted rack of lamb is our go-to date night dinner.
I found this recipe years ago in Gourmet magazine and it was an instant hit. So much so that it has been the star attraction for countless dinners, both intimate and festive. The original recipe makes enough for eight people. I modified it for two.
The preparation for this easy rack of lamb recipe literally takes ten minutes. It cooks in a single pan – and because it’s not a big, hefty, roast, it’s done in about twenty minutes.
Table of Contents
How To Make Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb:
Either ask your butcher to “french” the rack of lamb, or buy it at Costco, where it’s already done for you.
Trim the lamb of any excess fat — a little fat is good — too much is just too much…
Add the bread and herbs to a mini food processor and chop until you have herbed breadcrumbs. Set aside.
Season the rack of lamb with salt and pepper.
Heat a heavy skillet over medium high heat and place the rack (fat side down) into the hot pan. Sear on one side for 1-2 minutes, then flip for another 1-2 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and spread dijon mustard over the top of the rack of lamb.
Mound the mustard with the breadcrumb mixture.
Transfer the crusted rack of lamb to a hot oven and roast for 18 minutes for medium rare, 20 minutes for medium.
Let it rest on your cutting board for four or five minutes and cut it into beautiful single or double cut chops. Decadent? Yes. Simple? Indeed.
This is one of those unique cuts of meat that is automatically dressed to impress — and for about fifteen dollars, crusted rack of lamb is an affordable luxury that feeds two (or three) people. Try it with these amazing French legumes for a complete meal.
Think about it… you could go out to dinner and easily spend thirty or forty dollars per person on this same entree —not including the wine.
I would rather put in the half an hour of prep, enjoying a really good bottle of wine and music of my choosing, than jockey for a seat at the bar, while I wait an hour for a table to open. Wouldn’t you?
Want to try a grilled rack of lamb? Here’s an easy recipe for herb crusted grilled rack of lamb, great for warm summer evenings.
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Rack of Lamb with Herb Crust
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 slice bread I used whole wheat, but multi-grain and white bread are fine, torn into pieces
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- sprinkle of salt and pepper
- 1-2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 2 pound rack of lamb eight ribs
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Into a mini-prep food processor add bread mint and rosemary. Pulse until fine crumbs are formed. Set aside.
- Season lamb with salt and pepper.
- In a large grill pan or cast iron pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add lamb, fattier side down and cook for 1-2 minutes to sear. Flip lamb over and cook for an additional minute. Remove from heat.
- Spread mustard on fattier side of lamb.
- Top mustard with bread crumbs – pressing down slightly to adhere.
- Roast lamb for 18 minutes for medium rare. (20 minutes for medium).
- Remove from pan and let rest for 4-5 minutes on a cutting board.
- Carve into 2-rib portions.
Can this be prepared the day before?
No this is better when made at the last minute — otherwise the breadcrumbs would get soft.