Cooking: Nice Rack!

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Martha Gallagher - 29 Feb 2004 15:07 GMT

of lamb that is.

Does anyone know the best way to cook a rack of lamb? Last time, I
followed Mark Brittman's advice and parboiled it (I think that's the word,
anyway dropped it in boiling water for some non trivial amount of time)
before broiling it and it was good. Now, my ancestry is Irish/German so
I'm not above boiling the hell out of things if it seems like a good idea.
And yet I can't help feeling that there's a better/simpler way to do this.
Is the boiling water really necessary? Can I just stick it under the
broiler? Do I need to brush it with oils? Is rosemary required?

Thanks,

Martha

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Alice Faber - 29 Feb 2004 15:58 GMT

In article
<Pine.LNX.4.44.0402291002170.17369-100000@adams.patriot.net>,

> of lamb that is.
>
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> Is the boiling water really necessary? Can I just stick it under the
> broiler? Do I need to brush it with oils? Is rosemary required?

For a long time, I never parbroiled rack of lamb or the equivalent rack
of pork ribs. I was skeptical when I read Bittman's description of how
to do this, but I was amazed at how much better the final product was
when I *did* parboil. If you don't the meat comes out tougher and drier.

As for seasoning, rosemary is always nice with lamb, but so are other
things. It all depends on what you have around. If any of Bittman's
suggestions sound tempting (and low carb), I'd go with that. I can't
remember the last time I went wrong following his advice.

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carla - 29 Feb 2004 16:23 GMT

> For a long time, I never parbroiled rack of lamb or the equivalent rack
> of pork ribs. I was skeptical when I read Bittman's description of how
> to do this, but I was amazed at how much better the final product was
> when I *did* parboil. If you don't the meat comes out tougher and drier.

That's interesting. I've never parboiled a rack of lamb (I don't eat pork
so I have no experience with it one way or the other). I always just sear
it in a pan on all sides and then place the pan in the oven to roast for a
while. It always comes out so delicious that it is hard to imagine it could
be better cooked some other way. It's never been remotely tough or dry.
However, I will admit then when I prepare a rack of lamb I usually buy very
expensive meat. Rack of lamb is a kind of special occasion thing for us and
since it's just me and mr. carla (and occasionally a dinner guest or two)
I'm willing to go all-out for the very best lamb I can find. I can imagine
that with a less expensive lamb my results would be different.

carla

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Martha Gallagher - 04 Mar 2004 18:09 GMT

> In article
> <Pine.LNX.4.44.0402291002170.17369-100000@adams.patriot.net>,
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
> suggestions sound tempting (and low carb), I'd go with that. I can't
> remember the last time I went wrong following his advice.

Thanks to everyone who replied on this. I decided to strike out on my own,
and just broil them. That didn't work out as well as planned (and the
rosemary kept catching fire) and I ended up finishing it doing what I want
to call baking, but is probably the wrong word. They're pretty nice, but
came out better when I followed Bittman's direction.

Of course, a non trivial problem is that lamb probably isn't the best meat
to have when you're trying to cut calories to get the last stubborn 20 lbs
off (actually, there are 40 stubborn lbs, but I'm going to ignore the last
20).

Tasty, though.

Martha

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Bear - 29 Feb 2004 16:29 GMT

Well what I would do is sear it on all sides in a very hot pan with a small
amount of oil. I use corn or peanut for the high heat. Personally, I can't
imagine parboiling a lamb rack. If it's good it should be tender. Also, I
would never serve it anything more than medium rare. I you overcook it, it
will be tougher. In that case I suppose parboiling makes some sense. Anyway,
after searing it put it into a very hot oven for about 10 - 15 minutes. If
you have an instant reading meat thermometer, the temp should be around 140.
in the center. 160 for no pink which I will say again is a big mistake IMHO.

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> of lamb that is.
>
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Martha

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curt - 29 Feb 2004 17:11 GMT

> Well what I would do is sear it on all sides in a very hot pan with a small
> amount of oil. I use corn or peanut for the high heat. Personally, I can't
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> you have an instant reading meat thermometer, the temp should be around 140.
> in the center. 160 for no pink which I will say again is a big mistake IMHO.

I would cook it like Bear. I think an oven of 425-450 would be ok depending
on how thick it is, but rack usually are not that thick. I am lazy, so I
wouldn't sear it probably. I love lamb, but usually buy a sirloin half of a
leg due to me living alone. Make it with lots of garlic.

Curt

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