| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 2 hr 5 min |
| Prep: | 45 min |
| Inactive: | 5 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr 15 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- Grapeseed oil
- 2 (8-rib) racks of lamb, trimmed, trim reserved for sauce
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons finely minced fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons finely minced fresh rosemary
- 1/4 cup apricot jam
- 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
- Reserved lamb trimmings
- 1 large sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups demi glace
- 3 tablespoons pomegranate juice concentrate
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 Yukon gold potatoes
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Grapeseed oil
- 1/2 cup goat cheese
- Grapeseed oil
- 2 carrots, peeled and julienned
- 1/4 pound snow peas, julienned
- 1 small daikon, julienned
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- For the lamb: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat and add the oil. Season the lamb with salt and pepper. Sear the lamb racks, fleshiest side down first. Let sit and brown about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and sear the other side. Repeat with the other rack. Transfer lamb racks to a sheet pan.
- Combine the thyme and rosemary and press an even amount into each seared lamb rack. Let sit for a few minutes.
- Roast the lamb in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Heat the apricot jam in a small saucepan over low heat. When the jam is melted, turn off the heat. Brush a light coating of jam on each piece of lamb.
- For the sauce: Heat a deep saute pan over medium heat and add the oil, lamb trimmings, and rosemary. Cook until the fat is a little cooked down and the trimmings are deep golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Deglaze the pan with the chicken stock. Reduce by two-thirds.
- Stir in the demi glace and pomegranate juice concentrate. Simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Strain the sauce and set aside. Just before ready to serve, re-warm the sauce and whisk in the butter. Taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper, if needed.
- For the potato cakes: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Grate the potatoes and blend with the flour, egg, salt, and pepper.
- Drizzle the oil into the small cast iron pans and fill halfway with the grated potatoes. Top the potatoes with salt, pepper, and goat cheese. Top with the remaining potatoes.
- Bake the potato cakes in the oven until golden brown and cooked through, 20 to 30 minutes.
- Turn the pans over to unmold the potato cakes.
- For the julienned vegetables: Heat a saute pan over medium heat and add some oil. Saute the julienned vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are just softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Taste a bite and cook for another minute if the vegetables are still hard.
- To plate: Slice off 2 chops from each rack and then cut the meat from the rest of the rack into slices. Serve each guest 1 lamb chop on the bone and 3 slices of boneless meat. Serve with a potato cake and sauteed vegetables.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 894 |
| Total Fat | 62 g |
| Saturated Fat | 19 g |
| Carbohydrates | 62 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 9 g |
| Sugar | 17 g |
| Protein | 25 g |
| Cholesterol | 112 mg |
| Sodium | 1557 mg |
Reviews
The potato cake was bland, needed more seasoning. I too will add cheddar cheese and panko next time to spruce it up. The lamb was delicate and nice.
Rack of Lamb was outstanding! However, as a rule I soak the lamb in milk overnight, rinse, pat dry and let the meat get to room temperature before searing. I had a dinner party for 8 people serving rack of lamb. I was most excited about preparing the potato cakes because I really like goat cheese and loved the presentation on Worst Cooks. I did have the tiny cast iron pans. However, very disapointed in the lack of flavor which is so unlike one of Chef Robert’s recipes. I think this is what really hurt Georg in the competition. Liked the suggestion one viewer make to add sharp cheddar cheese and panko bread crumbs. Will try again. Despite the potato cakes, I still gave 5 stars because the lamb was exquisite!
I’m reviewing the potato: didn’t have little skillets so I decided to make an 8×8 casserole. I increased the # of potatoes to 5, increased the flour to 4 TBS, used Cavrie goat cheess w/ herbs, added 4 oz of shredded Cabot cheddar (Hunter’s Sharp), sprinkled the top w/ Italian flavored Panko, & dotted it w/ butter. I baked it for 30 min @ 375 degrees It was to die for!!!
Unlike his Sea Bass, Chef Robert’s Rack of Lamb was packed with flavor, and easily bested Chef Anne’s Pork Three Ways (I made both. Well worth the effort.
However, there are caveats if you try this at home:
1. The demi glace, like Anne’s fennel pollen, is a special-order item.
2. “3” Yukon gold potatoes is too vague. 20 oz is the correct amount.
3. Speaking of the potatoes, a critical detail was omitted from the recipe (and this is what tripped Georg up, in my opinion. After the potatoes are grated, they will exude a lot of water; up to 1/4 cup. Before adding the flour, egg, etc., squeeze this excess moisture out.
4. Since the sauce contains 3.5 cups of water, it will take quite a while to reduce, even with the burner on high. It will take as long as the potato cakes bake to reduce the sauce properly.
After watching this episode, I ordered 2 racks of lamb and demi glace from Williams Sonoma just to try this recipe. We were not disappointed- it was heavenly!