falconer
Knows what a fatty is.
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2015
- Location
- Kingman, AZ
Felt crappy this morning. Around noon I decided I was going to take a nap, but thought I'd look through this site first. Well, after 20 minutes, I'd had enough. Couldn't stand it any more. I haven't fired up the WSM in 5 or 6 days and I just had to smoke something, even if it was raining...
I had a nice frenched rack of lamb in the fridge. So I dug that out and put together a marinade of Dijon mustard, EVOO, garlic, fresh rosemary from the garden, salt, pepper, and some Italian lemon juice. Mixed that all up and slathered it on the lamb:
And then let that sit in the fridge for about 2 1/2 hours. I then put on one of my sweet/spicy rubs and let it sit while I did the other prep...
Two side dishes with this... Acorn squash and small red potatoes. Hmmm... How to do them differently?
For the squash, I cut it in half and scooped it, and then covered that with a thin layer of brown sugar, and the layered it with thinly sliced fresh ginger. Unlike all my other acorn squash cooks, no butter on it this time...
Both the lamb and the squash went on the WSM at 225 with some pecan wood.
While that was going, I prepped the potatoes; ran them through the food processor to give me very thin slices.
Also started on the mint sauce. I make a reduction sauce that uses worchestershire, balsamic, Italia lemon, maple syrup, mint, rosemary, and peach jam. Let that simmer...
After a bit more than an hour or so, the lamb had hit 110º. At that point I fired up the Weber gasser and let it get HOT.
I checked the squash and it wasn't done, so I pulled it and put it in a 400º oven. It did have a nice smoked look to it, though...
I pulled the lamb (it was at about 120º when I pulled it) and put it on a piece of foil on the grill, bone side down.
While that was searing, I heated up a pan of oil, added some shallots and salt, then tossed in the taters and let them cook.
After about 15 minutes the lamb was seared nicely and at 135º. I pulled it and let it rest.
Strained the sauce and thickened it. Pulled the squash from the oven. My plan had been to cut it in slices to fan on a plate, but it wasn't going to cooperate; the skin was too tough to slice thinly, so I halved the halves instead. ( I might try slicing it before cooking next time and see what that does...)
Drained the taters and carved the lamb. Plated it all and actually managed to snap a photo before the wife hit me for making her wait.
Mmmm Mmmm good... That was delicious. Tasted even better than it looks. The sauce was a perfect counterpoint to the meat...
I noticed something though...
There was a lot of fat in that rack. Not sure what I could have done with it; didn't see it until after carving. Made for some tender lamb, but as the photo shows, it's a bit much. I'm wondering what would have rendered it better; higher temp and shorter time, or lower temp and longer. My inclination is higher temps, but the cook might be so short I'd lose the smoky flavor. On the other hand, higher temp might reduce the need for the reverse sear to give me a crust, too...
The fat cap rendered nicely, just not the interior stuff. But it's soooo tasty!
Also the squash could still use some butter...
I might also foil the bones for the first 30 minutes or so...
I had a nice frenched rack of lamb in the fridge. So I dug that out and put together a marinade of Dijon mustard, EVOO, garlic, fresh rosemary from the garden, salt, pepper, and some Italian lemon juice. Mixed that all up and slathered it on the lamb:
And then let that sit in the fridge for about 2 1/2 hours. I then put on one of my sweet/spicy rubs and let it sit while I did the other prep...
Two side dishes with this... Acorn squash and small red potatoes. Hmmm... How to do them differently?
For the squash, I cut it in half and scooped it, and then covered that with a thin layer of brown sugar, and the layered it with thinly sliced fresh ginger. Unlike all my other acorn squash cooks, no butter on it this time...
Both the lamb and the squash went on the WSM at 225 with some pecan wood.
While that was going, I prepped the potatoes; ran them through the food processor to give me very thin slices.
Also started on the mint sauce. I make a reduction sauce that uses worchestershire, balsamic, Italia lemon, maple syrup, mint, rosemary, and peach jam. Let that simmer...
After a bit more than an hour or so, the lamb had hit 110º. At that point I fired up the Weber gasser and let it get HOT.
I checked the squash and it wasn't done, so I pulled it and put it in a 400º oven. It did have a nice smoked look to it, though...
I pulled the lamb (it was at about 120º when I pulled it) and put it on a piece of foil on the grill, bone side down.
While that was searing, I heated up a pan of oil, added some shallots and salt, then tossed in the taters and let them cook.
After about 15 minutes the lamb was seared nicely and at 135º. I pulled it and let it rest.
Strained the sauce and thickened it. Pulled the squash from the oven. My plan had been to cut it in slices to fan on a plate, but it wasn't going to cooperate; the skin was too tough to slice thinly, so I halved the halves instead. ( I might try slicing it before cooking next time and see what that does...)
Drained the taters and carved the lamb. Plated it all and actually managed to snap a photo before the wife hit me for making her wait.
Mmmm Mmmm good... That was delicious. Tasted even better than it looks. The sauce was a perfect counterpoint to the meat...
I noticed something though...
There was a lot of fat in that rack. Not sure what I could have done with it; didn't see it until after carving. Made for some tender lamb, but as the photo shows, it's a bit much. I'm wondering what would have rendered it better; higher temp and shorter time, or lower temp and longer. My inclination is higher temps, but the cook might be so short I'd lose the smoky flavor. On the other hand, higher temp might reduce the need for the reverse sear to give me a crust, too...
The fat cap rendered nicely, just not the interior stuff. But it's soooo tasty!
Also the squash could still use some butter...
I might also foil the bones for the first 30 minutes or so...
