Rack of Spring Lamb on the Braai/BigGreenEgg

Well spring has sprung and there are lambs all out in the fields around us in the south of England, so what better time to have a braai with some. I will be using a rack of best end lamb chops, which will be French trimmed, just for appearances, much to my sons dismay. He protested that I was wasting the best bits and I’m afraid that I have to agree, but needs must. I will be serving this with Sweet Potato crush.

How to French Trim Lamb:

First remove most of the fat from the back of the rack, leaving a little bit to flavour the meat as it cooks. French-trim the bones by cutting the fat out around each bone down to the meat. Scrape the bones of all sinew and fat. Cut between the bones and through the eye of the lamb, leaving 1cm of meat still attached at the bottom.

This recipe is very simple and quick and I will be lightly smoking it as it cooks, with BigGreenEgg Cedar Wood smoking planks (which we sell) and fresh rosemary. This is only lightly smoked, as you don’t want to loose the great taste of the lamb. Once again we will be giving away a great prize of one of these packs of smoking planks to one lucky reader, see the end of the blog for details.

SERVES 4: PREP: 15MINS: MARINATE 1HR: COOK TIME: 25MINS

Ingredients for Rack & the Marinade:

2 x Racks Spring Lamb (French Trimmed)
1/2 x Finely chopper Shallot/white onion
4 x Sprigs of Rosemary
2tbsp Olive Oil
2tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
100g Bunch of Rosemary for smoking
1 x Pack BigGreenEgg Cedar Wood Planks

Method how to prepare Marinade:

Mix the oil and vinegar together in a bowl.
Finely chop the onion and sprigs of rosemary and add to the oil and vinegar.
This is now ready to be brushed onto the racks of lamb.

Method how to prepare & cook the Lamb:

Brush the marinade onto the lamb and leave to marinate out of the fridge for 1hr.
Meat is always better if it’s left to come to room temperature before cooking.
Place the Rosemary & Cedar Wood Planks into water to soak for 1hr.
Preheat the Braai to 300°C (570°F).
Cover the ends of the chops with baking foil to stop them from burning when you sear the lamb fat.
Place the smoking planks in the braai for 5mins to warm up and then turn them over ready to place the meat on them.
Sear the lamb racks on their fat side first for 5mins be careful not to burn them.
I like to take the foil off the end of the chops to colour when cooking but others don’t, it’s really up to you.
Place the pre-soaked rosemary on the coals so they start to smoulder.
Place the racks of lamb on the smoking planks and cook for 20mins.
This should be the perfect length of time to cook these to medium rare, pink in colour.
If you have cut the racks (3-4 chops per rack) up into smaller portions then you only need to cook them for 15mins.

Take them off the braai and rest them on the planks for 5mins so that they relax before cutting and serving with salad, rice of potatoes.

This was the first of the Spring Lamb for this year and it so absolutely fantastic. The cedar planks just gave it a slight sweet taste that just added to the smoke from the rosemary and together they were divine.

If you would like to try to cook this for yourselves then why not leave some feedback in the comments area below and one lucky reader will win a pack of these smoking planks for themselves. Entries will close on the 22nd June 2013, please check back to see if you were the lucky winner.