This simple and delicious rack of lamb recipe will yield a perfectly cooked showstopper meal every time, even for beginners!
Table of Contents
A fool-proof rack of lamb!
I love oven roasting a rack of lamb (or two) whenever we’re celebrating a special occasion. I normally allot one (1½ pound) lamb rack for every two guests, and buy the racks a few days ahead so I have time to salt and marinate them ahead of time. If you follow the tips below, you’ll end up with perfectly cooked tender chops that will impress your toughest guests!
Salt Ahead of Time
Many years ago, I learned that one of the ways to ensure properly seasoned meat was to salt it properly—that means with the right amount and at least a day ahead. My normal rule of thumb is to follow Chef Judy Rodger’s ratio of 1 tablespoon medium coarse salt for every 4½ pounds of meat. If you’re using a finer grain salt, decrease the amount, but you’ll still use more than you think. Pro tip: you can salt up to three days in advance and store the salted racks in the fridge until you are ready to cook.
Reverse Sear Method
My favorite way to cook the lamb is the reverse sear method, popularized by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, food nerd extraordinaire. This technique involves slow roasting the meat in a low oven until the internal temperature reaches 125°F (for medium-rare) on a meat thermometer. Then, you sear the outside of the roast in a hot pan or under a broiler to get a brown exterior. This method takes longer than cooking in a hot oven (e.g. 400°F), but there’s more wiggle room if you aren’t paying close attention, and the rack of lamb will still be pink from end to end.
Use a meat thermometer!
Although this oven roasted rack of lamb recipe is easy peasy, the best way to ensure success is to use a great meat thermometer. I love both my instant read Thermapen One and my in-oven thermometer—invest in a good one and you won’t wreck your meat!
Ingredients
- Racks of lamb, “frenched”: I normally buy two 1.5 pound racks from Costco or Trader Joe’s to feed four people.
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt: As I stated above, salting early and liberally is the key to a flavor-packed rack of lamb. I like using Diamond Crystal kosher salt because it’s hard to over-salt with it.
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Fresh lemon juice
- Garlic
- Dried oregano or dried marjoram: I like using oregano or marjoram but fee free to use rosemary or thyme if you prefer those herbs.
- Freshly ground black pepper
How to make rack of lamb
Trim any extra fat off of the top of the racks, leaving a thin layer.
Rub the salt all over the racks of lamb and cover and refrigerate them overnight and up to three days.
On the day you’re roasting the lamb racks, mix the marinade. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, and pepper.
Pour the marinade over the lamb racks and marinate for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours in the fridge. (I normally leave it at room temperature for the length of time it takes for the oven to heat up.)
Heat the oven to 275°F with the rack in the middle. Place the lamb racks on a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet and pop it in the oven.
Cook until the internal temperature reaches 125°F (about 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of your racks).
Take the lamb out of the oven and turn on the broiler or the highest temperature your oven can reach.
Place the lamb racks back in the oven…
…and cook until the exterior is nice and browned, about 5 minutes.
Use a sharp knife to slice in between each of the rib bones so you have individual lamb chops…
…and serve with Tzatziki and Instant Pot Crispy Potatoes!
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Foolproof Rack of Lamb
Ingredients
- 2 racks of lamb "frenched" about 1½ pounds per rack
- 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano or marjoram
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Trim any extra fat off of the top of the racks, leaving a thin layer.
- Rub the salt all over the racks of lamb and cover and refrigerate them overnight and up to three days.
- On the day you’re roasting the lamb racks, mix the marinade. In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, oregano, and pepper.
- Pour the marinade over the lamb racks and marinate for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours in the fridge.
- Heat the oven to 275°F with the rack in the middle. Place the lamb racks on a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet and pop it in the oven.
- Cook until the internal temperature reaches 125°F for medium rare (about 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of your racks).
- Take the lamb out of the oven and turn on the broiler or the highest temperature your oven can reach.
- Place the lamb racks back in the oven and cook until the exterior is nice and browned, about 5 minutes.
- Slice up the chops and serve with Whole30 Tzatziki sauce and Instant Pot Crispy Potatoes!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Your recipe sounds good with tasty.thanks for sharing.
Hi Michelle, this is my first time buying rack of lamb. I want to try this recipe. I end up with lots of lamb fats after the trimmin. Do you discard the fats or can I use it for oil cooking? Thanks
You can use any fat for cooking 🍳 as it may be wasteful to trash it 😉
Thanks for the delicious recipe, Michelle! We enjoyed it as part of our Easter celebration yesterday. I don’t have a double oven and nothing else I was fixing cooked at 275 degrees. So I cooked the lamb early to the 125 degree internal temperature and held it in a crock pot on the warm setting while I fired the heat up to fix some sides. Then I popped the lamb back in the oven under the broiler to brown it just before serving. Delicious!
*DROOL*
Why do you remove the fat Michelle?
Made this for Easter, yesterday. Easy and delicious. Thank you for sharing
Hey Michelle, what are the instructions for cooking this in my new air fryer? This is a favorite recipe of ours, but we use lamb chops. Works everytime! Thanks
Never tried it but Michelle’s rule of them is to cook 25 degrees (F) lower and cut the cooking time by around 30-40%
Hi Michelle ,if I don’t have wire rack can i I cook the lamb rack on a baking dish ?
You can, the wire rack helps to cool it more evenly, but use what you have.