Late Night Lamb

I visited my home in Cleveland for my mother's birthday recently. During my brief visit I picked up a few things from the market. Some spices, some flours, some coffees, all fairly regular items... Until I walked past one particular vendor where I saw a rack so resplendent. Curves I would not--could not--pass if I were half blind. A rack of lamb

I brought the rack back with me to Columbus and seasoned it as if I were applying a dry cure. The seasoning is as follows:

2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 tsp. finely chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp. crushed coriander seeds
1 tsp. Himalayan pink salt
1 tsp. lemon grass
1 tsp. black pepper

I let that sit overnight to let the salt break down some muscle and let the seasonings work in a little bit. I had work the next night and wasn't willing to wait to cook it up. So I got back at about 11:30 PM and got out my good pan and heated my oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

Medium high heat with some olive oil, and just as I saw a tiny bit of smoke, toss in the seasoned lamb, fat side down. Sizzle. Magnificent sizzle. 3 minutes. Flip. 3 more minutes. Onto a tray and into the oven, fat side up. About 20 minutes. Until the rack reads 120-125 degrees Fahrenheit. Here's a chronological view of the process if my words aren't working for you.

While you wait: potatoes.

5 small russet potatoes (boil them for 10 minutes. julienne them.)
1 tbsp. butter
1 medium shallot, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. Himalayan pink salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 c. whole milk
1 egg

In a frying pan, melt the butter, brown it, get it beautiful. toss in the shallots, cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often, then the garlic. You'll now want to spend the rest of your life sniffing the pan, but push onwards. Season with salt and pepper. Add the milk, reduce by half. Cool. Beat in the egg. Combine with your julienned potatoes and get ready for the next level.

Duck fat.

Heat your pan back up with some duck fat in it. Pour in your potatoes and fry 'till golden, ~6 minutes and flip. Your lamb should be done. Take it out of the oven to rest. ~5 more minutes on the potatoes. Kill the heat. Slice the lamb. Here's a pictorial.

Plate.

That is medium rare.
Soon after, your plate will look like this:

In case it wasn't obvious, that's because it was delicious.

Thanks for reading!

And I thank Michael Symon for being a great chef and writing his book Carnivore, which gave me great ideas on how to cook the lamb.