I can count the number of times I’ve eaten lamb on one hand.
Teeny, tiny lamb chops, grilled, on two occasions. Ground lamb in something or other I can’t remember at a restaurant, and cubed lamb in our favorite Turkish Stew, though I usually use beef.
That’s it. Why? Because lamb is expensive, at least where I live.
But I was at the grocery store yesterday and passed by an end cap in the meat section laden with Frenched lamb chops. On sale for half-off. Now, half-off meant I paid $19 for a $34 two-pound cut of meat. I would never pay $34 for a two pounds cut of meat. Who could? Or would? Even in Covid? But $19 for Frenched rack of lamb…Basically half off?
Since I had no idea what I was going to make for dinner anyway, I caved.
When I say I didn’t know what I was going to make, I mean it. Here’s what I sent Mr. A before going grocery shopping:
I was coming up blank, Mr. Alexander was coming up blank, my search results were coming up with nothing that seemed good on a 90 degree day… And then I walked past an end cap full of lamb and inspiration struck.
Of course, I had no idea how to cook a rack of lamb, but there’s always the Googs.
I followed this recipe, more or less.
Ingredients? Salt and pepper, natch, but also an olive oil, fresh rosemary and garlic emulsion to rub onto the lamb. Totally easy. Totally simple.
Totally delish.
First up, I harvested rosemary from my garden. If you grow herbs over the summer you can freeze them and use it all winter. If you don’t have fresh rosemary, just remember that 1 Tablespoon of fresh rosemary equals 1 teaspoon dried.
As per the recipe, I mixed the rosemary, EVOO, and garlic in a food processor. Note that I did not use fresh garlic. I know, I know, purists would say use fresh, but we have jobs and a child and dogs and cats and blogs and books to write and chores and laundry, etc, etc. Buy yourself this stuff and be done with chopping garlic on a busy night. It’s not the same but it works well enough.
Look at my emulsion thingy in a food pro my husband had when I met him 20 years ago! Still works!
I rubbed the emulsion over the rack, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and voila!
Welp, it was good. No doubt about that. It was maybe a bit underdone? I used a meat thermometer and everything, but it was still awfully red in the middle.
#nofilter on this. That’s really what was on my plate. No lie it was a bit, er, rare for most of us. Still it tasted great and was tender.
No lie the bacon on the loaded baked potatoes was sort of burned. I got distracted.
No lie I hate my green plates, but that’s what I ate on yesterday.
No lie that lamb, if you can get it on sale, is worth every penny and more.
