Thursday, February 12, 2009

Easy Recipe for Roast Rack of Lamb with Red Wine Sauce (Αρνίσια Παϊδάκια με Σάλτσα Κόκκινου Κρασιού)

Roast Rack of Lamb with Red Wine Sauce is quick and easy to make, but it’s rich with flavor and perfect for days when you don’t want to fuss with dinner.

Roast Rack of LambThe lamb is washed, trimmed, put in a simple marinade for 30 minutes, browned on the stove, and oven-roasted. The marinade is boiled and turned into red wine sauce. That’s pretty much it. The sauce’s intense flavor is balanced by the lamb, which cooks to perfection in 15-20 minutes.

Oven-roasted potatoes go really well with Roast Rack of Lamb. They’re also easy to make: cut the potatoes in 2” chunks, brown one cut-side of each chunk in a little olive oil using an oven proof skillet, turn each chunk browned-side up, and put the pan of potatoes in the oven with the lamb for about 15 minutes to finish cooking.

Roast Rack of Lamb with Red Wine SauceRoast Rack of Lamb with Red Wine Sauce (Αρνίσια Παϊδάκια με Σάλτσα Κόκκινου Κρασιού)
Serves 3 - 4

I use cabernet sauvignon, or a cabernet-merlot mix, for the marinade. No matter the variety, use wine you’re willing to drink, otherwise the sauce won’t turn out well (don’t use anything labeled “cooking wine”). Be sure not to marinate the meat for longer than an hour. After that, dry red wine’s acidity (3.4 to 3.7 ph) begins to “cook” the meat and break down its texture, neither of which are desirable for tender lamb chops. The ribs in a
Frenched rack of lamb are completely exposed; the blade and chine bones are removed. In Anchorage, Costco sells good quality, pre-Frenched racks of lamb.

1 8-rib rack of lamb, Frenched
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups dry red wine
2 Tbsp. minced fresh rosemary
1 Tbsp. minced fresh garlic
1/4 cup minced shallots
2 cups chicken stock
2 Tbsp. butter cut in 4 pieces
1 Tbsp. olive oil

Wash the rack of lamb and
remove the silver skin and as much fat as possible. Season the lamb on both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper. In a gallon-size ziplock bag or bowl large enough to hold the lamb, mix the red wine, rosemary, garlic, and shallots. Put the lamb in the bag, meat side immersed, and let marinate for 30 – 60 minutes at room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Remove the lamb from the marinade and dry well with paper towels (don’t remove any seasoning that’s sticking to the meat).

Put the marinade in a saucepan and bring to a rapid boil. Continue to boil until the marinade is reduced by half. Strain the reduced marinade and discard the solids. Return the liquid to the saucepan, add the chicken stock, and bring to a rapid boil. Continue to boil until the sauce is reduced to 1/2 – 3/4 cup; watch carefully at the end because the sauce can go from perfect to burnt very quickly. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, one piece at a time. Taste and add salt or freshly ground black pepper, as needed.

After you first put the marinade on to boil, heat the olive oil in an oven-proof skillet. Brown the lamb, meat side down. When the meat side is nicely browned, turn the rack over and put it in the preheated oven. Cook for 15 – 20 minutes, depending on how done you like your lamb and the size of the rack. Remove from the oven, cover with aluminum foil, and let rest for 5 minutes.

Cut the lamb into chops and plate. Drizzle with red wine sauce and serve immediately.
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This is my entry for Original Recipes, an event hosted and created by Culinarty.

16 comments:

Maria Verivaki said...

ilove the look of a rack of lamb chops, not the most common way to serve it in crete unfortunately

Chibog in Chief said...

oh i love the way you cook the lamb..still rosé :-) love it!! i see myself roasting some potatoes with rosemary to pair with it! yum

Maria said...

I love rack of lamb and it has been a long, long time since I have made this. Your recipe looks and sounds delicious--the lamb cooked just right, the sauce flavorful and aromatic. Perfect.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tip about Costco -- I'm headed there next week and will be sure to look for the Frenched rack. What an elegant and easy weeknight dinner!

Karen said...

Looks like it was done to perfection! I love lamb :)

Anonymous said...

Bravo for your recipe creation skills, this looks delicious! And it's so much easier to keep the chops from drying out when they're all together in a roast instead of being separated.

Lore said...

That lamb is cooked to perfection and sounds utterly delicious too!
Welcome to the Original Recipes Round-Up Laurie :)

Peter G | Souvlaki For The Soul said...

Give me lamb any day of the week Laurie! I love the red wine sauce in this!

Anonymous said...

We're having lamb rib chops for V-Day today! Will have to try your red wine sauce the next time we have these... delish!

Mediterranean Turkish Cook said...

I love lamb chops and the way you made them sounds so easy, yet delicious. The red wine sauce really goes with it well. I need to mark this recipe and give it a try sometime.

Peter M said...

Your butcher beautifully Frenched the lamb rack, you treated with the utmost culinary respect and I'm sure you relished each nibble...gorgeous!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

This dish may be simple but full in flavour and perfect for any special occasion.

Cheryl said...

Oh, this looks fantastic! I'm so hungry...how long does it take to get to Alaska from here? :)

Laurie Constantino said...

Maria, rack of lamb is not how lamb is served on the island either - there it's the hack and whack school of Greek butchery.

Dhanggit, mmm, yes, roast potatoes with rosemary would be perfect.

Thanks Maria!

Lydia, Costco really does have good buyers.

Karen - Lamb Lovers Unite!

Lulu, you've exactly hit on why I prefer racks to chops - the meat doesn't get overcooked.

Thank you Lore!

Peter G, red wine and lamb work really well together.

Happy Belated V-day, Mangu - hope your lamb turned out well.

Nihal, it's nice to have a few simple recipes in your pocket for busy days.

Peter M, I like to think of those Costco butchers as my very own - HAHAHA!!!

Val, especially when you've been making more complicated foods, simple recipes like this are really a pleasure.

Cheryl, only about 30 hours. Drop on in!!!

Andy said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Kits Chow said...

I'm bookmarking this recipe. I plan to serve it at Easter.