Rosemary & Garlic Oven Roasted Rack of Lamb
This Rosemary & Garlic Oven Roasted Rack of Lamb is a perfect centerpiece for an elegant holiday dinner without requiring any fussy or difficult skills! Juicy, tender, and perfectly cooked to a medium-rare with a crusty exterior made with garlic, herbs, and lemon zest, this is one of the best cuts of lamb and makes an easy and impressive main dish for entertaining!
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 1052kcal
Ingredients
- 1 rack of lamb typically 8 to 9 ribs
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons fresh rosemary
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- 6-8 garlic cloves
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Coarse salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Remove the rack of lamb from the refrigerator and place in a baking dish. Season both sides of the lamb generously with salt and pepper.
- In a food processor, combine the olive oil, rosemary, thyme, garlic cloves and lemon zest and pulse until finely chopped. This can be done by hand by finely chopping the garlic and herbs, then stirring into the oil in a small bowl if you do not have a food processor.
- Rub the marinade over the seasoned lamb and allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour before roasting so that it will cook evenly. [See Recipe Notes]
- Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Place the lamb with the fat side up on the baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes before rotating the baking sheet to ensure even cooking and roasting for another 10 minutes for medium-rare meat or 15 minutes for medium doneness (although in my opinion, lamb should is best served medium-rare). If using a digital meat thermometer, medium-rare will be between 130-140 degrees F and medium is between 140-145 degrees F. But the internal temperature will continue to rise about 5 degrees after the rack is removed from the oven, so if you are shooting for an end temp of 130, you will want to pull the lamb when it reaches 125 degrees F.
- Transfer the roasted rack of lamb to a cutting board and allow to rest for 10 minutes so the juices can redistribute before slicing into individual chops for serving. Use a sharp knife to slice between the bones, then serve immediately.
Notes
- Alternatively, you can seal in a ziploc bag and return to the fridge to marinate for up to a day. If refrigerating, be sure to allow the lamb to sit outside of the fridge for an hour to come up to room temperature before roasting.
- When roasting meat in the oven, it's very important that the temperature be correct to help gauge cooking times. If the oven is too warm or too cool, it can make a big difference in the doneness of the meat. A simple oven thermometer can help you check to be sure your oven temperature is running true.
- Lamb cooking temperatures: Rare (120-130 degrees F, very red); Medium-rare (130-140 degrees F, bright pink); Medium (140-145 degrees F, light pink); Medium-well (145-150 degrees F, barely any pink); Well-done (150-160 degrees F, no pink left). For the record, I highly recommend not cooking your rack of lamb to be well-done. It will be very dry and nothing like a juicy, medium-rare rack of lamb.
Nutrition
Calories: 1052kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 99g | Saturated Fat: 40g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 45g | Cholesterol: 189mg | Sodium: 140mg | Potassium: 503mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 77IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 4mg