By Sam Sifton
- Total Time
- 1 hour 45 minutes
- Rating
- 5(870)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Impressive in size, color and flavor, this take on an old Escoffier recipe brings salt-crunchiness to the exterior of sweet, roasted lamb. Served with Macaroni Milanaise, it makes for a show-off, dinner-party meal of little compare. (Tell no one how easy it is to pull off.)
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings.
- 1rack of lamb, approximately 1¼ pounds, frenched
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup fresh bread crumbs
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan
- 1tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley.
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
218 calories; 19 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 8 grams protein; 172 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Preheat oven to 450. Put a large frying pan over high heat until very hot. Rub lamb with 1 tablespoon of the oil, season aggressively with salt and pepper and then sear the meat in the pan until it is golden brown all over, approximately 4 minutes a side. Place on a rimmed baking sheet, and let rest for 20 or 30 minutes, until cool.
Step
2
In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs, cheese and parsley. Rub the cooled-off lamb with the remaining olive oil, then pat the seasoned bread crumbs all over the meat in an even layer.
Step
3
Put the lamb back on the baking sheet, and roast until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 120 degrees, approximately 20 to 30 minutes. (Tent the lamb with foil if the crust threatens to get too dark at the end.) Remove the lamb from the oven, and allow to stand, covered loosely in foil, for 10 minutes or so. (The internal temperature will rise to 125 degrees, or medium-rare, while the lamb sits.) Carve into chops, and serve on a warmed platter.
Ratings
5
out of 5
870
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Cooking Notes
Antonia
Instead of parsley, I used rosemary. Very good
Es
Delicious. However, didn't need to roast 20 minutes in the oven despite an initial rest of about 2 hours. So use your meat thermometer if you like your lamb rare or medium rare.
Tommie V
How can you do this without garlic. Added a couple of cloves - perfection! Thanks for the great recipe.
Rich K
I used this recipe and it was excellent.I added rosemary to the dry mix and I added two cloves of crushed garlic during pan searing.I pan seared using a cast iron pan on high heat on my Wolf Range but only did it two minutes per side to get a nice brown crust all around.Also, I believe the oven temp could be lowered and just extend the roasting time with a meat temperature probe. I roasted the lamb to 130 degrees and it was medium rare. Awesome results!
Nancy Vaughns
After searing the lamb I brushed it all over with Dijon mustard before covering it in the cheese and bread crumbs. It added a wonderful zing that wasn’t overpowering at all. Overall wonderful dish.
Killer
This was shockingly easy and turned out possibly better than any rack of lamb I've ever had. Definitely going to become a weeknight dinner staple!
Stacy
Add fresh rosemary, thyme & 1 small covered garlic, minced.
Allyson
Really good. I roasted the lamb at 400 for about 25 minutes and it was a perfect medium rare. I seared and roasted the lamb in a cast iron skillet, so there was only one dish to wash. After searing, I tossed the fat and drippings with some fingerling potatoes, and roasted them in the skillet with the lamb. So good.
Lynda B
This recipe gets raves. It pleases everyone in my house from age 9 to 78!
Chef Josh
Try an egg white rub
Harvey
I liked the recipe, though I found the crust a little overly rich. I'll use less olive oil next time and will try out Chef Josh's suggestion of an egg white rub.
shoebender
First time making lamb - WOW. Made as directed, yum. Next time will try the mustard.
Changes made
Cook to max 115
Lynn L
I used my timing chart that goes by the thickness of the meat which I always use for steaks. It worked great!Beautiful crust!
John C
I use a thermo works probe that goes in the oven when I put the rack in . I take it out at 120 as directed and it continues to cook to 130 which is perfect for us but it’s not the 125 the recipes indicates.
Randy S.
This was great. I had some panko breadcrumbs that I used. I added Rosemary and minced spring garlic in addition to the parsley. Maybe add a little mint next time as well. For me I skipped the searing the outside step and cooked it fat side up on the Traeger grill at 450 until internal temp hit 130.
Naomi
I used mayonnaise mixed with minced garlic instead of the oil to keep the breadcrumbs in place. It worked beautifully. The 20 minutes of roasting time was perfect in my oven.
gwen
This was wonderful. I did three racks on one sheet pan and it worked out well. I had Thermopro probes in the meat and took the racks out of the oven at about 128-130 degrees F, a little higher than the recipe stated. Also had to use a foil tent after about five minutes as the crust started to brown pretty quickly. After resting and slicing the lamb it still was perfectly pink throughout. The Parmesan crust was absolutely beautiful. My husband isn’t a big fan of lamb and he loved this.
Debbie G
Our favorite restaurant was booked solid for New Years', so I decided to make this recipe. Wasn't disappointed -- better than any restaurant rack of lamb we could have ordered. And we didn't have to dress up!
Matt
I found cooking to 125 to be too rare. Brought it up to 130 . Also added some rosemary to the breadcrumbs and used mustard before applying. It was delicious
C D
Used rosemary instead of parsley
Peter WIlliams
Agreed with others - heat-tolerant herbs like sage and rosemary in the crust make a big difference. Other renditions use dijon as a base layer (after you've seared it, in lieu of the olive oil here) and it really is amazing. Also - parmesan is the 'glue' that holds the curst together, so a bit more doesn't hurt. I did note that 450 oven burned the crust a bit at about the 18 minute mark (conventional bake). On the second round I'll run the oven at 430 for 20-25 minutes.
Julian
Tried this with a fresh cut of NZ lamb (I'm in New Zealand) but found the meat mostly flavorless and will definitely pre-season next time. In retrospect I did know better, throwing on salt right before searing never works.The racks were on the small side and almost up to temperature after 2x4 minutes in the pan so I couldn't leave them long enough in the oven to brown the coating. I think this recipe only works with larger racks.
Laura
Why preheat the oven in step 1 when the rack does not go into the oven for at least 30 minutes until after searing and coming to room temp?
frank v
Amazing recipe, I happened to have pecorino, no Parmesan, it was great
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