Grilled Lamb Racks with a Basil Dip

[Henrik]

Friends, barbecue lovers, country men! (Isn’t that what Caesar said? I'm pretty sure it was )

I am a big fan of lamb. And I really like my Santa Maria accessory for the kettle. So, I dropped in some birch wood, lit that match, and started grilling.

However, I wanted to try out some new flavor combos. The meat was easy: keep it simple. So I just added salt. But then I thought: let’s give it a caramelized surface, it should be subtle, but still there, and let’s make a tangy dip to go with that. Sweet meats sour. So I grilled some lamb racks, cut them in between each rib so you got a nice lamb lollipop, and served the dip sauce in small bowls. Just dunk that meat into the sauce bowl, and dig in - finger licking’ good! Double dipping allowed. Real tasty!

Here’s how I made it.

Ingredients
2 lamb racks
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp honey

Basil Dip
1 bunch basil
6 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon (the juice from it)
1 clove of garlic

Mix the ingredients for the dip in a tall bowl and blend it with blender.



Dry brine the meat with the salt a few hours in advance, or even better, the night before.

Fire up your grill and start grilling. No smoke this time. I started up high, and lowered the grates after a while. These took 30 minutes. You can grill them faster of course, but I wanted to go slow and keep them super juicy.






When the racks are getting close to the done temp (56-58° C, or 133-136° F), i.e. when the meat is at 50-51° C or 122-124° F, it's time to brush them with the honey. Now caramelize the honey over high direct heat.
Cut the lamb racks in between each rib and serve with the dip sauce.


Hank - over and out!

[Spinaker]

Thanks for the recipe! This is great. There are few things I love more than lamb chops.

Interesting that you used birch wood, I have never thought about using that before. Although I have to go up north to get that stuff. It grow like crazy up in Superior National Forest. Not so much in the Big Woods region down here. I would imagine it has a fairly mild flavor?

[tbob4]

I have it in my backyard and it goes into the fireplace not the cooker. Good question because I have not seen it used before.

[Henrik]

We have it in abundance here, and use it for warming our houses. NOT a fan of the smoke flavor at all, but here I used it for heat only. Works well!

[klflowers]

I haven't done lamb in awhile. I guess it is time. That looks great.

[JGo37]

Lamb and eggs is my favorite breakfast. And what a great quick basil dip!

[Jim White]

That looks wonderful! And the basil dip sounds brilliant.

[Henrik]

Thanks! It turned out real good.

[treesmacker]

Basil dip looks beautiful also - gotta try that.

[mountainsmoker]

Dang Henrik we love lamb, that sounds so good. I am going to pull a small leg out of the freezer just to try it. Don't have any racks right now. I usually use rosemary, the basil is intriguing.

[Henrik]

Rosemary is a classic, can't go wrong with that either.

[Ahumadora]

Damm Henrik Troutman Is reallly going to have to pulll one out of the hat to catch up with you on recipes... I have pretty much the same thing to cook on. My favourite way of cooking over live fire..

[Troutman]

I’m about ready to raise the white flag

[Henrik]

Well, that Troutman fella keeps me on my toes, sounds like raising the white flag is a good idea. We'll just sit back and enjoy a bourbon or something instead :-)

[Steve B]

Killing it once again Henrik This looks SOOOO good.

[Henrik]

Thank you, it turned out great!

[Troutman]

Love me some lamb chops. Nice work on those !! I like the honey trick, I’ll be borrowing that one. I guess we must be on the same wavelength, I’m doing thomahawk Berkshire pork chops this weekend, stay tuned !!

[Henrik]

Yep, you sure have a knack for cooking up great recipes!

[Troutman]

Ahumadora I believe they are, they're about an inch thick. Dry brining tonight for a Saturday cook. Henrik I'm thinking a pear sauce to go with it. Any suggestions?

[Henrik]

Pear sauce sounds great! Fruity flavors and pork goes very well together. You'll knock it out the park I'm sure.

[Backroadmeats]

Boy does that look good. I have never had lamb.. looks like something I should try!!

[Ahumadora]

??? Never had lamb ? And you own that giant meat locker? What do you guys grow up there?

[Backroadmeats]

Nope. I know the local grocery store doesn't sell it.. we eat beef and pork and deer. I don't know if I have ever seen it in a store for that matter..

[mountainsmoker]

Henrik the wife gave the go ahead. She already is messing with your recipe. LOL. She makes a ton of Pesto and decided that she wants to just add lemon juice to it. I think it will be great as the dipping sauce. I will just whirl it up to make it smoother. I will pull the lamb out of the freezer tomorrow.

[Henrik]

Sounds like a winner to me!

[mountainsmoker]

Henrik did a 4.45 lb. semi-boneless leg of lamb that I dry brined over night, last night and with the pesto plus lemon dipping sauce it was absolutely delicious. Thanks for the recipe. Oh by the way I used oak to smoke it. I have pics but can't upload them at this time. Don't know why but will do so when the computer lets me.

[Henrik]

Cool, I'm glad to hear you liked it!

[CWCaassel]

getting rack out for Easter. This looks like the plan instead of the usual.

[Thunder77]

Awesome! Did you make the Santa Maria accessory?

[Henrik]

Thanks! Yes I did.