This year, my Easter dinner is rack of lamb. My wife is leaving for Mexico early Easter morning, so I need something extra fancy to send her on her way. Lamb popsicles, here we come! 2
I tried the reverse sear technique this year, and the result is an evenly cooked rack of lamb. Pink from edge to edge, with a browned crust on the outside. To reverse sear, set the grill up with a two zone fire - direct heat on one side, and no heat on the other. The lamb starts on the indirect heat side of the grill, away from the coals, to cook gently until it is about ten degrees below the final temperature (125°F for medium, which is how I like my lamb cooked, with a warm pink center from edge to edge.) Then we sear, crisping the lamb crust and finishing the cooking hot and fast. This gives the lamb just enough time over high heat for a browned crust, but not so much that it overcooks the inside.
Looking for a festive rack of lamb? Try the reverse sear. You won’t be disappointed.
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Reverse Seared Rack of Lamb on the Grill
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Reverse seared rack of lamb. Herb rubbed and grilled, with a rosy pink interior and crisp, browned crust.
Ingredients
- Rack of lamb, fat cap trimmed, (2 inches thick, about 2 pounds)
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt or 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground peppercorn mix (or black pepper)
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Season the rack of lamb: Stir the salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, garlic, and olive oil into a paste. Rub the lamb all over with the paste, and rest in the refrigerator until it is time to grill. (If you have the
- Set up the grill for indirect medium-low heat (300°F): Set the grill up for indirect medium-low heat, about 300°F, and clean the grill grate. Charcoal: On my charcoal grill, I light half a chimney of charcoal (50 coals), wait for the coals to be mostly covered with gray ash. When the coals are ready, I pour them into my charcoal basket, pushed up against the side of the grill. (No charcoal basket? arrange the coals in a tight pile against the side of the grill, stacked 3 to 4 coals deep.) I put the rack on the grill and close the lid for five minutes to heat up the grate, then brush the grate clean. Gas: On a gas grill, light one or two of the burners and adjust the burners to get a 300°F internal temperature inside the grill.
- Start on indirect heat, away from the fire, until it reaches 125°F: Put the rack of lamb on the grill grate over indirect heat, away from the fire. Close the lid, and position the air holes directly over the lamb to pull the heat towards it. Cook the lamb until it reaches 125°F internal temperature in the thickest part of the meat for medium doneness, about 30 minutes. (Aim for 105°F for rare, 115°F for medium-rare, 135°F for medium-well.)
- Sear over direct heat to finish: Move the lamb to the direct heat side of the grill, directly over the fire. (On a gas grill, turn a couple of burners up to high, including the burner that’s been heating the grill. If you have a sear station, now is the time to use it.) Sear the lamb until it has a gorgeous brown crust, flipping and moving often to avoid flare-ups. Do this quickly - about four minutes total.
- Rest, carve and serve: Remove the rack of lamb to a cutting board, and let it rest for ten minutes. Slice between the bones to make lamb "popsicles" and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- Watch out for dripping lamb fat - as you can see from the pictures, it will definitely flare up. Keep flipping the rack, and move it around over the charcoal to get it away if the flames get too intense. If a real grease fire gets going, move the lamb back to the indirect side of the grill, and wait a minute or two for the fat to burn out.
Tools
- Grill (I love my Weber kettle)
- Instant read thermometer (A probe thermometer makes this recipe easy - stick the thermometer in the rack, run the wire under the lid, set the temperature alarm, and wait for the temperature alarm to go off.)
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Sunday Dinner
- Method: Grilling
- Cuisine: American
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
Grilled Rack of Lamb (if you’re in a hurry)
Grilled Lamb Loin Chops
Grilled Butterflied Leg Of Lamb, Dry Brined
My Grilling Recipes Index
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Chris says
Lamb cooked this way is one of our favorites. I use firebricks in my kettle to separate the coals from the cool side, and I use almost a chimney full of lit charcoal. The lamb gets done fairly quickly in the higher heat and develops some good browning even before the sear, which can be very brief. It is still pink through and through.
I usually make some tzatziki sauce to serve with it.
Sams Club has racks of lamb for a very reasonable price, especially compared to beef and pork these days.
Mike Vrobel says
Thanks, Chris!
★★★★★
Lyle says
When I told my wife about the rack of lamb, she went right to Costco and bought some for me.
I made the popsicles per your recipe.....all I can say is AWESOME!!!!
They were perfectly tasty and tender as can be.
Thanks Mike V!!
Mike V says
You're welcome - I'm glad it was a hit!