This succulent Smoked Rack of Lamb is a winner of a recipe. The lamb always turns out juicy and wonderful with an abundance of spices and herbs it has great flavor too.
To accompany this gorgeous rack Ken made Smoked Mashed Potatoes, check that recipe out too if you missed it. And for more lamb recipes try our Slow Roasted Boneless Leg of Lamb, Grilled Lamb Chops with Pistachio Mint Pesto or Herb Crusted BBQ Leg of Lamb.
Ken is at the smoker again and we are always thrilled with the results. He had never done lamb before and after this one, I hope he does tons more!! We loved this Smoked Rack of Lamb so much!!
Lamb is one of my favorites but it has to be done correctly. This rack turned out perfectly!! Tender, juicy, and full of flavor!!
It is a process, there is a marinade and then a rub and slowly smoked to perfection. And it is so worth it!!! I am drooling remembering how good this was!! A definite keeper of a recipe!!
This recipe we served at our last Super Bowl party and everyone went nuts for it. It is easy as you just serve a lambsicle to each person. It is a step above the usual fare and people will appreciate that for sure.
A drizzle of really good Balsamic Reduction just before serving and WOW you have a great meal. ENJOY!!!
How do you check to see if it is done perfectly? I use my easy read Thermapen, it gives you a very accurate instant temperature. You don’t want to overcook your lamb, medium rare is perfect at 140-145F.
Smoked Rack of Lamb
Ingredients
- 1 rack of lamb frenched
Marinade
- 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. dry rosemary crushed
- 1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
- 2 cloves crushed garlic
Rub
- Salt to taste
- 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. granulated garlic powder
- 1 tsp. granulated onion powder
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. dried mint
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 1 tsp. dried rosemary
- 1 tsp. dried parsley
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Balsamic reduction
Instructions
- Place marinade ingredients in a large plastic zip bag and mix well. Place rack into bag and massage with the marinade. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
- Remove the rack of ribs from the marinade. Sprinkle with salt to taste, then brush all over with 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard.
- Sprinkle with garlic and onion powder then cayenne powder.
- Mix together all the remaining herbs and rub them onto the rack lamb. Drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil.
- Smoke at 225F with fruitwood for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the internal temperature reads 140-145F for medium-rare using your Thermapen instant-read thermometer. Let rest, tented with foil for 5 min.
- Slice into chops and drizzle with balsamic vinegar before serving.
Video
Nutrition
Adapted from Barbecue Secrets Deluxe! by Rockin’ Ronnie Shewchuk
Comments & Reviews
Christine G. says
I have made this recipe on REPEAT. it is the best lamb rack recipe I have ever found– so much so that when we go to other’s houses and they serve lamb another way, I am far unimpressed. Thank you!!!
Tara Noland says
I am so glad you love it. Thanks for sharing!!
Joe says
I just put a lamb rack in the smoker. Wish I would have seen this recipe first! Sounds so good. Next time for sure!!!!
Tara Noland says
I hope you enjoy both recipes. Tell me what you think of ours when you make it please.
Wendy Oltmanns says
Made these today and really loved them! Only thing I did different was that after taking them out of the smoker we cut them apart and seared each one for a bit of crispness. Flavor was amazing and the balsamic was a great touch!
Tara Noland says
So glad you liked them Wendy, thanks for coming back to tell us too.
joshz says
Made them last weekend and tried three wines to pair. Bordeaux and Spanish Ribera di Duero did not win. Australian shiraz blend from 2005 won hands down. (60% Shiraz, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Franc fermented in wood and aged in both new and one-year-old French and American oak).
Tara Noland says
Glad you found the perfect pairing. I do love an Australian Shiraz!!
Andy says
Tara, for 9 years you have been the guardian of this recipe and diligently answering to all the comments. I salute you. In fact, I’m so impressed with you that I will cook this tomorrow
Tara Noland says
I hope you enjoying it!! Thanks Andy!
Chris Cate says
Hey Tara, About to start my smoker. Love this recipe. It is my go to dish for special occasions and have been using it for Christmas now for 4 years. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Tara Noland says
Thank you so much Chris for taking the time to tell me, so glad you enjoy it. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
Ray G. says
Hello Noshing with Nolands! First, you are a very polite person answering all your posts even the punctuation extremist. Second, the “meat popsicles” as we call them are are fantastic almost anyway you make them but will try you guys smoke recipe this thanksgiving here, I’ll add a quick run past the bbq grill afterwards to put my crispy bark on them. Thanks for the balsamic tip, will try it out!
Tara Noland says
Thanks Ray for your kind words! I hope you enjoy the “popsicles” as much as we do! Happy Thanksgiving!!
Cameron says
Thanks Tara – I’m having a cook off today with my dad. Hoping this recipe pulls through for me.
Tara Noland says
Good luck Cameron, I hope it is a winner!!
Cameron says
I won hands down! I’m back again by popular demand.
Tara Noland says
That is so awesome. Glad is was a winner!!
Anthony Anderson says
Terrible instructions! How about you break it down and use details!!! You dont identify what ingredients are for marinade or rub etc.!
Tara Noland says
The rub and marinade were separated but we added better headers for you and clarified the instructions. Hope that helps.
Andy E says
Lols are you for real
Mike S says
Do you think there would be any issues letting these marinade over night for more than 2-3 hours?
Tara Noland says
I don’t think I would recommend overnight with the lemon juice, it may start to break down the meat and give you undesirable results.
Rodger says
These turned out great, I did a few things different, substituted spicy yellow mustard for Dijon because it’s what I had on hand, and used pecan chips for the smoker which is what we usually prefer for most things we smoke. I really didn’t know what to expect when trying this but, it turned out great. Thanks!
Terry says
I love a rack of lamb smoked on my primo xl oval. All I use is a little balsamic and fresh rosemary. All that other junk masks the flavor of lamb. Rare of course. Some one said they are on their 3rd smoker, get a primo it will last a lifetime.
Tara Noland says
Thank you, we have always had small electric smokers, maybe it is time to move to the big guns!
Scott says
Pics look great. Like food porn great!!
Plan on doing some of this recipe today, but have a thought.
I tend to hack recipes, mashing a couple together that have elements and flavor profiles I like. Here it seems the marinade and rub seem to be redundant and would not make a better end product. They share 2/3’s or the same ingredients. And as one person said, the lack of salt is concerning. Unless you have a sodium issue, salt is a huge thing when smoking any protein.
Anyway, here is my plan…start with doing a buttermilk brine…not something I have tried before with lamb..and combine it with the rub above…which sounds outstanding..I will also swap out all the dried spices with fresh, the only dry would be parsley.
I will smoke it on a BGE to a rare temp. Not sure of what wood I should use, I love cherry for pork and chicken and use it a lot..so I will let you know after the smoke.
We love a rack of lamb for the holidays and tend to do a traditional method on the cook, but I just got a few beautiful racks at a sweet price and want to experiment.
Tara Noland says
Good luck and please tell me what you find in the end. Feel free to add salt if you like of course!
Scott says
Turned out pretty good and will do again
The brining (buttermilk, water, kosher salt for 3hrs) may have helped, they were very juicy. The rub was super and plan to try it in an oven baked version too.
Cooked a bit faster than I had hoped and I had wanted more of a firm, crispy crust or bark. Dome temp in the Egg hovered around 240 with a grill temp around 220. Smoked with Cherry. Now that I am thinking about it, I don’t know why I was expecting a crispy firm bark considering the lower cook temp and “quick” cook time. Ended up pulling at a mid rare temp, which was a good choice. They looked good and tasted fantastic.
I tried to get the sexy crust you did, but failed. I think I need more rub for one. And secondly, what I am thinking is this great bark on the rack in the pics is just more of the rub.
Thanks for a great recipe that I will be repeating on my next cook.
Tara Noland says
The brining is interesting with the buttermilk. Have never done that before. We love them using this recipe and are always so tender and juicy. Good idea to pull them at mid rare for sure. Thanks so much for coming back to tell me what you did and how you loved them.
Luke says
Is there salt missing from the rub?
Tara Noland says
I will have to check that again Luke when I return home but you can add in salt to taste as you like.
Tara Noland says
No, I checked my recipe again at home, we did not add salt. I guess you can say this is a low sodium rack of lamb. We have made this many times and it is amazing!!
Ed Wise says
Do you wrap the lamb in tin foil before you start to smoke it
Tara Noland says
No, you don’t want to wrap in tin foil as then the meat will not get smoked. We love using our smoker and we are now on our third one.
Dave says
Do you use charcoal or electric. I’m doing charcoal? Does pecan sound ok to use?
Tara Noland says
Pecan would be very nice, tell me how it turns out for you!
Laura Dembowski says
Lamb is always a nice dinner to sit down to. Adding balsamic glaze sounds perfect!
Noshing with the Nolands says
Thanks Laura!!
madscar says
This is amazing!I love it:)
Noshing with the Nolands says
Thanks so much!!
Liz says
Bill got a Big Green Egg for Father’s Day! He would LOVE to smoke some lamb…so yummy!
Noshing with the Nolands says
He must try this then, I hope you enjoy it!!
Dave says
I don’t care for lamb but willing to try something different. My sister bought 180.00 dollars worth of lamb rib roast. Excited to try the recipe! It looks delicious!
Tara Noland says
Wow, what a feast, enjoy!