Noshing With the Nolands

Smoked Rack of Lamb

by 40 Comments

Jump to Recipe

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.

Rack of lamb on a cutting board
Smoked Rack of Lamb is tender, succulent and amazing!! The perfect BBQ's meat!! #lamb #rack of lamb #smoked
Yield: 4 servings

Smoked Rack of Lamb

Smoked Rack of Lamb

A beautiful smoked rack of lamb!!

Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 25 minutes

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

  1. 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.
  2. Remove the rack of ribs from the marinade. Sprinkle with salt to taste, then brush all over with 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard.
  3. Sprinkle with garlic and onion powder then cayenne powder.
  4. Mix together all the remaining herbs and rub them onto the rack lamb. Drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil.
  5. 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.
  6. Slice into chops and drizzle with balsamic vinegar before serving.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

2
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 457Total Fat: 43gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 34gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 1711mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 2gSugar: 7gProtein: 7g
© Tara Noland
Cuisine: American / Category: Dinner

Adapted from Barbecue Secrets Deluxe! by Rockin’ Ronnie Shewchuk

Comments

      • 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!!

        Reply

  6. 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.

    Reply

      • 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.

        Reply

        • 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.

          Reply

  7. 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.

    Reply

    • 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.

      Reply

  9. 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.!

    Reply

  11. 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!

    Reply

  12. 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.

    Reply

  13. 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

    Reply

  14. 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!

    Reply

    • 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).

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Privacy Policy

Never miss a delicious recipe, subscribe to our emails

Skip to Recipe

Subscribe to our emails!

Sign up today for free and be the first to get notified on new updates on delicious recipes, reviews and more.