Smoked Rack 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.
To accompany this gorgeous rack Ken made Smoked Mashed Potatoes, check that recipe out too if you missed it.
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 over cook your lamb, medium rare is perfect at 140-145F.
The Recipe
- 1 rack of lamb, frenched
- 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. dry rosemary, crushed
- ½ tsp. fresh ground pepper
- 2 cloves crushed garlic
- 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. granulated garlic powder
- 1 tsp. granulated onion powder
- ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. dried mint
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 1 tsp. dried rosemary
- 1 tsp. dried parsley
- ¼ cup olive oil
- Balsamic reduction
- 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 from the marinade and brush with 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard. Sprinkle with the garlic and onion powder and the cayenne. Mix together the herbs and rub onto the rack. Drizzle with ¼ cup olive oil.
- Smoke at 225F with fruit wood for 1½ to 2 hours or until internal thermometer reads 140-145F for medium rare using your Thermapen thermometer for an accurate read! Let rest, tented with foil for 5 min.
- Slice into chops and drizzle with balsamic vinegar before serving.
- 1 rack of lamb, frenched
- Marinade
- 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. dry rosemary, crushed
- ½ 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
- ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. dried mint
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 1 tsp. dried rosemary
- 1 tsp. dried parsley
- ¼ cup olive oil
- Balsamic reduction
- 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 from the marinade and brush with 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard. Sprinkle with the garlic and onion powder and the cayenne. Mix together the herbs and rub onto the rack. Drizzle with ¼ cup olive oil.
- Smoke at 225F with fruit wood for 1½ to 2 hours or until internal thermometer reads 140-145F for medium rare using your Thermapen thermometer for an accurate read! Let rest, tented with foil for 5 min.
- Slice into chops and drizzle with balsamic vinegar before serving.
Adapted from Barbecue Secrets Deluxe! by Rockin’ Ronnie Shewchuk
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!
madscar says
This is amazing!I love it:)
Noshing with the Nolands says
Thanks so much!!
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!!
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!
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!!
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.
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!