Need a sauce for rack of lamb

[oobiecoo]

I''m making rack of lamb tonight and normally I encrust it with a course brown mustard and bake it. Since our oven is broken I''m going to have to cook it on the stove which I don''t think works well for "encrusted" anything. I was thinking of making a mustard sauce on the side to dip it in. Can I mix the course brown mustard with sour cream or plain yogurt to make the sauce? I''ve never mixed those together so I *think* they sound ok together but wanted another opinion.

 

[JulieN]

Hey, I don't know if this is too late for your dinner.

I agree that the stovetop can't really make a crust. What I would do is make mustard breadcrumbs, which you can shower on top of the rack of lamb before serving, which will give you a kind of "encrusted" feeling. You can also serve more mustard on the side, since the breadcrumbs are not super mustardy.

Mustard Breadcrumbs, adapted from Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
2 T butter
1 T mustard (after mixing into breadcrumbs, taste and add more if desired)
1 tsp thyme leaves
1 tsp chopped flat-leaf parsley.

Heat the butter until it foams. Whisk in the mustard, thyme, and parsley, then mix in breadcrumbs. Medium heat until they are golden brown.

The sour cream idea sounds ok, too, if your mustard isn't really tangy already. If it ends up too sour, I might add some sugar/honey.

 

[oobiecoo]

Thanks for the suggestion! You weren''t too late. I used your breadcrumb idea but just sprinkled it on while they cooked and I made the mustard/sour cream sauce on the side. The seasonings and sauce were great... but I just can''t bring myself to like lamb. This was the 3rd time I''ve tried it and I just can''t get past the taste. DH devoured it though!

 

[JulieN]

Cool!

You might use your original recipe of a mustard-slathered rack of lamb with pork instead, as pork has a more neutral flavor. Lots of people don't like lamb, you're not alone.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Hey there! Glad to hear it was a success.

I find that lamb take on a much more gamey flavor when it's cooked too much. I know it may seem weird to have an almost baaa-ing piece of meat, but it really makes a difference with the flavor.

I love my lamb with a really rich red wine reduction. Another good flavoring option is pesto-use it like you would use your mustard crust.

*edited to add* for your mustard sauce, if you want to cut the tanginess of the mustard with the sour cream, cut the SC in half with mayonaise.

 

[oobiecoo]

Date: 2/17/2009 9:38:29 AM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
Hey there! Glad to hear it was a success.

I find that lamb take on a much more gamey flavor when it''s cooked too much. I know it may seem weird to have an almost baaa-ing piece of meat, but it really makes a difference with the flavor.

I love my lamb with a really rich red wine reduction. Another good flavoring option is pesto-use it like you would use your mustard crust.

*edited to add* for your mustard sauce, if you want to cut the tanginess of the mustard with the sour cream, cut the SC in half with mayonaise.

I already replied but the computer ate it so I''ll keep this one short. I actually do like my steak and stuff still moo-ing and whatnot. The first time I tried lamb it was pretty rare but seemed to taste even more gamey. I feel like it just isn''t meant to be. I do like gyro though!

 

[Gypsy]

We just had rack of lamb and it rocked.

Okay so here's what I did. Disclaimer... I am not a recipe chef, I fly by the seat of my pants. Rack should be at room temperature when you start. 8 bone rack from Kirkland/ Costco. Their racks are some of the best. And don't have an overly Lamby flavor.

I put salt peper and minced fresh rosamary (off the stick) on the rack. On high heat totally seared the sucker. Then moved it to a broiler rack (with pan under neath) Fat side (not bone side) up. In the pan UNDER the rack I put 2 handfuls of blueberries (tarts ones) and some cherry juice (blackberry juice, or cranberry will work too) about 3 table spoons of the juice. More rosemary.

Then in the pan with the seared lamb drippings (not a non stick pan) I put 5 cloves of minced garlic, 2 TBSP good mustard, more rosemary and some more juice, the and should be hot enough (from retained heat, I don't have the burner on, don't need it with a heavy bottom pan) so it should all turn into a runny melted paste. I used this to glaze the rack completley. I put the meat thermometer in and put it in the oven on 450 till done (gas oven)... 10 degrees cooler than "perfect temperture", took meat out and removed it from rack to let rest and to hit "perfect temperature). We put the termometer to 125 and after resting it was 135, just right for us.

Then I deglassed the pan drippings (with the roasted blue berries in there) with a nice cabernet, and cooked it down to half and turned off the heat. I added salt, peper, HONEY (until the slight sweetness balanced out the tart from the berries, juice and wine, you can add a TINY bit of mustard in too if you like TINY though) and a chuck of butter to the sauce and that was about it-- let the butter melt, stir in and thicken your sauce a bit. It was just right on the lamb slices. I also carved up the rack, and put the dripping from the carving into the sauce right at the end.

I called it honey blueberry sauce on lamb. It was tart, a little sweet, slightly garlicy, slightly rosemary flavored and all good. Everything melded together perfectly.

 

[Gypsy]

BTW... we cook a lot of lamb, and love game meats (elk, venison). The base recipe I use for any type of savory/sweet/fruity sauce for these meats is from the cookbook from the Inn at Little Washington, a 5 star, knock your socks off restuarant. The recipe is originally for medallions of venison in a lingonberry sauce. But I've adapted the sauce to any tartish berry: tart cherries, raspberries, cranberries (if the berries are sweeter, or if I use a preserve I do not add honey) and use either sage, thyme or rosemary (or a combination) as available and depending on the meat. I also just use good quality red wines for the alcohol most of the time.

If you are a lamb person... I highly recommend getting this cook book and adapting that recipe to lamb... it works very well with it.

Another way I do this is to marinade the rack overnight in juice (again my preferred is a tart cherry, like from Trader Joes, but raspberry, blackberry and cranberry work too. If I don't have juice I always have tart berry preserves or a damson plum preserve to use instead) redwine, fresh rosemary, pepper, onions and garlic. Lots of it all. Then I dry off the rack reserving a little marinade. I put salt and pepper on the rack and in a bowl mix a little marinade with 2 tablespoons of mustard and 1 tablespoon of good olive oil. I rub that on the lamb and then we grill the lamb on the BBQ. Turns out great, and even lamb haters (like my mom) will eat this one.

 

[Italiahaircolor]

We use a mint sauce which really good with lamb.