As promised, we are posting the recipe for our FIRST PLACE winning roasted rack of lamb. If you did not read previously this dish won the Canadian Open BBQ Championship in the "Anything Butt" category. A whopping 492 out of 500 points with three perfect scores.

Lamb is probably one of my top 5 favourite meals to cook. When you are fortunate enough to get Ontario raised lamb from a guy like Dave, it adds that special touch. However if you can't get farm raised lamb, go to your local food mart and pick up some frozen Ontario Lamb, while there is a difference, you will still be rewarded. When this stuff goes on sale, stock up, I do.

The Black Pig BBQ team is always on the look out for a nice rack and I can firmly say we found one, but enough about Sue (was that my outside voice). I adore a nice juicy rack... of lamb (enough of that), you may have to french it your self, it is worth the time and cost savings if you have basic knife skills.

If you notice in this photo, there is a line of tough fat on top along with a sliver of meat, lose it... I know the argument, it provides for protection on the grill, adds flavour and.. and.. and, just lose it. Do not go any lower than the base of ribs, if you follow the fat line all the way down then you will run into the good meat, we want to keep that. Here is the basic idea of what you are looking for.



Soak the lamb in the following marinade overnight, a good 16 hour dunk.

3 cups olive oil
1 head of garlic
1/2 cup of lemon juice
2 tablespoons Kosher salt
8 sprigs of rosemary pulled the leaves off the stem.

Into the blender for two minutes on high, it will turn into a sloppy yellow pudding type mixture. I also understand that fresh rosemary should be left whole and slightly bruised. Nope, I broke the rules and into the blender it went. With a 16 hour dunk, the acid in the lemon will do it's job to ensure the cut is tenderized, the salt will extract the moisture and the flavour of the marinade will be infused into the lamb. Into a zip lock bag with 2 full racks and into the fridge overnight.

NEXT DAY... onto a hot grill and when I mean a hot grill I mean 500(f) and up. My preference is to do it over some hardwood charcoal, a handful of wood chips right before you start. I am not putting down gas grills but when was the last time you heard " Hmmm good propane burgers" charcoal, while a pain in the arse, just tastes better.

When you light the grill, keep all of the charcoal on one side so you can flip from direct heat to indirect heat as required. Keep the lid down whenever possible. Sear the outside of the lamb right over the coals, about 4 min a side, just until it browns nicely. Do not be afraid of some flames, just not too much. When your lamb is nicely seared, then over to indirect heat to finish off to an internal temperature of 125(f). There will be a lot of carry over heat here so let it sit lightly covered for about 5 minutes. For gods sake keep the probe in or you will be leaking juice everywhere, and don't poke it with a fork, tongs only please.   

Cut your slices and serve two to three a person, one of my secrets is to add a little sea salt and some very finely chopped rosemary to each slice of lamb.

SOME SIMPLE NOTES AND COMMENTS

With respect to home cooking versus competition cooking. My preference certainly is charcoal but you have to focus on the convenience of a gas cooker, you're not going to see me firing up the charcoal grill in the middle of winter for a few burgers. However bring on a few nice strip loins and we are talking charcoal grill.

Lamb, for our competition we used Dave's Natural Lamb, it gives us an edge, that's why we use it. However, to develop our recipes we bought PC lamb which was on sale for $9.99 a pound, that is an entire rack and provides three servings.

Real Lemons or "Real Lemon", I am a big proponent of LEMONS. The juice bought in the store is a fast alternative and I admit to using it. However it does not have citric acid and thus will slow the tenderizing process, it also has stuff like sulfites and things like sodium benzoate. Hmmmmmm.

Garlic.... never never compromise, real fresh garlic, I wonder if it's a vampire phobia? .

Smoke, I prefer cherry, but will often use hickory, apple and pecan. Again smoke is an added benefit, not a requirement

Kosher salt, this is a mainstay for my house, I do not know when the last time I have had regular table salt other then eating out. You can measure kosher salt better, you will get a feel for it and you are not eating iodine. I could go on about salt it is my favourite ingredient, I had to just edit about two paragraphs out where I blab on, perhaps a special blog on that...

Enjoy....