Conference turris::cooks

    A rack of lamb is several lamb rib chops still connected together.
    Usually you have to order this from the butcher.  You want the butcher
    to trim the fat and gristle from around the ends of the bones so they
    come out looking nice, and remove the bone that connects the chops
    together (otherwise it is very hard to carve).  Even more fun is to
    have the butcher form two racks into a crown roast of lamb, where the
    racks are stood on end and curved around to form a crown shape (held
    together with string) - this looks real impressive.  You can even buy
    the little paper "hats" for the bones if you like.  If you just get the
    racks, figure each rack (which is 6-8 little chops) serves two people.
    Another attractive way to serve racks of lamb is to cook two racks and
    serve them standing on end with the bone tips interlaced ("en garde").
    These are the best lamb chops, so you want to serve them a bit on the
    rare side even if you normally like your lamb well done.  They go well
    with fruit and herbs.  Don't take all of the fat off the meat side of
    the chops before you roast them or they will get dry.
    
    If you make a crown roast, you can serve it on a round platter, and
    fill the inside of the roast with something savory, like rice pilaf,
    and surround it with mounds of other vegetables.  I particularly like
    fiddlehead ferns, which are usually available around here for a couple
    of weeks in early May.  Some crusty bread, a tossed salad, and a fruity
    wine (especially if you make a fruity sauce for the lamb) like a
    beaujolais would be good, too.  (Somewhere I have a recipe for a crown
    roast of lamb where the inside of the roast is piled with lamb meat
    balls made with pineapple chunks - that makes enough for a mob.)

    
    Rep .0
    
      I agree with with reply 1 but if you are at all handy with a 
     sharp knife it's cheaper to "clean" them up yourself. The butcher
     will charge you an arm and leg for the ready to cook rack. What
     I normally do is to have the butcher cut the shin bone along the
     bottom of the rack and then remove all the fat and excess myself
     using a very sharp boning knife. It takes about 15 minutes per
     rack and you'll end up saving $$$ if you have the time. Most good
     cookbooks show you how to do it <Time/Life Lamb for instance>
    
    
     -mike
    
    
    
    

    I'm not that good with a boning knife...
    
    I also get the butcher to butterfly legs of lamb, on the rare occasions
    when we have that.

    
    We were out to dinner, had rack of lamb, and ordered a 1980 
    Inglenook "Cask" Cabernet Sauvignon.  It was a splendid accompaniment.
    A nice Margaux, Pomerol, or Pauillac Bordeaux would do the trick
    too, if you don't mind spending a few bucks more.  If you're anywhere
    near The Winecellar of Silene in Waltham, MA, I'd recommend going
    there.  Those guys know what they're talking about, big time.
    
    -dmd
    

    When you cook the rack(s), wrap the bone ends in tin foil or they
    will burn and not look too pleasant.  Vegetables could be fresh
    spinach with garlic, orange-honey glazed carrots, new spuds, etc.
    
    
    RE -1  Silene may be big time, but they also are BIG bucks.

    
    I just took a cooking class on stuffed rack of lamb, it was great.
    Because this was an advanced class, some of the ingredients are
    not exact.
    
    4 or 5 tbls butter 		    	2 oranges		
    1 cup chopped onion                 1 lemon
    1/2 cup chopped celery              1 egg beaten
    1 1/2 cups bread crumbs             salt and pepper
    1 tsp sugar                         lamb stock
                                        olive oil
    
    Melt butter, cook onion and celery slowly until soft without browning.
    Mix into bread crumbs, add sugar and grated rind of 2 oranges and
    1 lemon. Add juice of one lemon. Add egg and salt and pepper to
    season.
    
    Peel and cut up one orange into cubes (be sure to remove all white
    covering first). Add this to crumb mixture. Add stock 1/4 cup at
    a time and olive oil 1 tbls at a time until desired consistancy.
    
    Open rack of lamb at the feather bone, lift up the fat over the
    eye of lamb and spread stuffing 1-1 1/2 inch surrounding the eye
    and feather bone. Tie with butchers twine. Cover rib bones with
    foil to keep them from burning. Roast at 350 rib side down
    fat side up, 20 to 30 min per pound. Baste every 15 min. last 10
    min turn oven up to 400 to brown.
    
    Any good butcher should be able to prepare this for you if you take
    this recipe with you so he understands what you have to do.  We
    were shown in class but it would be too much to explain here in
    the file.
    
    Allow 2 to 3 ribs per person.
                                         
    Stock:  Ask the butcher for the scraps from preparing the rack,
    simmer these scraps with about 2 cups of water, a small carrot cut
    up and a stalk of celery cut up, for about 1 hour.
                                                      
                                     

>    Because this was an advanced class, some of the ingredients are
>    not exact.

Huh?

Does this mean the measurements are not exact, or that some of the ingredients
aren't really what you say they are?  Why do advanced classes not tell the
truth? (I've always wondered why my father-in-law purposely leaves ingredients
off the list when he gives out recipies... maybe this explains it!)

					>>>==>PStJTT

    
    What I meant was that if you didn't have to have exactly 1 cup of
    chopped onion or you could use 1 orange or 3 oranges. There are no
    exact quantities of stock or olive oil.
    The class was done with out a formal recipe. We just took real good
    notes. That is also why I decided not to try to explain how to prepare
    the rack of lamb here in the notes file. 
                                               

    well, it was finally done!  i ordered my rack of lamb (2 racks in
    a crown) approx. 18 chops at star market in stow, mass.  it cost
    me 4.99/lb equaling 27.00, not bad i thought to myself to five.
    but when the wine, flowers, potatoes, spinach, fresh fruit for 
    the appetizer and of course the apple crisp was all bought it turned
    out to be quite the meal.  anyhow,
    
    the lamb turned out great.  it was so tender that it melted in your
    mouth and you had no need for a knife.  unfortunately, there was
    not enough meat in them for a bird.  i'm serious when i say that
    there was two three maybe bites in a chop.  i figured that three
    chops per person would enough but it really wasn't.  i was glad
    we served the fresh fruit cup with the desert.  
    
    but to get to the point where the cooks are concerned, the stuffing
    and the rack....
    
    i used charlotte's recipe for apricot stuffing and boy was it good.
    we never used the sauce because the lamb was so sweet and tender
    we didn't want to take away from the original taste, but we did
    use it on the stuffing balls.  (which was a bread stuffing with
    some orange and apricot).  the balls weren't as tasty as the stuffing
    that fit into the crown middle (getting the taste of the lamb) but
    there were just fine with alittle sauce on it.  all in all, it was
    a wonderful meal that i would probably order in restaurant before
    making it for five people again!
    
    carla jeanne (who your right, might do it for two people!)
    
    

Crown Roast of Lamb with Apricots

1 crown roast of lamb, prepared from 2 racks of lamb with 6 chopes each
(salt)
pepper
1 1/2 lb ripe apricots (or rehydrate dried ones)
1 tart apple
2 c soft white bread crumbs
grated rind and juice of one orange
1 T chopped parsley
1 egg
2 T wine vinegar
2 T water
1 T light brown sugar
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375 oF.
Sprinkle roast with salt and pepper.
Place in roasting pan.
Cover ends of bones with foil to prevent burning.
Roast 35-40 minutes, basting with the juices.
The meat will be brown on the outside and pink inside, internal temperature
about 160 oF.  If you like lamb well-done, cook 10-15 minutes longer.
Meanwhile, halve apricots and remove pits (or soak dried apricots).
Set aside 8 apricot halves for garnish.
Chop remaining apricots and put aside 1 1/2 c for sauce.
Put the rest of the chopped apricots in a bowl.
Peel, core, and coarsely grate the apple.  Add to mixing bowl with bread
crumbs, orange rind and juice, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.
Add enough of the egg to bind the mixture.
Shape into 12 balls.
Arrange the stuffing balls in a buttered baking dish, in one layer (or place
around the roast).  About 30 minutes before the lamb is done, put the balls in
the oven.
Combine the remaining chopped apricots for the sauce with the vinegar, water,
and sugar in a saucepan.  Cook gently until soft and pulpy.  Pour into the
container of a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.  Return to the
pan and add the cinnamon, nutmeg, and butter.  Heat through gently.
Transfer the lamb to a warm serving platter.  Put paper frill on the end of each
chop bone.  Garnish with the stuffing balls and reserved apricot havles and
serve with the sauce.

Serves 4-6.