Roasted Merino Lamb Rack with Potatoes

Lamb is one of my favorite foods to eat, but it’s intimidating for me to even think about cooking at home. I’ve heard people complain that it smells and heard horror stories of too rare or burnt messes.

That’s why I was glad to receive some lamb in the mail from Marx Foods to pair with a tried-and-true simple recipe from someone I know.  I went all in and tried the scariest seeming cut: frenched racks.

This recipe, from one of my favorite chefs José Andrés, comes from his cookbook Made in Spain: Spanish Dishes for the American Kitchen which is paired with his PBS television show. It only has a handful of ingredients and is very straight forward so that the lamb itself can shine. Finishing with pyramid salt added a nice crunch, especially when paired with a smear of pesto.

The lamb itself was seared to a juicy, caramelized crunch and cooked to an internal temperature of 130°F. The meat, after resting a few minutes, was silky, moist, and lean. There was no off-putting smell prior, during, or after cooking — in fact, it tasted fresher than I ever knew meat could smell.

For those that haven’t tasted much lamb before, it tastes similar to beef, but lighter, cleaner, and less fatty, almost like venison. As the meat cools you can actually taste the flavor of the lamb more.

Now, this lamb is not the same as average supermarket lamb. Alpine Origin Merino roams free on mountain pastures in New Zealand, grazing on grasses & alpine herbs. Because of this, the meat has a lighter, less gamy flavor and is more evenly marbled.

Thank you Marx Foods for the opportunity to taste this amazing lamb and to try my hand at making it myself! Stay tuned for a recipe involving Lamb Loin Fillets.