Pistachio crusted rack of lamb. Oven roasted Colorado rack of lamb tender and juicy, gives you a restaurant quality, show stopping dinner. And it’s easier than you think. Using a simple rack of lamb marinade this recipe is over the top delicious. Let’s take a look.
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A rack of lamb is so impressive in appearance, that I’ve always assumed it a process reserved for experienced chefs. Probably fussy, probably difficult.
If you’ve never prepared rack of lamb for this reason, I hope you’ll give this oven roasted rack of lamb a try. It’s a very easy dinner to prepare.
Lamb can be so forgiving. It’s good rare, medium, and well-done, and its exterior develops a crispness that rivals that of the skin of pork and chicken, or the exterior of perfectly grilled beef. And it will do this all without much fuss.
For this recipe, which I learned in Culinary School, we’re using a rack of lamb marinade with rosemary and thyme. After the marinade, we’re searing it stove top, then slathering both sides with Dijon mustard.
The final step is pressing on a panko bread crumb and ground pistachio mixture to finish in the oven.
Keep this one in your back pocket when you’re looking for easy and special recipes for Easter dinner.
Let’s take a look.
Colorado has a strong ranching heritage and lamb plays a big part in our history. Colorado Lamb is highly sought after due to its quality, and consistency in flavor and tenderness. The majority of lamb are free range, grazing on grass, brush and sage in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. And even graze in Colorado Vineyards. Colorado lamb is hormone and antibiotic free.
Lamb raised and imported from New Zealand and Australia are smaller in size that American raised lamb, and bring with it a gamier flavor. Please support local. Ask your butcher for Colorado raised lamb.
Preparing a Frenched Rack of Lamb
At Cooking School, we prepped a Frenched rack of lamb. New for me. After being handed a rack of lamb we were instructed to clean the bones using the “frenching” method. It truly was a labor of love, and a very difficult task.
I wrestled with that chunk of meat for over an hour, and I swear there was a moment where I thought I’d cry out of frustration.
Frenching a rack of lamb means to strip meat and membrane away from the bone to give it a clean appearance. See that beautiful little clean handle – that takes a lot of work.
Our knife skill training at school was extensive and I’m very glad for that. However my boning knife and I still aren’t speaking over the whole ordeal. Here’s a link from Serious Eats if you’re interested in learning Knife Skills, How to Clean and French a Lamb Rack.
Pro Tip: Purchase a rack of lamb that has already been Frenched by your butcher. You’ll gladly pay those few extra dollars to save an hours worth of tedious work.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- 1 – 1 pound rack of lamb, Frenched
- Pistachios: Purchase shelled pistachios that are roasted.
- Spices: Dried rosemary and thyme combined with olive oil makes the best lamb marinade = easy.
- Dijon Mustard: Dijon brings a beautiful flavor, plus acts as the “glue” to hold the panko bread crumb and ground pistachio mixture. An added benefit of mustard, is that it also tenderizes the meat.
Tip: When calculating how much rack of lamb will feed your crowd, when sliced, one rack of lamb has 8 chops. Plan on 2 chops per person. Although the chops are small, the side dishes will fill in to make an ample meal for each person.
Step by Step Instructions
- The best rack of lamb marinade! Why? it’s easy and the simple ingredients infuse traditional flavor into the meat. Rosemary, thyme, olive oil and salt and pepper.
- Pat the lamb dry, then coat with the marinade mixture. Marinate in the refrigerator for two hours. EASY!
- Bring the lamb to room temperature. Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add neutral oil such as vegetable or canola oil. When oil is hot, add lamb and sear on each side until you get a good brown crust. Remove from heat.
- When the lamb has cooled slightly smear generously with Dijon mustard.
- In the meantime, in a food processor add the pistachios and pulse until rough chopped.
- Add Panko bread crumbs and some butter. Gently pulse again until mixed.
- Using your hands, press the mixture onto the mustard coated lamb until well coated.
- Roast the lamb in the oven until thermometer reaches desired doneness.
Rack of Lamb Cooking Time
Roast your rack of lamb in a 400 degree pre-heated oven. Roast time will vary because oven temperatures are not always reliable. But you can estimate about a 20 – 30 minute cook time.
Rack of Lamb Cooking Temperature
- Pull time: 135 degrees F = Medium rare, final internal temperature 145 degrees.
- Pull time: 150 degrees F = Medium well, final internal temperature 160 degrees
- Pull time: 160 degrees F = well done, final internal temperature 170 degrees.
- Source: American Lamb
Since the internal temperature of cooked lamb will rise 5 – 10 degrees during the rest period, adjust accordingly by pulling the lamb out of the oven when its 10 degrees lower than desired doneness.
Pro Tip: It’s important to use a digital read meat thermometer for this recipe. Oven temperatures vary, so keeping track of the internal temperature is important to insure a perfect roast.
I served this with puy lentils and a variety of roasted squash for a lovely restaurant feel dinner.
More Sides With Rack of Lamb
If you’re thinking about preparing a rack of lamb for Easter, here are some side dish suggestions.
- Potatoes Dauphinoise
- Rosemary Potato Strudel
- Hericot Vert in Dijon Mustard Cream Sauce
- Swiss Cheese Creamed Cauliflower
How To Slice Rack of Lamb
Lay the roasted rack of lamb on a cutting board with the meat side nearest to you. Using a sharp knife, simply slice through the meat in between the rib
Rack of Lamb FAQ’s
Do you really HAVE to? If you want the best end result in texture and flavor, yes searing lamb before oven roasting is a smart thing to do. Searing any meat, adds a caramelized crust which brings flavor and helps to keep juices in while oven roasting. Be sure to bring lamb to room temperature (30 minutes to an hour) before searing.
Rack of lamb is a section of ribs which usually is purchased in a set of 8 attached ribs.
Frenching a rack of lamb, also referred to as Frenched, is simply cleaning the lower part of the rib by removing the meat and fat to produce an exposed and cleaned bone. In Culinary School, we used a boning knife to accomplish this. It’s a hard task, so purchase your rack of lamb already Frenched from your butcher.
Pistachio Crusted Rack of Lamb
I hope you give this crusted rack of lamb recipe a try, it’s juicy, tender and absolutely delicious. Cooked in the oven, it’s an easy recipe to make with a special fancy restaurant feel.
It’s a great lamb recipe for Easter or any special occasion.
And to learn more about lamb, I recommend taking a look at this web site for The American Lamb Board.
More Lamb Recipes
If you’ve tried this or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating in the recipe card below. And write a review in the comment section. I always appreciate your feedback.
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Dijon and Pistachio Crusted Rack of Lamb
Ingredients
- 1 pound Rack of Lamb 8-ribs, Frenched
- 2 tablespoon fresh Rosemary leaves or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 2 tablespoon Fresh Thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup shelled pistachios
- 1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the rosemary, thyme and olive oil.
- Pat the rack of lamb dry with paper towels. Salt and pepper both sides of the rack of lamb and then using a basting brush, coat the the olive oil herb mixture all over the lamb. Place the rack of lamb on a dinner plate, cover with plastic wrap and let marinade in refrigerator for 2 hours.Â
- Bring to room temperature before cooking. (let set at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, preferably 1 hour)
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In the meantime, pulse the pistachios in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Add the softened butter and bread crumbs and pulse until just mixed.
- Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add the vegetable oil. When oil is hot sear lamb on both sides until browned.
- With a pastry brush, coat the lamb with the Dijon mustard. Pat the pistachio mixture onto the lamb with your hands until well coated.
- Place the rack of lamb in a roaster. Roast in oven until thermometer reads to desired doneness.
- Remove from oven and tent with foil and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice the chops into 4 servings. Two chops per person. You can either cut them into single chops or cut so that two chops are left together.
Notes
Rack of Lamb Cooking Temperature
- Pull time: 135 degrees F = Medium rare, final internal temperature 145 degrees.
- Pull time: 150 degrees F = Medium well, final internal temperature 160 degrees
- Pull time: 160 degrees F = well done, final internal temperature 170 degrees.
- Source: American Lamb
Nutrition
Pistachio Crusted Rack of Lamb … It’s what’s for Dinner.
This recipe was first published October of 2017 and republished March 2022 with new photos and step by step instructions.
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
Yes, please. LOVE lamb! And this looks excellent — thanks.
My family loves lamb and this classic recipe lould be right up their alley. I love that it’s so easy to prepare!
We are not lamb eaters but I need to try pistachio crusted meat of some sort
The lamb looks delicious! Cooked to perfection!!
This is so easy and looks wonderful. I make a rack of lamb with a Dijon mustard herb crust. Not too much more trouble than your delightfuly easy recipe.
Those lamb racks are fun to make – and pretty darn easy. Plus they look impressive. Thanks Adriana.
This looks really good and can’t wait to try it. I believe this is going to be a huge hit with my family. Now, I am considering of serving this Thanksgiving.
Lea Ann – I was just browsing your blog to see what you’ve been up to & I can’t say enough how delicious everything you put together looks! I of course had to comment on the rack of lamb, as that was for lunch today from the current class! I’m sure that they would attest to the labor of love that Frenching takes. Keep up the awesome work & I look forward to frequenting here for more items to try in my own kitchen!
I do admire you Frenching the lamb like that! I must admit I rely heavily on my butcher for stuff like that! Love your recipe – the combination of the mustard and the pistachios just sounds so good! Pinning and sharing on the Hearth and Soul Facebook page. Thank you so much for being a part of the Hearth and Soul Link Party!
Thank you so much April! I’ll be joining in that party more often. And thanks for all of your hard work on bringing us all together. And also thanks for that pin!
I always have my butcher French my rack of lamb. I know how to do it (and I’m not bad at it) but it’s so much easier to let a pro do it. 🙂 Anyway, love lamb, and this is a wonderful recipe — thanks.
Good looking meal LA. The lamb looks delicious.
It was Larry!