Lamb crown with herb crust
A classic that is perhaps a bit outdated:
“Lamb carrée” – French distinguished.
“Lamb rack” – English reserved.
“Lamb crown” – Nordic by nature.
Many names for one certainty:
Lamb crown is my queen of lamb recipes.
No more “old school” – this delicacy is up to date – and with a little love relatively easy to prepare.
Preparation time
1 hr.
(Marinate the day before)
Oven time
40 min
Servings
for 2 persons
Ingredients
For the crown of lamb
- Lamb crown (approx. 2 x 6 ribs)
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 bunch thyme
- 1 bunch rosemary
- Olive oil
- Salt & Pepper
For the herb crust
- Olive oil
- Butter
- Parmigiano Reggiano (or Grana Padano)
- Herbs to taste (e.g. wild garlic, tarragon, thyme)
- Salt & Pepper
For the sauce
- 1 glass red wine
- Lamb stock
- Salt & Pepper
- Garlic
- Honey
Preparation
Marinate lamb crown
Everything starts the day before.
Roughly chop rosemary, thyme and garlic and place in a small bowl. Salt and pepper.
Mix with olive oil.
Rub lamb crown with marinade.
The lamb is marinated a day before.
Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest in refrigerator for about 10 hrs.
Prepare lamb crown
Take the lamb crown out of the refrigerator at least an hour before cooking.
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a very hot skillet (mine uses my iron skillet).
Roast lamb crown
Sear the lamb on all sides, giving it a nice crispy brown. Since the meat should only be seared, but in no case cooked through, make sure that the lamb crown is not more than 3-4 min. spends in the (therefore really very hot) pan.
Sear the meat briefly but “fiercely”.
Remove from the pan and place in a roasting pan so that the bones interlock.
Insert thermometer and place lamb crown in oven.
Sauce
Deglaze the pan with red wine and lamb stock. Add garlic. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium heat while you move on to the next steps. However, take a look at your sauce every now and then. The temperature is too high and your sauce reduces too quickly? No problem, just dump in some liquid and a little down with the heat – all good again.
Prepare herb crust
Ah – here it is always so hard for me to decide.
Thyme? Rosemary? But in the spring I have it quite simple: wild garlic. No matter what you decide, the principle is always the same:
Finely chop the herbs.
Grate cheese.
Cut butter into small cubes.
Mix in a bowl with 1 tsp olive oil, salt and pepper. I knead the mass with my hands.
Herbs, butter, oil and cheese are mixed.
Spread herb crust mixture thinly on a board and cut to approximate length and width of meat side.
After approx. 15 min. we take a look into the oven and take out the crown of lamb.
Besides the beguiling aromas, we are offered a truly magnificent sight. Nevertheless, we keep our composure and set the oven to full blast.
Herb crust grill
Top the lamb crown with the herb crust – gently press down and return to the now hot oven.
Lamb crown herb crust mixture 🙂
After 5 min. turn on the oven’s grill function and place the roasting pan with the lamb crown on the top rack.
Attention: Keep an eye on their lamb crown | the core temperature, it should not dry us out.
Lamb crown – core temperature overview
Core temperature rare: 50°C-53°C
Core temperature medium: 55°C-58°C
Core temperature well done: 65°C-75°C
Our sauce should have a nice creamy consistency by now.
Turn off heat. Season with salt, pepper and 1 tsp honey. Stir in cold butter flakes.
When the crust is really nice and crusty (you can see it), take the lamb crown out of the oven and place it on the – ideally preheated – plate on which you have previously applied a sauce level.
It goes wonderfully with polenta with green asparagus or green beans.
I drink a wonderfully dry Primitivo with it.
Delicious with green asparagus and polenta.
