My never fail method: 450F oven, 12-18 minutes per pound or to 125-130F on an instant read thermometer for medium rare.

Season as you wish. S&P, garlic, rosemary, lemon juice

It's been years since I did a rack of lamb. I always buy the ribs chops and they are litterally on the grill just long enough to sear, turn over, sear and off the grill, maybe 4 minutes max. So, I don't want to argue with gardengal, but her timing seems too long per pound. I could understand the 450º for a total of 12-15 minutes, but per pound seems too long. I'm probably wrong, and gardengal right, but do watch that thermometer.

We have rack of lamb frequently (had one last weekend) but I’m afraid I don’t have a ’recipe’ as such. I just bung it in the oven at 220c for about 40 mins total. It is much quicker than leg or shoulder but it does need longer than individual chops. Season as suggested by GG. The roast potatoes take about the same time and temp.

gardengal’s oven temp and time sound good to me. I’ve found meat density can often vary throwing things off a bit, so do rely on your thermometer. Would recommend not going over 130. Yum…lucky you!

ETA - Just sharing this since it’s one of my favorites when roasting or grilling lamb. Perfect for rack of lamb and wonderful on grilled butterflied leg of lamb.

Dijon Mustard Marinade

2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
2 T. Dijon mustard
1 T. soy sauce
2 T. lemon juice
1 tsp. dried rosemary or thyme (or 1 T. fresh) - also good with herbs de Provence
1/4 cup olive oil

Combine and rub over lamb, coating completely. Cover and marinate in fridge for several hours. Grill or roast to desired doneness.

Big difference in roasting a few individual chops or a two and a half pound rack!

Thanks so very much, all of you.

I won’t have time to do it tonight, so perhaps tomorrow. The lamb is enclosed in that tough plastic vacuum sealed (?) wrapping. I can see some of it, but it seems as though there is a lot more rack than meat. (a lot of the online photosmshow a very meaty roast, by contrast.

Here’s another question. Since DH isn’t crazy for lamb, I wonder if I should separate the roast into chops, then I could cook a couple now and freeze the rest for another time. As we do not have a quick flash freezer, I might get larger ice crystals (although each chop would not be very thick.

When I spotted the lamb roast in the Aldi flyer, I did not notice that it was a rack. DH did the shopping. I would have been fine with just a chunk of something ”lamb.”

I have never bought meat at Aldi’s and have never cooked a rack of lamb.

I saw those today when I was at our local Aldi, but I got myself a package of the shoulder chops. I love roast lamb, but my hubby's the same and just won't eat it now, even though he has in the past.

Garlic, fresh rosemary, salt & pepper, and sometimes fresh marjoram too, is just about all I ever use. MarthaStewart.com usually has good recipes for things like that.

I don't see why you couldn't separate some chops out of that to have later.

Thanks, carolb. I really like lamb. DH would eat some, but he thinks it’s rich (sure!). He is a good sport and not a picky eater at all. He isn’t crazy about lobster either, but knows that I am fond of it.

Marjoram is an interesting herb. I put a bit onto homemade artisan style pizza sometimes. I am always enthusiastic about fresh garlic and rosemary on lamb. I will have to look for lamb shoulder chops sometime.

You can definitely cut them into little chops or lamb ”lollipops” that will cook very quickly. What you don’t cook now will freeze great. My DH would eat lamb several times a week. I do enjoy it but not quite that often. It’s almost always grilled at our house.

Have you looked on the wrapper to see if there are roasting instructions?

Meat with a nbone cooks faster than meat without, as the bone conducts heat.....and rack of lamb has lots of bone. I wouldn't waste that lovely lamb on someone who doesn't like it. Looks like you have 7 ribs there, and some will be smaller than the others. I would separate them at the 3 largest and the 4 smallest and have myself a treat for another time.

Rub with a clove of garlic, some rosemary and olive oil, salt too.....and grill them. or roast in a 425 ovwen....but 20 minutes sounds about right to me....Hope you have a thermo pen, don't let cook more than 120, and tent and rest for 15 minutes. They will continue to cook.

Thanks, floral_uk. Inviting table!

I've loved lamb from an early age, but usually buy loin chops, ribs being ridiculousily expensive for the tiny bit of actual (delicious) meat. US lamb is quite expensive here, with most of what's on offer coming from New Zealand. Was your Aldi purchase a bargain?

LIttle story: I was 14 when my DM and I set sail from France to NYC. The ship hit a storm the second night out, and many passengers were seasick. I thought *I* was sick too -- until my DM 'happened to mention' that lamb chops were on the menu posted for that night. I had a swift recovery!

That’s a funny story, Chisue. I hear ya.

I go through groc store flyers and circle what looks interesting or what we need. Unfortunately most pens and markers don’t show up well on the flyers because of the colorful clutter. My scribbled notes such as ”Maybe” or ”?” don’t show up. DH does most of the grocery shopping (“I’m an idea person!”) and I should / intend to have a brief convo w him before he heads out. He often buys what is circled ;-)

I had not noticed the price per pound or that it was a rack rib roast. Oops. It was $10/Lb. and included bone and fat and fell, so not cheap. Could have done as well with lobster or better with sea scallops. I have no idea if that was a ”bargain” price. Someone here should know. USA price. New Zealanders only pay $.25 per pound, I should think and get all the wool they can use.

The shoulder chops I bought are $6.99/lb - less than the rack, and less than they usually go for in stores around here. Still pricey tho.

FWIW, I understand that the reason US lamb/mutton is so expensive here is because of the decline of US wool industry.

Rack of lamb or leg of lamb are both expensive, indulgent treats in my neck of the woods - nearly $20/pound for the rack and $12/pound for the leg of lamb (boneless or butterflied is higher). I only buy when on sale, which is rarely.

We only eat meat once a week so we look for maximum flavour rather than minimum cost. The lamb we buy is local, usually organic and often saltmarsh. It is expensive but worth it. Lamb is definitely my favourite meat.

Carolb, do you know why the wool industry declined? Maybe because of synthetics? The scratchiness of wool? cost of feed (fertilizer and petroleum)? Labor?

Likely all of the above?

I love lamb and wool.

I've concluded that people who don't like *lamb* have been fed mutton, not lamb, although leg of lamb can be a tad 'gamey' -- solved with a rub of dry mustard mixed with a little vinegar.

I am also very fond of lamb but tend to buy ground lamb or chops most often as they are far more affordable. And I do like me a good lamb burger!!

My local grocery carries excellent locally raised lamb. They also make these wonderful Greek spiced lamb kebobs just waiting for the grill. The best of the summer grilling season for me involves lamb burgers, lamb chops or lamb kebobs on the barby!!

I like a properly cooked rack of lamb but I'm partial to lamb loin chops. The good ones are a few inches thick and are delicious when seared on the outside and properly medium rare or a tad more in the middle. It's easy to get the desired result with a reverse searing method either in an oven + broiler to finish or indirect then direct heat on a barbeque.

My experience is that gamey tasting lamb is either too old ("mutton", as chisue suggested) or overcooked. Well done lamb isn't tasty. Also, don't spare the garlic.

Here's some info from NPR.org - it's focused on mutton, but covers the USA sheep industry as well. It seems multiple factors have been at play...

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/11/26/781652195/after-wwii-mutton-fell-out-of-favor-in-the-u-s-can-it-make-a-comeback

“The best of the summer grilling season for me involves lamb burgers, lamb chops or lamb kebobs on the barby!!”

Could not agree more! So darn good off the grill, and the sides that go with!

Chisue, I have wondered the same thing.

Gardengal, I also love Greek style marinated lamb kebobs. Heavenl.

I had two of the lamb chops cut from that rack roast. They were thinner than expected. Hard to get a good sear and not overcook them. I wonder if I might invest in a cooking torch….

Next time, I may try shoulder or loin chops.

I rarely eat lamn and am now trying to remember what cut of lamb (chunks) I marinated in Greek yogurt dressing then grilled as kebobs. Can someone tell me what to look for?

I think chisue has a good point regarding mutton. I have a friend who once came to dinner when we were grilling a marinated, butterflied lamb leg. I knew she wasn’t a fan of lamb and let her know ahead it was on the menu. She was coaxed into taking a bite and said it was nothing like what her mom would cook that was likely mutton years ago. She cleaned her plate and became a fan. That being said, I know there are some people who just don’t like lamb, no matter what. Luckily, that doesn’t apply to my family!

FWIW, according to the article I shared, what's sold as lamb may sometimes be hogget, which may have a stronger flavor.

Interesting link, caolb.

Grocery chains seem to cut all kinds of chops too thin -- I think the chops appear 'bigger' in the meat case. What I see as standard are 3/4 inch, and I want an inch minimum. With lamb, I like rib best, then loin, then shoulder. Probably degrees of tenderness. I agree with Elmer about wanting very rare lamb.

Now I'm thinking about beef and calves liver -- probably the haters got tough, well-done liver, curled up like a piece of leather, not still-pink and tender servings. I prefer the firmer 'mouth' of beef liver. Calves liver is 'mushier', like similar to chicken liver.

Best liver and onions I've ever had was at Musso & Frank's in Hollywood - it was melt in your mouth tender 😋

Liver can be bitter - esp. when overcooked. And I also think that what a thing is called has an effect on people's like or dislike of it. There was a study done about why people hate certain words, and it seemed associations play a big part.

Thank you for the article, carolb; it was very interesting. My Mom made mutton and I hated the taste, but maybe, to your point, she didn't make it correctly.

Interesting about the term 'hogget'. I've found that 'teenage' any meat tastes weird, expecially beef. When I make lamb shanks I always look for the smaller ones; I think they taste better. Maybe they are younger.