Clinched and Planked Rack of Lamb

One of my Christmas presents was an Adam Perry Lang cookbook from my wife.  If you haven't heard of him, I highly suggest you check him out.  His techniques are unique, and I couldn't wait to try one of them out.  My new grill screens presented the perfect opportunity to make his clinched and planked rack of lamb.  

 

Step 1: Seasoning.  I combined equal parts of kosher salt, pepper, sugar, and garlic powder in a coffee grinder along with a pinch of cayenne.  Mix it up and generously season the rack of lamb.

 

Step 2: Blue Cheese mashed red potatoes.  Boil 4 large red potatoes until they are cooked through.  In a bowl combine cooked potatoes, splash or two of milk, butter, and blue cheese crumbles.  Mix together to make mashed potatoes.

Step 3: Prep asparagus by drizzling olive oil and lightly sprinkling with garlic salt.

Step 4: Make the baste.  In a small saucepan combine 1 cup olive oil, 1/2 stick of butter, tablespoon of lard or rendered fat, and chopped scallion onion, garlic clove, rosemary, thyme, and parsley.  Heat the mixture over low heat until the butter and everything melts together.  Make a bundle of rosemary, thyme, and parsley and set aside.  Tie the bundle to the end of a wooden spoon to use as your basting brush during cooking.  Baste the rack of lamb just before cooking and add a little more seasoning.

Step 5: Cooking the lamb.  Clinching is a technique Adam uses that involves cooking your meat directly on a bed of mature coals.  This only works with natural hardwood lump and you should not use briquettes for this technique.  I placed the rack of lamb above and the grill screen directly on the coals for about 3-4 minutes.  I turned the meat several times until the meat clinched up and had a nice char on all sides.  Next I placed the grill grate back on the weber creating seperation between the coals and my new cooking surface.  The rack was placed in a pyramid fashion on a Maple wood plank that had been soaking in water for about 60 minutes.  At this point the grill was very hot, and it created a very nice smokey flavor from the maple wood plank.  Put the lid on the grill so the smoke permeates throughout and flavors the lamb.

During this process I continued to baste the rack of lamb several times adding layers of flavor.  The lamb was cooked to medium rare or an internal temperature of 125 degrees.

Step 6: This is actually a combination of things that occur while the lamb is cooking.  First, decanter and enjoy a nice bottle of red wine.  Second, melt mint jelly in a small sauce pan.

Third, toast a loaf of garlic bread.  And lastly, cook the asparagus for a couple of minutes.  I do not like overcooked asparagus, so I continually toss mine in a sautee pan until they are cooked but still firm or crunchy in texture.

Step 7: Once the lamb reached a temp of 125 I pulled it and allowed it to rest for about 5 minutes.

Step 8: Slice the lamb and plate.  Drizzle warm mint jelly over the sliced lamb.  Enjoy!