Let the flavours of summer dance on your palate with this juicy crown of lamb chops. Presented by the Red Meat Industry Services (RMIS), this recipe is perfect for elevating your sunny days or your festive table.
Behold the royalty of roasts, a lamb crown fit for a feast. This crown of juicy lamb chops recipe suits those who enjoy the soft life.
Let’s be honest, the crown roast is a feast for the eyes before it even reaches the table. But don’t let the fancy looks fool you, preparing a crown roast is quite straightforward when following Gerrie du Rand’s techniques.
A simple showstopper
“A crown roast of lamb is a show-stopping way of serving lamb for a special occasion. The dish got its name as two racks of lamb are attached to create a crown by the circular shape that is formed.
“This dish is not that difficult to create if you follow the clear instructions given in the recipe. You do not need any special equipment, just a sharp knife. Some butcher twine, a can, and some tin foil,” says Du Rand.
A crown roast of lamb is prepared using the reversed searing method, she explains, stuffed with couscous, cranberries, and pistachios.
It is also served with a mint-infused sauce and a fresh watercress salad.
Add a touch of finesse
You will need to cut away the excess fat on the rib bones and scrape off any of the meat. This is called Frenching or French-trimmed lamb. This is usually done for aesthetic reasons.
When cooking, the two racks of lamb are tied together with or without stuffing. Then follows the carving.
A juicy crown roast of lamb is a delightful and festive dish, often served on special occasions. The timing of when to eat depends on your meal schedule and the occasion itself. This summer, transform ordinary meals into extraordinary moments with the addition of a mouth-watering crown roast of lamb.
The Red Meat Industry Services (RMIS) brings this recipe to you as part of their Beef and Lamb SA consumer education project.
Red Meat Industry Services is an organisation dedicated to the growth and advancement of the red meat industry in South Africa.
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CROWN ROAST OF LAMB WITH A COUSCOUS STUFFING
Ingredients
- 2 x 1kg racks of lamb, chined [spine bone removed by the butcher] (x 6-8 ribs per rack of lamb tied together) refer to notes on how to assemble the crown roasts or ask butcher to prepare
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh oregano, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, roughly chopped
- Stuffing
- 1 cup lamb or chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 cup uncooked couscous
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup spring onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- ½ cup pistachios, chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pink peppercorns crushed
- Sauce:
- 1½ cups lamb stock (use meat juices and add stock)
- ½ cup rosé wine
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- ½ cup fresh mint leaves
- Other equipment: Butchers twine; empty can; tin foil; sharp knife
Instructions
Prepare the lamb [forming the crown]:
1. Collect all the ingredients and other items required to prepare the crown. Remove the lamb from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, about 40 minutes (this helps to cut and shape the crown otherwise the meat is too cold).
2. Place the oven rack in the lower third of the oven and pre-heat the oven to 160°C, this is to allow the crown to fit into the oven.
3. Position the lamb racks on a cutting board and flip the lamb over so that the bones are facing you. Use a sharp boning or chef’s knife, make a 2,5 cm incision between the bottom of each bone of both racks. Be careful to not damage the meat of the chops.
4. Turn the lamb so that the bones are facing away from you. Slice under the bones (no more than 1.5 cm) along the entire length of the rack. This incision is the guide to where you will ty the butcher’s twine to form the crown. Be careful to not cut too deep as the meat will then tear off the bone when you try and shape it.
5. Flip the racks with the fat side up, with the bones facing away from you, use a sharp chef’s knife and remove the outside connective tissue layer and trim any excessive fat.
To French the racks of lamb (strip the ends of excess meat):
6. Flip the rack so that the ribs are exposed and using the tip of your knife, score the membrane along the center of each bone by placing the tip of your knife against the bone starting about an 3-4 cm away from the cut end of the bones, and pulling your knife slowly and firmly down the bone to its end. Your knife should trace a path right down the center of each bone, not in between the bones.
7. Peel away the membrane by using a dish cloth to grip the fat, pull the fat and membrane away from between each rib slowly and firmly. It should pull cleanly away from the bones. Continue working away from the bones until about 5 cm bone is exposed.
8. Flip the rack over and use your knife to cut away the flap of fat and membrane. The fat and membrane should have come cleanly off the bones, leaving them bare and white. Most of the time, little bits of meat and fat will remain stuck to the bone, use the butt-end of your knife, next to the tang, to scrape the remaining connective tissue off the bones.
9. Lay the racks fat- side up on a work surface in front of you. Mix together the salt, pepper, garlic, oregano and rosemary to create a seasoning rub. Rub the fat side of the rack with half of the rub mixture. Gently rub and press the rub mixture into the fat to help it stick.Repeat with the second rack and the remaining rub mixture.
Creating the crown:
10. Stand the racks up, with the bones resting on the work surface and gently bend each rack into a semicircle with the fat/meat side toward the inside. Press the racks together to form a circle.
11. Use an empty can, cover it with tin foil and place it in the middle of the crown. The covered tin will help support the lamb while tying the butcher’s twine.
12. Use a length of butcher’s twine long enough to tie around the racks twice. Slip the twine into the sliced space under the bones. Pull firmly but not too tight to prevent cutting into the meat and tie a knot to secure the shape.
13. Using another double length of twine, tie twice around the center of the crown, pull firmly and secure with a knot. Remove the can and the crown will stand up on its own.
Cooking the crown:
14. Place the lamb onto a rack in a rimmed roasting pan. Use the tin foil you used to cover the can and scrunch it into a ball and place that in the center of the crown (the heat reflected by the foil helps to cook the lamb). Wrap each of the exposed bones with a small piece of foil to prevent them from burning during roasting.
15. Roast in the oven at 160°C for 25 minutes per 500 g plus an extra 20 minutes, about 1 to 1 ½ hours. Use a temperature probe to measure the internal temperature of the meat. When the internal temperature reaches 46°C, remove the meat from the oven. Increase the oven heat to the highest
setting 260°C and allow to heat fully.
16. Place lamb back in the oven and roast lamb, checking the temperature every 5 minutes as it approaches doneness, until the lamb is browned, and the instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the lamb reads 52-54°C for medium-rare or 54-57°C for medium about 10 minutes.
17. Once the lamb is cooked to your liking, remove from the oven and transfer the lamb to a cutting board, leaving the roasting juices behind in the pan. Tent the lamb with foil and let rest for 15 minutes while you make the sauce. The internal temperature of the lamb will rise about 5 degrees more as the lamb rests.
Preparing the sauce:
18. Place the roasting pan with the juices on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Once the juices start to bubble, add the rose wine, stir and scrape up any browned bits stuck on the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the stock and the mint bring to a simmer, and let the sauce reduce by one-third. Remove the mint.
19. Combine the flour and butter in a bowl to form a thick paste. Once the sauce has reduced, turn the heat to high, add the flour paste, whisking until the sauce thickens. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Strain into a sauce boat.
20. Gently remove the twine from the lamb. Stuff with the warm couscous stuffing and serve with the sauce.
To carve the lamb, slice between the rib bones into chops and serve with a fresh watercress salad.
Preparing the stuffing:
Note: The stuffing is prepared separately as filling the center of the crown with a stuffing makes judging the correct internal temperature tricky.
1. In a heatproof bowl pour boiling water over the cranberries and pistachios and let steep until softened and plump, about 10 minutes.
2. Heat the stock in a medium saucepan with the turmeric. Place the couscous in a large heatproof bowl and pour over the warm stock. Allow to stand until the couscous has absorbed the stock about 10 minutes. Stir in the drained cranberries, nuts, spring onions and parsley and olive oil. Season to taste with the salt and crushed pink peppercorns. Keep warm and use to stuff the cooked crown roast.
