Herb Crusted Lamb Chops

Herb-Crusted Rack of Lamb with Honey Mustard Glaze 
(from Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home)

Yields:  8 servings 

Ingredients:

• 2 frenched, 8-bone racks of lamb (2 to 2 1/4 pounds each)
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• Canola oil
• 1/4 C Dijon mustard
• 3 T honey
• 6 T (3 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 cloves Garlic Confit
• 3 to 5 anchovy fillets, salt-packed or oil-packed, rinsed, dried, and minced
• 1 1/2 C ground panko bread crumbs
• 3 T finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 T minced rosemary
• Gray salt or coarse sea salt

Directions:

Score the fat covering the lamb in a cross-hatch pattern, taking care not to cut into the meat. Season the racks on all sides with salt and pepper.

Set a roasting rack in a roasting pan.  Heat some canola oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers.  Put one rack fat-side down in the pan and sear until golden brown, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.

Carefully move the lamb as it sears to brown as much of the fat as possible.  (It is best to sauté one rack at a time, so the temperature of the pan doesn’t drop dramatically.)  Transfer the lamb to the roasting rack, meat side up.  Drain the fat, and reheat the pan, adding fresh oil.  Repeat with the remaining rack.

Combine the butter, garlic confit and anchovies in a small food processor and puree until smooth.  Transfer the puree to a medium bowl, and stir in the bread crumbs, parsley and rosemary to combine.  Do not overmix; the mixture should be moist, but it may not all come together.

Brush the mustard mixture over the fat and meat, but do not coat the underside of the racks.

Spread the bread crumbs evenly over the racks, pressing gently and patting them so the crumbs adhere.  (The lamb can be refrigerated on the rack in the roasting pan for up to 6 hours, but remove it from the refrigerator 30 minutes before roasting.)

Position the oven rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat the oven to 425° F.  Put the lamb in the oven, meat-side toward the back, and roast for 25 to 35 minutes, until the temperature in the center of the meat registers 128° F to 130° F.  Let the racks rest on the rack in a warm place for 20 minutes for medium-rare.

Carve each rack into four 2-bone chops, and arrange them on a platter.  Sprinkle with gray salt or sea salt and serve.

Ok so the chops are a little over (should be more pink) but they were still amazing