Crown Roast of Lamb

Crown Roast of Lamb
Suzy Allman for The New York Times
Total Time
1 hour 15 minutes
Rating
4(174)
Notes
Read community notes

The crown rib roast is one of the most festive and serviceable cuts of meat, beautifully proportioned and wieldy, with luscious, lean red meat at the chop end tapering off into rustic, fatty and crispy rib bits at the bone end, with a built-in handle to facilitate gnawing.

Domestic lamb is more than suitable for crown roast and with its slightly firmer texture seems to stand up better on the plate than the incredibly supple lamb from Australia and New Zealand. The local lamb is also a good deal.

Featured in: A Spring Feast for the Senses

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings
  • 24-pound racks of lamb, trimmed and Frenched
  • 2tablespoons olive oil
  • teaspoons salt
  • teaspoons ground black pepper
  • 2tablespoons chopped garlic
  • 2tablespoons chopped rosemary
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

1689 calories; 156 grams fat; 68 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 66 grams monounsaturated fat; 12 grams polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 64 grams protein; 830 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place a 9-by-13-inch roasting pan in oven, and heat oven to 425 degrees.

  2. Step 2

    Lay racks side by side on a cutting board so concave rib side faces up, with rib tips pointing up as well. With a sharp knife, make a short, shallow incision (not more than ⅛-inch deep) in the flesh between each rib bone. With butcher's needle and twine, stitch the racks together where they meet.

  3. Step 3

    Lift racks by rib tips to stand upright, and shape them by hand so that the ends come together to form a crown. With the needle and twine, stitch the racks together.

  4. Step 4

    Drizzle olive oil over the inside and the outside of the crown roast, and massage it onto lamb. Shower crown roast with salt and pepper. Mix garlic and rosemary and press it thoroughly onto inside and outside of crown. Wrap each exposed rib tip with aluminum foil.

  5. Step 5

    Place crown meat-side down on a flat rack in roasting pan, and roast 35 to 40 minutes for rare; let rest uncovered 10 minutes. Remove foil and place paper frills on rib tips.

Ratings

4 out of 5
174 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

My dear deceased sister Susie made this for us for Christmas. I must carry on the tradition! But I think I'll make it twice a year, it's so good.

Please treat yourself to a good meat thermometer having a remote wired readout. Relying upon times given by people who have a different oven, cut of meat, etc. is fraught with risk. Go to Thermoworks for their chef model.

This was delicious and we served it just as in the photo with the mashed potatoes in the middle. The sizes of the racks of lamb in the recipe seem larger than what is usually available - we had 3.5 pounds total for three racks. We mixed all of the herbs, oil and garlic together into a paste and spread it onto the meat, let it sit all day before roasting. Perfection!

This was delicious and we served it just as in the photo with the mashed potatoes in the middle. The sizes of the racks of lamb in the recipe seem larger than what is usually available - we had 3.5 pounds total for three racks. We mixed all of the herbs, oil and garlic together into a paste and spread it onto the meat, let it sit all day before roasting. Perfection!

Where can you get a single 4lb rack of lamb???? I assume this is a typo, and you should get in total 4lbs of lamb. I see a rack generally weighing 1.5 to 1.7 lbs.

So easy - and so delicious!

How many minutes for medium-rare?

Please treat yourself to a good meat thermometer having a remote wired readout. Relying upon times given by people who have a different oven, cut of meat, etc. is fraught with risk. Go to Thermoworks for their chef model.

My dear deceased sister Susie made this for us for Christmas. I must carry on the tradition! But I think I'll make it twice a year, it's so good.

Private notes are only visible to you.

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