Herb Marinated Grilled Rack of Lamb is a finger licking delicious recipe marinated with garlic, za’atar Middle Eastern spice mixture and grilled to perfection. Fabulous idea for an easy Grilling and Chilling gathering.
Herb Marinated Grilled Rack of Lamb
Yes, we said finger licking! Ok, we will fess up. If we are not in a fancy restaurant, we are so picking up that delicious lamb lolly and getting right in there. Who is with me on that? We knew you were, if you are a lamb lover or even if you are not, this recipe will convert you.
Super tender with crisp grilled edges and extra flavorful lamb from all the delicious herbs. The special marinade and cooking tips for success are the hints you need to make a delicious herb marinated grilled rack of lamb. If you lamb lover be sure to try our Slow Roasted Moroccan Spiced Leg of Lamb, Middle Eastern Ground Lamb Kabobs and Easy Moroccan Ground Lamb Stew.
The Special Marinade
Our special marinade has only 5 ingredients and you may have these in your home right now.
- Fresh chopped Garlic and lots of it – of course. Hey don’t knock it. Garlic is the new social distancing tool… (smiling)
- Parsley – fresh or dried (we used dried as we are trying to avoid grocery runs as much as possible)
- Za’atar – a Middle Eastern Spice blend with thyme, cumin, coriander, oregano, toasted sesame seeds, sumac.
- Freshly ground black pepper. We salt right before the grilling process.
- Olive oil
How to Prepare a Rack of Lamb for Grilling
- The first step in making a delicious Herb Marinated Grilled Rack of Lamb is to make sure that you choose a rack of lamb that averages around 1.25 to 1.50 pounds (566 grams to 680 grams) and it usually has about 8 bones in it. Can be more or less bones per rack depending on which country you are in. Ours was only about 1.15 pounds(521 grams) but these days, you have to take what you can get.
- The next step is making sure that that either you or your butcher French cuts the bones on your rack of lamb. Check out this process on How to French cut a rack of lamb.
- Marinate your rack of lamb for 4 hours or up to overnight. In a pinch, marinate for at least 30 minutes while you are letting the lamb come to room temperature before grilling. Our Marinated Grilled Flank Steak is also another delicious recipe using the marinade and time to really tenderize the meat.
- Allow your lamb to come to room temp for about 30 minutes so that it cooks evenly on the grill.
- Salt and pepper your lamb well before it hits the grill.
How to Grill a Rack of Lamb?
There are always many ways to cook a rack of lamb. However, this grilling process always works well for us. Be sure to take your lamb out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you start to grill to allow it to come to room temperature. Allowing your lamb or any meat to come to room temperature before grilling is important so that it cooks evenly.
We preheat our gas grill to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C) and prepare our grill. We prepare our grill by making sure it is clean and then with a little rag on the end of a pair of throngs put a little oil on the grill grates to prevent sticking.
Next, lay the rack of lamb skin side down for about 5 minutes over direct heat. Then, we turn it over and cooked it for about 8 minutes more or until we arrived to medium rare. We take the Herb Marinated Grilled Rack of Lamb off the grill at 130 degrees F (54 degrees C) and rest under a tent of aluminum foil for about 10 minutes while the temperature raises to 135 degrees F (57 degrees C). 135 degrees F is a delicious medium rare.
We did not bother wrapping our lamb ribs to prevent burning with aluminum foil and all was well. However, if you would like to do so, carry on.
How Long to Cook a Rack of Lamb?
We enjoy our lamb medium rare and do not even suggest eating lamb medium or well done. We say why even bother eating this delicious cut of lamb if you are going to put it through that injustice… LOL
Here are the estimated temperatures correlating to your degree of desired doneness. However, there is one thing to note. The temperature of your rack of lamb will continue to rise a little bit (around 5 degrees) even after you remove it off the heat. Therefore, we like to take ours off about 2-5 degrees before it gets to the desired cooked level. Then, we wrap our rack of lamb loosely in a little aluminum foil and allow the meat to rest before carving.
- Blue Bloody Rare – 125 degrees F (51 degrees C) (a good Vet might be able to bring it back to life)
- Med Rare – 135 degrees F (57 degrees C) (our preferred cooking level)
- Medium – 145 degrees F (62 degrees C) (overcooked)
- Med Well – 155 degrees F (68 degrees C) (more overcooked)
- Well Done – 165 degrees F (73 degrees C) (why even bother)
Frequent Ask Questions (FAQ's)
How to carve a rack of lamb for serving?
This Herb Marinated Grilled Rack of Lamb is such an impressive dish, you may want to serve it on a cutting board with the ribs in the air and carve your lamb at the table with a very sharp knife.
We like to cut our lamb lollies in between each rib. However, if you like them thicker you can cut between every 2 ribs.
We are huge lamb lovers so if no one was watching, we could easily polish off that rack of lamb in one sitting. Ok, well financially that will not fly so we say that each person can have 2 or 3 ribs on the rack of lamb or 2-3 lamb lollies. Therefore, if you had 8 ribs on your herb marinated grilled rack of lamb, this would serve 3-4 people with some delicious side dishes.
How long to cook a rack of lamb on the grill?
The length of time to cook a rack of lamb depends on many factors.
1) Are you grilling your lamb on direct heat or indirect heat? (direct)
2) What the temperature of the grill is. (400 degrees)
3) If you are cooking the lamb with the lid on or off the grill. (on)
4) The weight of your rack of lamb (1.15 pounds)
5) What your preference is for level of doneness (135 degrees medium rare)
Therefore, we would not get too hung up on the time to grill as we would be monitoring the internal temperature of your herb marinated grilled rack of lamb with a meat thermometer. However, with the above parameters in the brackets, the total time on the grill was 13 minutes with 10 minutes rest time off the grill for a total time of 23 minutes.
Delicious Side Dishes to Serve with Lamb
- Middle Eastern Rice and Lentils (this recipe can be made in advance so it is easy for a gathering)
- Feta Stuffed Mushrooms (great use of the rest of the space on your grill)
- Chili Lime Grilled Okra (might as well as you already have the grill going)
- Best Grilled Asparagus (this delicious grilled side is an elegant easy side dish)
- Easy Tabbouleh Lebanese Salad (Salad can be made in advance for easy prep)
- Lemon Rose Cardamom Cheesecake Mousse for dessert and can be made in advance for easy entertaining at home.
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Herb Marinated Grilled Rack of Lamb
Equipment
- Meat Thermometer
Ingredients
- 1.25 pounds rack of lamb about 1.15 to 2 pounds with about 8 ribs (best to buy a rack of lamb already Frenched with the bones exposed or have your butcher do this for you)
- 2 tablespoon za'atar spice mix (see notes below)
- 2 tablespoon garlic peeled and minced or about 4 cloves
- 2 tablespoon parsley fresh chopped or dried
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Make sure that the rack of lamb bones has been "Frenched cut".(This is to remove the excess fat and fascia away from the bone to give abetter appearance for serving) Remove any excess fat.
- In a large sealable baggie or bowl add the rack of lamb, za’atar seasoning, chopped garlic, parsley and olive oil. Mix well and rub the mix into the rack of lamb. (Do not add the salt until you are ready to put it on the grill as this can draw out the moisture in the meat and make it tougher)
- Marinate rack of lamb for 4 hours or up to overnight. In a pinch can marinate for 30 minutes, while the lamb is coming to room temperature before grilling. Remove the marinating rack of lamb from the refrigerator and place it at room temperature for 30 minutes. (This keeps the meat cooking evenly)Preheat the grill to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C). Clean and prepare the grill. Oil your grill grates lightly with a cloth. We did not wrap the ribs of the lamb in aluminum foil to prevent burning and we had no issues. If you want to do this, go for it. Salt and pepper your lamb rack well on both sides.
- GRILLING DIRECTIONS: Place your rack of lamb skin side down for 5 minutes over direct heat, allow to sear with the lid of the grill down. Turn the rack of lamb over on the other side and cook for the remaining time. For us, that was another 8 minutes. Make sure you take your rack of lamb off the grill about 2to 5 degrees BEFORE it comes to your desired temperature as it will raise another 5 degrees upon resting. However, it depends on how you want lamb cooked. We highly suggest not cooking your lamb any more than medium rare at the most for the best flavor and texture. Blue Bloody Rare – 125 degrees F (51 degrees C) Med Rare – 135 degrees F (57 degrees C) (our preferred cooking level)Medium – 145 degrees F (62 degrees C) Med Well – 155 degrees F (68 degrees C) Well Done – 165 degrees F (73 degrees C)
- After you take your rack of lamb off the grill, Tent lamb lightly with aluminum foil and allow it to rest for about 10 minutes before carving.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and herbs as desired before serving.
- OVEN DIRECTIONS: No Grill. No problem! Our suggestion is to prepare our Herb Marinated Rack of Lamb with the rub as stated in the recipe. Then take out your lamb out of the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes up to an hour before cooking in the oven to allow it to come to room temperature. This is so that it cooks evenly. Next, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F (232 degrees C). Cook lamb uncovered for 10 minutes. Then, reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F (148 degrees c) for an additional 10 - 20 minutes. Start checking the internal temperature of your rack of lamb at the start of the 10 minute mark. If you like your rack of lamb medium rare like we do then take it out at 135 degrees F. Tent with a little foil and let rest.
Notes
- The first step is to make sure that you choose a rack of lamb that averages around 1.25 to 1.50 pounds (566 grams to 680 grams) and it usually has about 8 bones in it. Can be more or less bones per rack depending on which country you are in. Ours was only about 1.15 pounds(521 grams) but these days, you have to take what you can get.
- The next step is making sure that that either you or your butcher French cuts the bones on your rack of lamb. Check out this process on how to French cut a rack of lamb.
- Marinate your rack of lamb for 4 hours or up to overnight. In a pinch, marinate for at least 30 minutes while you are letting the lamb come to room temperature before grilling
- Allow your lamb to come to room temp for about 30 minutes so that it cooks evenly on the grill.
- Salt and pepper your lamb well before it hits the grill.
Gary says
No grill.......Any suggestions for preparing in the oven? Thanks
HWC Magazine says
Hi there Gary! No Grill. No problem! Our suggestion is to prepare our Herb Marinated Rack of Lamb with the rub as stated in the recipe. Then take out your lamb out of the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes up to an hour before cooking in the oven to allow it to come to room temperature. This is so that it cooks evenly. Next, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F (232 degrees C). Cook lamb uncovered for 10 minutes. Then, reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F (148 degrees c) for an additional 10 - 20 minutes. Start checking the internal temperature of your rack of lamb at the start of the 10 minute mark. If you like your rack of lamb medium rare like we do then take it out at 135 degrees F. Tent with a little foil and let rest. Slice and Enjoy! We hope this helps. Stay well and take care
Rosina says
What temperature do you think I should use to cook the rack of lamb in the oven, and how long does it take to cook?
HWC Magazine says
Hi there! No Grill. No problem! Our suggestion is to prepare our Herb Marinated Rack of Lamb with the rub as stated in the recipe. Then take out your lamb out of the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes up to an hour before cooking in the oven to allow it to come to room temperature. This is so that it cooks evenly. Next, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F (232 degrees C). Cook lamb uncovered for 10 minutes. Then, reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F (148 degrees c) for an additional 10 - 20 minutes. Start checking the internal temperature of your rack of lamb at the start of the 10 minute mark. If you like your rack of lamb medium rare like we do then take it out at 135 degrees F. Tent with a little foil and let rest. Slice and Enjoy! (we have added these directions to the recipe card for you) We hope this helps. Stay well and take care
Gemma says
Wow this lamb looks to die for! It looks so juicy and tender, I could so enjoy this for dinner tonight xo
Jeff the Chef says
What a gorgeous rack! And so spicy!
John / Kitchen Riffs says
Lamb is my favorite red meat. Yours looks perfectly done -- just the way I like it. And that marinade looks terrific. Don't think too much garlic is really possible. Well, I know it is, but bring it o;n, I say! 🙂
HWC Magazine says
How perfect John! I hope Mrs. Riff makes you a whole rack this summer. Lamb is our favorite too. Nah... you can never have too much garlic, right? Take Care
Abbe@This is How I Cook says
What a gorgeous rack of lamb, Bobbi. Topped with my favorite seasoning, za'atar, I have no doubt these were a hit. Manservant would polish these off quickly!
HWC Magazine says
Thanks so much Abbe. So happy to hear that you are a za'atar spice fan too. We love it and we have a delightful Middle Eastern grocery store right down the street and they make their own homemade blend. So good! Next time, we are making 2 racks as the boys really love this recipe.
Balvinder says
That rack of lamb look gorgeous. I’ll definitely be cooking this recipe soon. I love za'atar spice mix and use it quite often.
HWC Magazine says
Thank you Balvinder. Fantastic, we are huge za'ater spice lovers too. So delicious on so many recipe.
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
I've grilled lamb chops but never the whole rack...usually use the oven for that. Your photos of that perfectly cooked lamb make me wish I had a rack of lamb in my refrigerator. Yum!
HWC Magazine says
Thanks so much Karen! Now that the weather is warmer, grilling outdoors is our favorite way to cook to keep the heat down in the kitchen. Stay well and take care
Juliana says
OMG Bobbi...it is lunch time here and I am literally drooling over my computer...the lamb looks perfect...really perfect, and I am loving all the herbs on it...great recipe!
Have a wonderful week!
HWC Magazine says
Wish you lived a little closer Julie, then you could have lunch with us. Thanks so much and take care
Raymund says
That lamb is perfectly cooked the way I wanted them. What even better your recipe is mint free, one of the spices I never used on savouries. Love this one!
HWC Magazine says
Thank you Raymund. Just like you, we are not too keen on a mint sauce on lamb either. However, za'atar is the perfect spice along with LOTS of garlic. Wishing you a lovely week ahead.
Katerina says
My kids love a good rack of lamb - I think it's because it's a pretty impressive looking piece of meat (and they get to handhold their food and nibble the meat off the bones, always a bonus) but we usually bake it. I've never tried grilling it and you've inspired me to give it a go. I love the look of that fresh garlic and herb marinade too - it sounds absolutely delicious!
HWC Magazine says
Thank you Katerina. We bet those little lamb lollipops are perfect for those little hands to grab right on to. Now the heat index is up, we are really enjoying bringing the grilling party outdoors. Really simple and keeps the mess down to a minimum.
Eha says
How can anyone eat lamb cutlets with a knife and fork ? Even at the most formal dinner party ? In this lamb country of ours love 'em but cannot afford half the time ! Have to be properly pink inside whatever the mode of cooking . . . the sides there may add but do not really count ! It is the lamb and yours is lovely !! Have usually been quite traditional with heaps of garlic and rosemary but love za'atar and shall definitely ;play around; with that next time around.
HWC Magazine says
I know really, why even bother with that proper fork and knife thing. Get right on in there! We are all about the rosemary and lots of garlic too. However, with the grocery runs limited we are all about using what you have on hand. That leads to some really delicious recipe ideas. The herbs in za'atar are a perfect compliment to the lamb. Stay well and take care
Liz says
Wow, your lamb is cooked to perfection! Bill adores lamb and he'd be thrilled to have this for dinner. And I do love to marinate my lamb, so a win for us both!
HWC Magazine says
Thanks so much Liz! Father's Day is right around the corner, so Bill might get lucky yet with a rack of lamb on the menu plan. Take care and stay well.
mjskitchen says
WOW! This looks SO delicious! I wish we could find some lamb. We usually get our lamb at Costco but Bobby said that yesterday they had absolutely no lamb. 🙁 What a great dish for moving the heat outside.
HWC Magazine says
Thanks so much MJ! Costco is usually a great place to get lamb. We actually found this rack at a Meijer's grocery store near by. We have found that you have to get to the grocery store really early to optimize your chances of getting the items on your list. We are all about grilling and keeping the heat and the mess outside. Take Care
Kolaylezzet says
Thanks for this lamb recipe and great photos.
HWC Magazine says
Thanks so much. We hope you give this recipe a try soon.
Hannah says
I do adore za'atar! I really should use it more often. That stuff can brighten up any protein. Thanks for more brilliant inspiration, my friend!
HWC Magazine says
Thank you Hannah! We love za'atar too! We have the most amazing Middle Eastern Grocery store right down the street from us. Spices galore and homemade flat breads from the oven. Za'atar is one of the spices we always have on hand. Take Care