GrillinFools
Lamb racks marinated in olive oil and fresh herbs, seared and then smoked over a sheet pan of fresh vegetables and drizzled with more olive oil and herbs making this sheet pan lamb recipe delicious and easy grilled lamb
Is lamb good on the grill?
The short, yet emphatic, answer is yes. But why? Lamb is a milder red meat than beef, but with a very distinct flavor from it’s cow cousin. What makes grilled lamb so amazing to me is that it melds so well with other flavors. Marinades, sauces, etc. It also takes on smoke wonderfully. And it doesn’t take much smoke to enhance the flavor of lamb which is one of the reasons this is delicious and easy grilled lamb.
That answers the next question:
Should lamb be marinated?
Absolutely. Otherwise lamb can be a little bland.
My love of lamb knows no bounds, and this recipe using a sheet pan wrapped in foil makes clean up easy and holds all the juices without tearing. It’s one of those one sheet pan meals. Wait, one sheet what? Basically, it’s an entire meal cooked on a single baking sheet, normally done in the oven. I make a couple minor adjustments to the one sheet pan craze.
Obviously, we aren’t the Baking Fools, so we do ours on the grill, I can clean up that one pan in about 4 seconds by simply wrapping up any discarded bits and grease up in the foil. So basically, this is a wonderful dish that will save you a lot of time by only using a single baking sheet and the cleanup of that baking sheet is beyond easy, giving you more quality time with the family. With four kids in my household, I need every second I can get! So, get ready for Delicious and Easy Grilled Lamb Lollipops
Delicious and Easy Grilled Lamb Ingredients:
- Fresh herbs (we used basil, rosemary and thyme, but use what looks freshest or whatever you prefer – or both)
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1 condiment bottle
- 2 racks of lamb
- Salt and pepper
- Aluminum foil
- 4 yellow squash (or is it squashes?)
- 1 lb fresh asparagus (go with the thicker stalks, not the super thin ones)
- 1 cup pearl onions, skin removed
- 6 radishes
- 2 ounces hard grated cheese (we used asiago)
- 6 cups couscous (optional)
- 12 crostini (optional)
Grilled Lamb Marinade Instructions:
Begin with the fresh herbs:
We used basil, rosemary and thyme but could’ve just as easily done just one of those herbs, two of them or any of a number of other herbs. Choose what works for you, I tend to go with whatever looks the freshest. Dad had these growing in his garden, so we went with them.
Adding some minced garlic here would also be a good idea (or onion, or shallots, or… you get the idea).
Once everything is finely chopped, stuff it into a condiment bottle:
Then fill that bottle with the olive oil or vegetable oil:
Pro Tip #1 ~ If there’s anything left in the bottle after this recipe is done, use it to flavor all sorts of dishes as the infused oil is positively sublime
Now it’s time to prep the lamb for an herb and oil marinade. Simply trim any thick, hard fat off the meat side of the racks:
Anything that looks like “silver skin” is no big deal on lamb. On beef tenderloin, silver skin is a problem.
On pork tenderloin or lamb, it’s not. It’s just not that tough and will practically melt away during the cooking process.
Stuff the lamb racks into a resealable bags and squirt in the herb infused oil to coat:
Store that bag in the fridge for 2-12 hours.
Vegetable Preparation:
While the lamb is marinating, let’s prepare the rest of our ingredients. Slice the squash into half inch thick disks:
Pro Tip #2 ~ Snap off the base of each asparagus stalk
Asparagus has a touch, woody base on each stalk that is not really edible. Rather than guessing at where the tough part ends and the edible part begins and slicing at that point, simple grab each stalk (or a handful of them) and snap off the base. Each stalk will break right above the tough/woody part and leave the tender, edible part.
Then chop the stalks in half:
Cut the pearl onions in half:
Slice the radishes thin.
Mise en place:
Time to get my sheet pan ready. First, I’m gonna need a couple long sheets of foil:
I have no idea why I have a butcher’s glove (white cotton one) on one hand with no nitrile glove over it like the other hand.
Now cover half the baking sheet with the first sheet of foil:
Pro Tip #3 ~ Use a baking sheet with a lip around the edge; otherwise grease or oil could drip off the side
Now repeat the process and cover the other side:
Now let’s get to cooking.
How to Make Delicious and Easy Grilled Lamb:
First, prepare the grill for two zone grilling with a cool side and a hot side. We want the hot side north of 500F.
Then, remove the lamb racks from the herbs and oil and season with salt and pepper:
Don’t bother wiping off the bits of herbs on the lamb.
Should I sear lamb before grilling?
Normally I would suggest smoking on the grill first and then searing (the reverse sear) because once we sear off the lamb here, it won’t take on much smoke. BUT, we are slicing these racks after searing. The newly sliced meat will take on lots of smoke where it is sliced. So in this case, sear lamb before the rest of the grill process.
Then place the lamb directly over the coals (or lit burner on a gas grill):
Stay close
Be careful here. Do not place this lamb on the grill and walk away for a restroom break or to grab a beverage.
That oil may as well be gasoline.
If the oil ignites into a full-on open flames, slide the rack away from the flames but keep it over the coals.
The goal is to get some char on the outside of the lamb but not to cook it all the way through:
Here we have one rack that is browned on both sides, so I put it on the side of the grill with no direct heat and finished up the other one:
These two racks were just under 100F degrees when they were charred all the way around.
Remove the lamb from the grill and allow to cool.
Sheet Pan Assembly Instructions:
Start with a layer of the squash:
Then add the asparagus:
Next up, the pearl onions:
Note ~ We are holding back the radishes for a little bit here.
Then season with salt and pepper:
Now slice the lamb into two bone units and scatter them around the baking sheet of veggies:
Some of you are cringing at the redness of the lamb.
Don’t worry, we’re not done cooking.
Toss some smoke wood on the fire (in this case some pear wood):
If you don’t have access to pear wood, don’t sweat it. Apricot, peach, and apple are all great substitutes.
How do I know? Because I have this handy, dandy, lengthy list of types of smoke woods and what they pair well with.
Once the smoke starts rolling, put the sheet pan back on the grill on the indirect/cool side (not over the coals)
Close the lid and let the heat and smoke work their magic.
Target temp inside the grill is 350F-375F:
After about 15 minutes, add the radishes:
Also, this is the point that we forgot a step.
Before we put the pan on the grill we should’ve given it a drizzle of the herbs and olive oil.
Better a little late than never:
Also, note that the lamb is coloring up nicely:
Close the lid and cook until the lamb is to the doneness of your liking and the veggies have softened up a bit.
For me, I’m giddy with rare so when these thicker meat lollipops were at 126F I was ready to pull the sheet pan from the grill:
Don’t fret if you like it a little more done. Dad loves his lamb (and red meat in general) medium rare and these slightly smaller chunks of lamb were more to his liking:
That one pan will take care of a lot of different doneness preferences:
Sheet Pan Lamb Plating Instructions:
I like to add a cup of couscous and a couple crostini to this to round out the meal, but they are completely optional (I know I said it was a one pan meal, which is the other reason the couscous is optional):
Now pile up those veggies onto the couscous (or just onto the plate).
Then slice the two bone units of delicious and easy grilled into single bone lamb lollipops:
There’s my rare!
Stack up three or four of the lamb lollipops onto the veggies:
Then grate that hard cheese over the plate:
Delicious and easy grilled lamb is served:
Just one close up of that delicious and easy grilled lamb lollipop:
For me, that’s heaven!
Delicious and Easy Grilled Lamb Summary:
You can also grate the cheese directly over the pan if you wish, but this way family and friends can each get their desired amount of cheese, or none at all.
I have to say that this dish was absolutely crushed by my kids. One tip: don’t tell the kids that those red ringed white things are radishes. They all ate them but as soon as I told them what they were, they wrinkled their noses. Not sure why the radish gets such a bad rap. I thought they were delicious and added some great color and texture to the dish.
If you have any questions about this delicious and easy grilled lamb, feel free to leave them below or send me an email.
Check here for other lamb recipes and here’s another sheet pan recipe (which also involves a meat lollipop)
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Delicious and Easy Grilled Lamb Recipe Card
Delicious and Easy Grilled Lamb
Equipment
- 1 Condiment bottle
- Reynolds Wrap® Heavy Duty Foil
- 1 baking sheet
Ingredients
- 1 sprig basil
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 1 sprig thyme
- 1 cup olive oil
- 2 racks lamb
- salt and pepper
- 1.5 lb yellow squash
- 1 lb asparagus woody bases removed
- 1 cup pearl onions outer paper removed
- .5 lb radishes
- 2 oz hard grated cheese
- 6 cups couscous (optional)
- 12 slices crostini (optional)
Instructions
- Finely chop the herbs and stuff into a condiment bottle
- Top the bottle off with the olive oil
- Trim the fat off the racks of lamb
- Stuff the lamb racks into a resealable plastic bag and drizzle with the herbs and oil and marinate for 2-12 hours
- Prepare the grill for two zone grilling with one side having no coals and one side being north of 500F over the coals
- Remove the lamb racks from the marinade and season both sides with salt and pepper
- Sear the racks of lamb directly over the coals
- If the oil ignites under the lamb, move the lamb off flames but not off the coals to get a nice char without burning the meat
- Once both racks of lamb are seared on both sides remove from the heat and allow to cool
- While the lamb cools, prepare the baking sheet by overlapping two sheets of Reynolds Wrap Heavy Duty Foil atop the baking sheet
- Slice the squash into half inch thick disks
- Break off the woody bases of each stalk of asparagus
- Slice the pearl onions in half
- Slice the radishes into thin slivers
- Layer the foil covered baking sheet with the squash, asparagus and pearl onions (reserving the radishes for later)
- Season the pan with salt and pepper
- Slice the cooled lamb racks into two bone units and place them around the sheet pan ensuring that none of the lamb touches any of the other lamb
- Drizzle the baking sheet with the herbs and oil
- Add smoke wood to the coals
- Once the cooker starts smoking, place the baking sheet on top of the side of the grill with no coals
- Close the lid and let the heat and the smoke work their magic on the ingredients
- Target temperature inside the grill is 350F-375F
- After 15 minutes, sprinkle the sheet pan with the sliced radishes
- Once the delicious and easy grilled lamb reaches your desired doneness, and the veggies have softened, remove the pan from the grill
- (optional) Add a cup of couscous to the plate
- Add the cooked veggies on top of the couscous
- Slice the two bone lamb units into single bone lamb lollipops and pile 3-4 onto the veggies
- (optional) Add a couple crostini to the plate to round out the dish
- Grate the cheese over the top of the plate
- Serve
Video
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