Glazed Lamb Ribs

By Sam Sifton

Updated January 30, 2017

  • Marcus Nilsson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Brian Preston-Campbell. Prop Stylist: Angharad Bailey.
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Total Time
About 3 hours 45 minutes
Rating
5(258)
Comments
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This is a recipe loosely based on one for a snack that used to be served at DBGB, Daniel Boulud’s giddy sausage-and-beer restaurant on the Bowery in Manhattan: crunchy little nuggets of small-boned lamb breast served with a pale yogurt sauce with a mild pepper kick under a zing of lemon zest. You can divide the cooking in two if you like, roasting the meat on one day, then finishing it on a grill or under a broiler a day or so later. And you can bail on the sprinkle if it's too much work. But not the glaze and not the yogurt! (Here's the recipe.)

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

FOR THE LAMB

  • 2 racks lamb ribs

  • 2 tablespoons Kosher salt

  • 6 cloves garlic, peeled and finely diced

  • 6 sprigs thyme

  • 3 sprigs rosemary

  • 2 bay leaves

FOR THE GLAZE

  • 1 cup sherry vinegar

  • 1 cup honey

  • 1 tablespoon fennel seeds, cracked

  • 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, cracked

  • 1 tablespoon ground freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 tablespoon ground Aleppo chili

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold

FOR THE SPRINKLE

  • 2 tablespoons coriander seeds, toasted and cracked, or 1 tablespoon ground coriander

  • 2 teaspoons Aleppo chili

  • 2 teaspoons Kosher salt, or to taste

  • Zest of 1 lemon

  • 1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

81 grams carbs; 59 milligrams cholesterol; 584 calories; 11 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 27 grams fat; 6 grams fiber; 597 milligrams sodium; 11 grams protein; 70 grams sugar

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. FOR THE LAMB

    1. Step 1

      Preheat oven to 275. Trim most of fat from the surface of the lamb racks and place them in a large roasting pan. Combine salt, garlic and herbs and rub over lamb. Place in oven and roast for 2 hours. Remove pan from oven and turn ribs, then return to oven for 30 to 60 minutes longer, or until the lamb is just tender and starting to pull away from the bone. Remove pan from oven and set aside.

    2. Step 2

      Meanwhile, make the glaze. Combine vinegar and honey in a small sauce pan placed over moderate heat. Add fennel, coriander, black pepper and Aleppo chili and bring to a slight simmer. Lower heat and allow the mixture to reduce by half. Remove from heat and whisk in the cold butter.

    3. Step 3

      Light a fire in grill or preheat broiler in oven. Combine coriander, chili, salt, lemon and parsley in a small bowl and set aside. Slice ribs into individual pieces, cutting between each bone. When coals are covered with gray ash and fire is hot, put chops on grill directly over coals or on a pan in the broiler. Using a pastry brush, coat lamb lightly with glaze and continue to cook, turning occasionally, until the meat begins to turn golden and crisp, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Remove to a platter and sprinkle with the topping.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
258 user ratings
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Comments

MollyT

This was so good! However, with our grass-fed (and possibly smaller) lamb, the cooking time should have been cut in half. Will definitely make this again, maybe using a lamb shoulder roast next time.

Lilot Moorman

Lamb ribs are tricky, and this recipe is a winner. If you don't have Aleppo chile, chile ancho works well.

CMJ

Not sure why you find the name irritating. Hope this helps.

From: thekitchn.com
Kosher salt's original purpose was really to kosher meat, meaning to remove the blood from meat, so it's really koshering salt. Certain salt companies labeled the boxes of this coarse salt kosher salt rather than koshering salt, and the name stuck.

michelle

I made 1/3 of the recipe and tried this on 1.75 lbs of lamb chops (4 thick chops). Ten out of 5 stars, no notes. We dipped bites in the glaze at the table. Had the zucchini mint and feta salad on the side with wild rice. Amazing summer recipe!

Jeff

This is tasty, perhaps a bit too much so? There is the flavoring of the herbs and garlic on the lamb as it roasts, the glaze, the sprinkle, and the yogurt on the side. MIA by the end was any taste of lamb, which I found disappointing. It might be because the ribs I had were fairly small. But if I were to do this again, I would use a much lighter touch with all the seasonings and additions. Also, it is easy to over-salt because of its presence in several steps.

ABG

These were delicious. I very sadly forgot about the butter for the glaze until we were eating but they were still very good without. I made the sprinkle and the yogurt sauce but disagree with the intro - I'd pick the sprinkle over the yogurt, it really brightened up the ribs and really made them special. You can probably cut the glaze amounts in half. I prepared four 8 rib racks with one batch and had enough for a couple more racks left over.

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