Frenching a rack of lamb or goat, or trimming to enhance the look is a good trick to know how to do, especially if you want to recreate an experience similar to eating rack of lamb at a restaurant.
At every restaurant I’ve ever worked at, racks of lamb and goat have been Frenched before cooking. Frenching is useful for a number of reasons, the most important being that it makes the chops look more elegant, as well as removing some of the extra fatty rib meat on top of the ribs that some eaters may not like to eat. The fatty rib meat is still good eating, but it takes much longer to render and crisp compared to the time it takes for the loin, or inner meat of the chop to cook.
That being said, I don’t always French my lamb and goat racks before I cook them. If I slow-cook a rack, I prefer to leave the top layer of fat on since it will render and crisp as the meat cooks for hours in the oven, becoming one of the best parts of the meal. If you haven’t tried slow-cooking a rack of lamb or goat I definitely recommend it, especially if the people you’ll be serving prefer their meat a little more well-done.
If you want to skip the process of Frenching a rack of lamb yourself and have us do it for you, it’s no problem. Shepherd Song sells pre-Frenched racks, half racks, and chops.
This recipe is by Chef Alan Bergo, the Forager Chef. A chef from Minnesota, Alan is a culinary industry veteran, former executive chef of acclaimed Lucia’s Restaurant, and the Salt Cellar. Author of The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora, he’s one of the most respected voices in the world of foraging and wild food. He’s best known as the founder of Forager Chef, his website focused on wild ingredients that reaches millions of readers each year. Learn more about Chef Alan and his hunt for mushrooms, wild and obscure foods at foragerchef.com.
Looking to buy lamb or goat online? Shepherd Song Farm: Grass to table. We raise lambs & goats traditionally, humanely and sustainably. 100% Grass Fed, Pasture Raised, Never Confined, no Hormones, Grains or Animal Byproducts. Born, raised and processed in the U.S.A. Good for you and good for the environment.
It takes a little time and you’ll need a sharp paring knife, but it’s worth it. The images below describe the process. Don’t worry too much about getting the bones perfectly clean, the most important part of Frenching is removing the fat. The leftover fat cap can be cut into pieces and rendered for cooking fat. The leftover lamb cracklings make fantastic crackling cornbread.
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