The Absolute Best Way To Smoke A Rack Of Lamb

Roast lamb is a classic holiday meal, while are wintertime comfort food at its best. can be luscious if you avoid making rookie mistakes, while even lamb burgers can be pretty amazing with the right toppings (Giada De Laurentiis makes them into ). You've never had lamb at its finest, though, unless you've experienced a smoked rack.

For some DIY lamb smoking tips, The Takeout spoke with Kareem El-Ghayesh, a chef from in Austin, Texas. He was a 2023 James Beard semifinalist and currently serves in a role called "Lambassador" for the . When we asked his favorite method of cooking this dish, he told us, "I like to dry rub and smoke the whole rack.



" The reason, as El-Ghayesh explained, is because "You get that nice pink medium-rare inside, you got nice crust saltiness ...

[that] also picks up the smoke flavor really, really well." The way he prepares a rack of lamb for smoking is to season it with a dry rub and let it sit for an hour or two. Once the smoker is ready and the rub's done its stuff, he said, "I like to smoke low and then finish with a hot sear.

Baste it with butter as you're going on the smoker." Lamb doesn't take long to smoke Smoking might seem like an all-day ordeal, and if you're , it may actually require a full 12 hours. There's no need to rise before dawn to have your rack of lamb done before dinner time, though.

According to Kareem El-Ghayesh, "Even if you smoke low and slow on the rack, it will only take less than an hour." So, not all that slow, then. As to how low, he clarified this as well, saying, "For me, the low and low range is anywhere between 225 to 275 [Fahrenheit]," and adding that for the lamb, "I would probably go with the higher end of that.

" You'll also need a meat thermometer on standby since once the lamb hits 130 to 135 degrees Fahrenheit, it's done. With this temperature, according to El-Ghayesh, "You get a nice medium-rare without overcooking it." Be sure to finish with a sear, either on the grill part of the smoker or under an oven broiler, because this will give the lam what the chef called "a nice color on the outside.

" Because the actual smoking time is so short, it doesn't really matter what type of wood chips you use. El-Ghayesh said, "We use oak in Texas, but honestly, since it's such a short cook, you can use more flavored wood like hickory or pecan or mesquite or even fruit woods." As he admitted, with less than an hour on the smoker, the lamb is only going to pick up just a hint of the wood flavor.

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