Mizuka was talking to our house guest* who doesn't like lamb. Mizuka explained that she didn't like lamb either but that she started liking it after she first had a Crown Roast of Lamb over the holidays that we bought from Savenor's so we decided to try it to see if it would change our guest's taste.

I looked at three recipes and decided to dry brine over night but to add the spice rub at lunch. I think I could have spiced it last night as well, but it was late. I thought that the salt was probably the most important.

I'm mashing up three receipts.

• Crown Roast of Lamb with Rosemary and Oregano - EpicuriousCrown Roast of Lamb with Rosemary and Oregano - Epicurious
  1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary
  12 garlic cloves, minced
  2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
  1 tablespoon salt
  2 teaspoons ground black pepper
  2 crown roasts of lamb, each consisting of 14 chops (which are two 7-rib racks of lamb tied together)
  Olive oil
  
• Crown Roast of Lamb - Food NetworkCrown Roast of Lamb - Food Network
  2 racks lamb, 6 to 8 ribs each, approximately 1 1/2 to 2-pounds each
  1 tablespoon olive oil
  1 teaspoon kosher salt
  1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  6 cloves garlic, minced
  4 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
  1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
  1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
  1/2 to 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  1/2 to 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
  
• Crown Roast of Lamb - ThermoworksCrown Roast of Lamb - Thermoworks
  2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
  6 garlic cloves, minced
  1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano
  2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
  1 tsp lemon zest
  1 ½ tsp salt
  1 tsp ground black pepper
  2 Frenched racks of lamb, each consisting of 7 ribs
  Olive oil
  

I used 2 tbsp of fresh rosemary, 6 garlic cloves, 1 tsp of dried oregano, 2 tbsp of chopped parsley, 1/2 tsp of lemon zest, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp of ground pepper, 1 tsp of fresh thyme. I dry brined the lamb from the morning, then oiled the lamb with light olive oil and spread the rub over the lab.

I set the oven to 425ºF and roasted it on a skillet (heated together with the oven) and covered the bones with foil. I put a thermometer into the meat with an alarm at 125ºF.

I forgot to take a photo of the crown before I cut the twine. This is roughly the shape that it was, but maybe not quite as flat.

It took nearly one hour to cook. I now realize that this is probably because the "hole" in the middle was gone because it was shaped more like pursed lips than a crown because of the way it came from Savenor's. I think that next time, I need to shape it into a crown and maybe tie the two ends together to hold it in that shape.

Also, the lamb looked more "medium" than "medium-rare".

The Food Network recipe said to use the drippings to make a sauce with 1 tbsp vinegar and 1 tsp of Dijon mustard. The pan drippings were almost all oil which was too hot. Next time, I should remove the oil and cool down the pan before adding the vinegar and the mustard.

I compiled this into my own Crown Roast of Lamb recipe

* We have had a family of friends with two kids living in our au pair since early in the lockdown. It's been fun cooking with and for them.