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  4. Our Best Lamb Recipes

Our Best Lamb Recipes

By Food & Wine Updated March 18, 2021
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Roast Leg of Lamb
Credit: Con Poulos

When you think about lamb you might picture a traditional roasted rack or leg, served with mint jelly. Why stop there? These delicious lamb recipes include garlic-crusted roast rack of lamb and juicy braised lamb with potatoes, as well as a Turkish-style pizza with ground lamb and a luscious Rogan Josh. 

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Red Wine-Braised Lamb Shanks

Pumpkin Cheesecake
Credit: © Con Poulous
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Jeremy Silansky uses maple syrup, Vermont's most famous export, to glaze root vegetables, employing a novel (and simple) technique: He reduces the maple glaze in a small skillet, then tosses it with the roasted vegetables right before serving. He likes to serve the lamb shanks with creamy polenta made from local cornmeal and a local cheese: Thistle Hill Farm's complex, nutty Tarentaise.

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Garlic-Crusted Roast Rack of Lamb

Garlic-Crusted Roast Rack of Lamb. Photo © Ingalls Photography
Credit: © Ingalls Photography
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Kenny Rochford's favorite way to prepare a rack of lamb is to simply rub it with plenty of garlic, rosemary, olive oil and salt before roasting.

  • Centerpiece Roasts

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Grilled Leg of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary

Grilled Leg of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary. Photo © Thomas Heinser
Credit: © Thomas Heinser
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Instead of butterflying a boned leg of lamb and cooking it whole, Cal Peternell carefully cuts along the four natural muscle separations (they're easily visible) and pulls the four pieces apart with his fingers. Grilling the lamb this way is quicker, makes it easier to determine doneness, and simplifies carving. Plus the meat develops a mellow flavor and lots of delicious crust.

  • Grilled Lamb Recipes

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Rosemary-Garlic Lamb Chops with Pimentón and Mint

Rosemary-Garlic Lamb Chops with Pimentón and Mint
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Chef Nancy Silverton adores the grilled, herb-flecked lamb chops scottadito (“burnt fingers”). Here, she adds a kick to the lamb by garnishing it with smoky pimentón de la Vera and little mint leaves.

  • Recipes for Leg of Lamb

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Braised Lamb Neck with Turnip

Braised Lamb Neck with Turnip
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Lamb necks, an underappreciated cut, are fantastic when braised, such as in this homey stew from Boston chef Tony Maws. The meat gets succulent and tender as it cooks in the slightly sweet braising liquid flavored with white wine and fresh herbs, while the neck bones, in turn, intensify and flavor the broth.

  • More Braising Recipes

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Lamb Roast with Mustard Pan Sauce

Lamb Roast with Mustard Pan Sauce
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In this twist on traditional porchetta (Italian roast pork), a boneless saddle of lamb is wrapped around a delicious filling of ground lamb and fennel. The stuffing mixture is very versatile; use the leftovers for all kinds of dishes.

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Rack of Lamb with Pasilla Chiles

Rack of Lamb with Pasilla Chiles
Credit: © Antonis Achilleos
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Often, lamb gets the herbaceous treatment, with mint being one of the star ingredients. This recipe takes things in a slightly spicier, smokier direction with the addition of Pasilla Chilies. 

  • Easter Smackdown: Ham vs. Lamb

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Lamb Burgers with Green Harissa

Lamb Burgers with Green Harissa
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Harissa, a staple in Tunisian and Moroccan cooking, ordinarily contains dried red chiles. Grace Parisi makes her green version with Anaheim and serrano chiles to add bright flavor to grilled lamb burgers.

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Braised Lamb with Herb-Scented Jus

Braised Lamb with Herb-Scented Jus
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At Haven’s Kitchen, this tender braised leg of lamb might be served at a private dinner party. Chef David Mawhinny then sandwiches any extra meat and meat juices with pickled vegetables and focaccia for lunch.

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Mustard-Crusted Lamb

Mustard-Crusted Lamb
Credit: © Tina Rupp
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Suzanne Goin (an F&W Best New Chef 1999) is beloved in Los Angeles for Lucques and AOC. She'll expand her reach at the upcoming Tavern in Brentwood, which will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and sell house-made breads and prepared foods like this leg of lamb, which she serves with a Meyer lemon salsa.

  • Dinner Party Recipes

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Rack of Lamb with Rosemary Butter

Rack of Lamb with Rosemary Butter
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Chef David Kinch grills his lamb racks “low and slow” because it gives him full control of the cooking. The gentle heat keeps the meat juicy, while the rosemary-infused butter he periodically spoons over the racks adds flavor. He sprinkles the lamb with chopped herbs just before serving; the warm meat makes the herbs especially fragrant.

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Lamb Chops with Rosemary and Grapes

Lamb Chops with Rosemary and Grapes
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You’d expect to find lamb chops grilled with rosemary, but the sauce, a fruity mixture of grapes, white wine, and just a touch of honey, is a delightful surprise. You’ll want to choose seedless grapes for this recipe.

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Slow-Cooked Leg of Lamb with Spiced Yogurt and Herbs

Slow-Cooked Leg of Lamb with Spiced Yogurt and Herbs
Credit: © Dave Lauridsen
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“We have wood-burning ovens that retain a lot of heat after a day of cooking pizzas,” explains Travis Lett. “So we often use them overnight for things like this slow-cooked leg of lamb.” While Lett cooks his lamb for up to 10 hours, this version in a conventional oven cuts the cooking time by more than half.

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Braised Lamb with Potatoes

Braised Lamb with Potatoes
Credit: © Fredrika Stjärne
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  • Video Guide: Meat, Poultry, and Eggs

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Yogurt-Marinated Lamb Kebabs With Lemon Butter

Yogurt-Marinated Lamb Kebabs With Lemon Butter
Credit: © Kana Okada
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At Shahpura Bagh, a luxurious guesthouse in the Rajasthani countryside, chefs marinate lamb in yogurt to make it exceptionally tender, then give it an extra burst of tangy flavor with a basting of lemon butter just before serving.

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Lemon-and-Fennel-Roasted Lamb with Polenta

Lemon-and-Fennel-Roasted Lamb with Polenta
Credit: © Tina Rupp
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Chris Cosentino serves roasted lamb necks with polenta cooked in a combination of sheep-milk whey and whole milk. For the home chef, marinated boneless leg of lamb is tender and incredibly delicious alongside creamy polenta with mascarpone.

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Lamb Chops with Frizzled Herbs

Lamb Chops with Frizzled Herbs
Credit: © Con Poulos
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Frying herbs like rosemary, parsley and sage for less than 45 seconds in a half inch of oil makes them ultracrispy; they are delicious with tender lamb chops.

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Grilled Lamb Chops with Garlic, Chiles and Anchovies

Grilled Lamb Chops
Credit: JOHN KERNICK
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This is one of Ethan Stowell’s go-to dishes when he entertains, because he can do almost all of the work in advance. The marinade is super-flavorful, but if you don’t like very spicy food, cut back on the red jalapeños.

  • Complete Guide to Grilling

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Lamb Tagine with Green Olives and Lemon

2008 Boom Boom! Syrah
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When making most stews, cooks typically brown the meat before braising it; here, Ethan Stowell skips that step, which simplifies the Moroccan recipe and gives the lamb a buttery, melt-in-the-mouth texture. The dish is vibrantly flavored with ginger, cumin, coriander, olives and lemon; the broth is delicious over couscous.

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Zinfandel-Braised Lamb Chops with Dried Fruit

Zinfandel-Braised Lamb Chops with Dried Fruit
Credit: © Lucy Schaeffer
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A jammy Zinfandel and dried fruit lend a ton of flavor to lamb-shoulder chops.

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Oven-Roasted Lamb Chops with Mint Chimichurri

Oven-Roasted Lamb Chops with Mint Chimichurri
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For this playful twist on British roast lamb with mint jelly, Luke Mangan serves lamb chops with a piquant condiment of fresh mint and jalapeño.

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Turkish Ground-Lamb Pizzas

HD-201205-r-turkish-ground-lamb-pizzas.jpg
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At her takeout shop in Istanbul, Kantin Dükkan, Semsa Denizsel tops her pizzas with ground lamb (flavored with sweet sun-dried tomatoes and a little spicy red pepper), but you can substitute ground beef instead. To make the pizza even more substantial, bake it with an egg on top; the runny yolk is terrific with the whole-wheat crust.

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Pappardelle with Lamb Ragù

Pappardelle with Lamb Ragù
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Use store-bought pappardelle, ground lamb and chicken stock, then top the dish with fresh ricotta and mint.

  • Wonderful Italian Recipes

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Merguez-Spiced Lamb Shanks with Chickpeas

Merguez-Spiced Lamb Shanks with Chickpeas
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Butcher Tanya Cauthen likes flavoring supremely tender braised lamb with a North African spice blend that includes cumin and fennel seeds. Lamb shanks are great for serving at dinner parties, since they look so dramatic, but lamb stew meat—cut from the shoulder or the leg—is equally delicious. Or, for a less gamey flavor, substitute beef short ribs.

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Lamb Rogan Josh

Lamb Rogan Josh
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Vikram Sunderam relies on plenty of spices, like cardamom, cloves and cumin, to flavor this succulent lamb stew (the name translates roughly into “red lamb”).

  • Guide to Global Food & Wine Pairings

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Lamb Meatballs with Cumin, Mint, and Tomato Sauce

HD-lamb-meatballs-qfs-r.jpg
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Mint, cumin, and chopped almonds give these delicious meatballs their Middle Eastern flavor. There’s plenty of mint and cumin in the tomato sauce, too. Serve the meatballs and sauce over steamed couscous to be authentic. We think they’re great over rice too.

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Leg of Lamb Shawarma

Leg of Lamb Shawarma
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Shwarma, thin slices of roasted meat and condiments that are often wrapped in a pita, is a popular street food throughout the Middle East. Chris Hanna loves making shwarma for casual parties. In fact, she once prepared it for 30 people to inaugurate her outdoor kitchen. Rather than roasting meat on a spit in the traditional style, Hanna simply grills a butterflied leg of lamb. The lamb should sit overnight in a spicy, garlicky marinade before grilling, though three days would be ideal.

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Fiery Moroccan Lamb Merguez

Fiery Moroccan Lamb Merguez
Credit: © Antonis Achilleos
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Hank Shaw likens sausage-making to jazz: “You have all these standards, but there’s room for improvisation.” With this spicy merguez from North Africa, adjust the seasonings to vary the flavor intensity and heat.

  • How to Make Sausage

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Spicy Sichuan-Style Lamb with Cumin

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Cooking pieces of lamb shoulder in a superhot cast-iron skillet makes them wonderfully browned and tender.

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Iraqi Lamb and Eggplant Stew with Pitas

Iraqi Lamb and Eggplant Stew with Pitas
Credit: © Ellie Miller
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This sweet and tangy Middle Eastern stew, with falling-apart-tender lamb, is one of wordsmith and perfect host Jesse Sheidlower’s favorites. He found it in Nawal Nasrallah’s Delights from the Garden of Eden: A Cookbook and a History of the Iraqi Cuisine.

  • Tasty Soups & Stews

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Rack of Lamb with Artichokes, Purple Potatoes and Licorice

Rack of Lamb
Credit: © Con Poulos
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Roast lamb with potatoes feels like a New American dish, but chef Marco Mattana adds Roman flavor by including garlicky braised artichokes.

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Double-Cut Lamb Chops with Garlic-Caper Rub

Double Cut Lamp Chops with Garlic Caper Rub
Credit: Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer/ Prop Styling by Heather Chadduck Hillegas
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Garlic and capers add a layer of briney umami to the naturally sweet lamb, and reverse searing ensures that the temperature of these chops is exactly right. 

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Spicy Lamb Meatballs with Green Goddess Sauce

Spicy Lamb Meatballs with Green Goddess Dip
Credit: Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
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Cooking lamb for a crowd? these merguez-inspired meatballs make a great appetizer, particularly with a cooling, creamy Green Goddess Dip

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Banana Leaf-Wrapped Lamb Shank Tamales with Morita Chile Salsa

Banana Leaf Wrapped Lamb Shank Tamales with Morita Chile Salsa
Credit: DYLAN + JENI
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Another excellent use for lamb? These tamales, which event producer Paola Briseño González makes for holiday gatherings, have a dense, custard-like texture thanks to the banana leaf wrappers, and are stuffed with unctuous, rich lamb., 

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    1 of 34 Red Wine-Braised Lamb Shanks
    2 of 34 Garlic-Crusted Roast Rack of Lamb
    3 of 34 Grilled Leg of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary
    4 of 34 Rosemary-Garlic Lamb Chops with Pimentón and Mint
    5 of 34 Braised Lamb Neck with Turnip
    6 of 34 Lamb Roast with Mustard Pan Sauce
    7 of 34 Rack of Lamb with Pasilla Chiles
    8 of 34 Lamb Burgers with Green Harissa
    9 of 34 Braised Lamb with Herb-Scented Jus
    10 of 34 Mustard-Crusted Lamb
    11 of 34 Rack of Lamb with Rosemary Butter
    12 of 34 Lamb Chops with Rosemary and Grapes
    13 of 34 Slow-Cooked Leg of Lamb with Spiced Yogurt and Herbs
    14 of 34 Braised Lamb with Potatoes
    15 of 34 Yogurt-Marinated Lamb Kebabs With Lemon Butter
    16 of 34 Lemon-and-Fennel-Roasted Lamb with Polenta
    17 of 34 Lamb Chops with Frizzled Herbs
    18 of 34 Grilled Lamb Chops with Garlic, Chiles and Anchovies
    19 of 34 Lamb Tagine with Green Olives and Lemon
    20 of 34 Zinfandel-Braised Lamb Chops with Dried Fruit
    21 of 34 Oven-Roasted Lamb Chops with Mint Chimichurri
    22 of 34 Turkish Ground-Lamb Pizzas
    23 of 34 Pappardelle with Lamb Ragù
    24 of 34 Merguez-Spiced Lamb Shanks with Chickpeas
    25 of 34 Lamb Rogan Josh
    26 of 34 Lamb Meatballs with Cumin, Mint, and Tomato Sauce
    27 of 34 Leg of Lamb Shawarma
    28 of 34 Fiery Moroccan Lamb Merguez
    29 of 34 Spicy Sichuan-Style Lamb with Cumin
    30 of 34 Iraqi Lamb and Eggplant Stew with Pitas
    31 of 34 Rack of Lamb with Artichokes, Purple Potatoes and Licorice
    32 of 34 Double-Cut Lamb Chops with Garlic-Caper Rub
    33 of 34 Spicy Lamb Meatballs with Green Goddess Sauce
    34 of 34 Banana Leaf-Wrapped Lamb Shank Tamales with Morita Chile Salsa

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