Gordon Ramsay’s rack of lamb is seared in a hot pan, roasted at 200°C for 10 to 15 minutes, then coated in a bright green herb crust of parsley, coriander, thyme, rosemary and Parmesan bound with English mustard. He calls it “the Rolls-Royce of lamb” in the F Word.
Ramsay has two herb-crusted rack recipes across his books. In Sunday Lunch, he uses traditional British herbs with day-old bread. In his MasterClass, he swaps to basil and panko for a lighter, crunchier crust. Both use the same core technique: sear, roast, mustard, crust, oven again.
The mustard is what makes the crust work. Ramsay brushes it on while the lamb is still hot so it “absorbs and melts quickly into the fat” and gives the breadcrumbs something to grip. Without it, the crust slides off the second you slice.
Gordon Ramsay’s Rack of Lamb
Course: DinnerCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Medium4
servings15
minutes30
minutes710
kcal45
minutesHerb-crusted rack of lamb from Gordon Ramsay’s Sunday Lunch cookbook, cross-referenced with his MasterClass and two F Word episodes. Seared, roasted, coated in a bright green parsley and Parmesan crust with English mustard as glue. Approximately 710 kcal per serving.
Ingredients
- For the Lamb:
2 large racks of lamb, French trimmed, cut in half (3 to 4 bones per portion)
Olive oil for cooking
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp English mustard
- For the Herb Crust:
4 slices of day-old bread, crusts removed
Large handful of flat-leaf parsley
Small handful of fresh coriander
Small bunch of thyme
Few rosemary sprigs
50g (1.75 oz) Parmesan, freshly grated
Directions
- Preheat the oven: Set it to 200°C (400°F) / Gas 6.
- Score and season: Score the lamb fat in a crisscross pattern. Season well with salt and pepper, rubbing it into the meat.
- Sear the racks: Heat olive oil in a hot ovenproof pan. Seal the racks until golden brown, about 4 minutes each side. Sear the ends too.
- Roast: Transfer the pan to the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. The lamb should feel springy when pressed, which means it’s perfectly pink inside.
- Rest: Remove from the oven and leave to rest while you prepare the herb crust.
- Make the crust: Tear the bread into pieces and place in a food processor. Roughly chop the herb leaves and add with the Parmesan and a little seasoning. Whiz to fine crumbs. They should turn a bright green colour.
- Apply the mustard: While the lamb is still warm, brush generously with English mustard. The heat helps the mustard absorb into the fat.
- Coat with crust: Press the herb crust firmly onto the mustard-coated lamb, patting it on so it sticks.
- Set the crust: Return to the pan and warm through in the oven for 5 minutes until the crust is golden.
- Carve and serve: Slice between the bones into individual chops. Serve 3 per person.
FAQs
Why does Ramsay brush mustard on while the lamb is hot?
The mustard serves two jobs. It seeps into the warm fat and seasons the meat from the outside in, and it acts as glue for the breadcrumb crust. Ramsay says in the F Word that it’s “almost like dipping your lolly into sherbet” because the warm surface makes the crust stick instantly.
In his MasterClass, he goes further and brushes a double coat of Dijon: one layer, wait 2 minutes for it to absorb, then a second coat before dipping into the crust. He says mustard “literally almost tenderises the lamb even more.” Sunday Lunch uses English mustard in a single coat, MasterClass uses Dijon in two. Both work.
What is the difference between Ramsay’s two crust recipes?
In Sunday Lunch, the crust is day-old bread blitzed with parsley, coriander, thyme, rosemary and Parmesan. Traditional British herbs, slightly rustic texture. In his MasterClass, he swaps to basil and parsley with panko breadcrumbs and Parmesan for a lighter, crunchier crust he calls “lighter and brighter.”
The Sunday Lunch version is easier because you use whatever bread you have. The MasterClass version holds its shape better because panko doesn’t absorb moisture the way regular bread does, so the crust stays crisp longer on the plate.
What sauce goes with herb-crusted rack of lamb?
In the MasterClass video, Ramsay plates it with a red wine sauce spooned “carefully around the plate, just over the bone, not on the crust.” His red wine jus is the closest match because it’s dark, glossy and savoury enough to stand up to the lamb without drowning the herbs.
His mint sauce is the traditional British pairing, sharp with white wine vinegar and fresh mint to cut through the richness. The MasterClass version swaps to a mint yogurt sauce instead: Greek yogurt, chopped mint, lemon zest and lemon juice. Cooler and lighter, better if you’re serving the rack at a summer dinner.
Can you use pistachio instead of herbs in the crust?
The Gordon Ramsay Academy’s official pistachio-crusted rack of lamb recipe blitzes pistachios to fine crumbs alongside breadcrumbs and fresh herbs, then spreads the paste over the lamb and chills it for 15 to 20 minutes before roasting at 220°C for 15 to 20 minutes. The method is the same: sear, mustard, crust, oven.
Pistachios add a nutty richness that herbs alone don’t have, and the green colour looks just as good on the plate. Ramsay’s MasterClass suggests swapping a third of the panko for crushed pistachios or walnuts as a variation.
How do you ask the butcher to prepare it?
Ask for a French-trimmed rack of lamb. That means the bones are scraped clean so they look polished after cooking. Ramsay shows the full process in a MasterChef butchery demo, scraping each bone twice and saying to “get every little scrap because the bones look dirty and unpresentable” if you don’t.
If you want to compare rack with a cheaper lamb cut, his roast leg of lamb feeds six for roughly the same price as one rack, and his lamb stew uses neck fillet which costs a fraction of rack but braises into something equally rich over 3 hours.
