Marinated Saratoga racks with smoked couscous
Recipe
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4 persons
The Saratoga rack is lamb meat from the part of the lamb just below the neck and in front of the back. A Saratoga rack always has 4 bones. The best way to prepare a Saratoga rack on the Big Green Egg is by doing it ‘low & slow’; by first marinating the lamb and cooking it slowly. In this recipe, we will tell you exactly how to do that. Serve the marinated Saratoga racks with smoked couscous and a Nero d’Avola from Sicily.
INGREDIENTS
For the saratoga racks
- 4 Saratoga racks from Texel lamb (the part right under the neck and just above the back)
- 1 bunch basil
- 200 ml sunflower oil
- 1 lime
- 1 lemon
- 1 orange
- 1 small head romanesco
- 150 g broad beans
- 12 black olives
- ½ bunch coriander
- ½ bunch mint
- 1 pomegranate
- 250 ml chicken bouillon
- 250 g couscous
- Olive oil
- 20 g butter
PREPARATION IN ADVANCE
- Use a peeler to cut thin strips of zest from the lime, lemon and orange. Blanch a bunch of basil in a pan of boiling water for about 30 seconds. Drain in a sieve and briefly rinse with cold running water. Squeeze the water out of the basil and put it in the blender. Add the sunflower oil and puree until smooth. Sprinkle the Saratoga racks with salt and pepper and marinate the meat in the basil oil along with the citrus zest and a little of the orange juice for about 2 hours.
- Cut the romanesco into florets and wash them. Finely chop the olives, the coriander leaves and the mint. Slice the pomegranate in half horizontally. Hold each half over a bowl, cut side down, and firmly tap the other end with a spoon to release the seeds. Double shell the broad beans and blanch them briefly together with the romanesco florets in salted water until they are cooked al dente.
PREPARATION
- Light the Big Green Egg and leave the lid open for 8 minutes. In the meantime, put the chicken bouillon in a pan, bring to a boil, and carefully pour in the Round Drip Pan. Place a handful of Cherry Wood Chips on the glowing coals. Position the convEGGtor in the Big Green Egg, top with the Cast Iron Grid and then put the Round Drip Pan on top. Close the lid and smoke the chicken bouillon for 6 minutes. Open the lid, add the couscous to the smoked liquid and stir well. Close the lid and let the couscous stand for a minute, and then take it out of the EGG and set aside.
- Take the Saratoga racks out of the marinade and put them in a clean Round Drip Pan. Pour the basil oil on top of the racks, but remove the citrus peels. Place the Drip Pan in the Big Green Egg set the temperature to 110°C. Allow the lamb to cook for 4.5 to 5 hours, basting regularly with the marinade during this time. Dribble a bit of lime juice over the meat and cover the Drip Pan with aluminium foil during the last half hour. Take the pan out of the Big Green Egg and let the meat rest for a while, covered, and be sure to keep it warm (60°C is ideal).
- A few minutes before you serve the Saratoga racks, melt a knob of butter in a skillet to heat up the romanesco florets and the broad beans. In a separate pan, reheat the smoked couscous in a dash of olive oil. Add the finely chopped mint, coriander and olives to the heated couscous.
- Arrange the couscous and the vegetables on the plates, and strew some of the pomegranate seeds on top. If desired, serve the Saratoga racks with a nice red wine sauce or a fresh yogurt sauce with mint and coriander. Stewed meat on the bone… delicious!
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