Dijon Moutarde Crusted Roast Rack of Lamb with Cognac Glace Viande and Parsnip Chive Creme Potato

A special traditional French roasted rack of lamb!
   
      This rack of lamb entree is perfect for a special occasion or a holiday.  I usually cook goose for Christmas.  Goose was overpriced this year, so I looked for an alternative.  I found a rack of New Zealand  lamb for a very modest price.  I have always offered a rack of lamb for a holiday menu entree at restaurants.  Rack of lamb is always a customer favorite.
     Many chefs gob a ton of dijon mustard, herbs and breadcrumbs on the lamb rack, when making this recipe.  That is okay, but only a very thin crust is all that is really needed.
     If you like rack of lamb, then this recipe is a must try!

     Glace Viande Recipe:

     Place 4 pounds of veal bones, lamb bones, beef bones, pork bones and meat scraps into a roasting pan.

     Add 5 ounces of tomato paste.

     Add 8 to 10 ounces of rustic un-peeled mirepoix of carrot, celery and onion.

     Stir the mixture together.

     Roast the mixture in a 350 degree oven, till the bones and vegetables caramelize to a deep brown color.  (Stir the ingredients occasionally.)

     Place the roasted bones and mirepoix into a stock pot.

     Deglaze the roast pan with water and add the jus to the stock pot.

     Cover the bones with water and bring to a boil over high heat.

     Turn the temperature to medium low heat and simmer for 4 hours.

     Add water occasionally to cover the bones.

     Strain the stock through a fine sieve.

     Discard the bones and vegetables.

     Skim off the grease.

     Reduce the meat stock by a little more than half.

     This is a very rich unseasoned stock that can be frozen in portions for later use.

     The glace should be able to thinly coat and glaze the back of a spoon.

     When the glace viande is used in recipes, it will be reduced to a slightly thicker glaze to order.

     Frenched Rack Of Lamb:

     French a rack of lamb!  

     Remove the thick fat cap and the shoulder cartilage that covers the loin meat, but leave the thin coating of fat on the loin meat.

     Cut against the sides of each bone and remove the fat between the bones, all the way to the loin meat.  

     Use the back of a knife to scrape the bones clean.

     Trim off all of the silver floss.

     Trim the fat coating off of the loin meat.  

     The rack should have bare bones and clean exposed loin meat when done.

     Lamb Rack Marinade:

     Brush the loin meat on the rack with a little bit of blended olive oil.

     Rub the lamb loin meat with these ingredients:

     - 2 cloves of minced garlic

     - 3 pinches of rosemary,

     - sea salt and black pepper

     Let the rack marinate for 2 hours in a refrigerator.

     Brush all of the garlic and rosemary off of the rack of lamb, so the rack is clean.

     Parsnip Chive Creme Potato Recipe:

     Cook 1 peeled russet potato and 1/2 of a peeled parsnip in boiling water, till both vegetables become soft and tender.
     Drain off the water.
     Add 2 tablespoons of cream.
     Add 4 pats of european unsalted plugra butter.
     Add sea salt and white pepper.
     Add 1 tablespoon of thin sliced chives.
     Whisk the potatoes and parsnips, till they become smooth and creamy.
     Load the parsnip chive creme potato into a star tipped pastry bag.
     Keep the potatoes warm on top of an oven.

     Cognac Glace Viande Recipe:
     Place a small sauce pot over medium low heat.
     Add 1 pat of unsalted butter.
     Add 2 teaspoons of minced shallot.
     Add 1/2 of a minced garlic clove.
     Saute till the shallots turn clear, but not browned.
     Add 1/2 cup of brandy or cognac.
     Add 1/2 cup of glace viande.
     Add sea salt and white pepper.
     Add 1 pinch of rosemary.
     Add 1 pinch of thyme.
     Simmer and reduce the sauce, till it becomes a thin glace sauce consistency and it can coat the back of a spoon.  (napper)
     Strain the cognac glace through a fine mesh strainer into a second small sauce pot.
     Add 5 or 6 pearl onions.
     Place the pot over very low heat and keep the sauce warm.  Add beef broth is the glace becomes too thick.  The pearl onions will be cooked tender, by the time the rest of the recipes are prepared.

     Dijon Moutarde Crusted Roast Rack of Lamb:
     Heat a saute pan over medium heat.
     Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil.
     Place the lamb rack in the saute pan.
     Pan sear the lamb rack on all sides, till it is lightly browned and still very rare inside.
     Set the seared lamb rack aside and let it cool to room temperature.
     Place 1/3 cup of fine plain French bread crumbs in a mixing bowl.
     Add 3 pinches of chopped parsley.
     Add 2 pinches of chopped tarragon.
     Add 1 pinch of chopped rosemary.
     Add sea salt and white pepper.
     Mix the ingredients together.
     Spread a thin layer of Dijon Mustard on the lamb loin meat.
     Dredge the mustard coated loin meat in the bread crumb mixture.
     Press a thin layer of the seasoned bread crumbs onto the Dijon Mustard on the lamb rack loin meat.
     Place the rack of lamb on a roasting rack on a roasting pan.
     Completely cover the lamb rack bones with aluminum foil, so the bones do not burn in the oven.
     Sprinkle a few drops of olive oil on the bread crumb coating.
     Roast the lamb rack in a 350º oven.
     Roast the rack, till it is about a little more than halfway cooked to the desired state of doneness.
     Remove the aluminum foil from the bones.
     Continue to roast the lamb rack, till it becomes cooked to the desired temperature.  (I cooked the lamb rack in the pictures rare/medium rare.)
     Place the lamb rack on a cutting board.
     Let the lamb rack rest for 1 minute.
     Hold the bones with a dry towel and slice between the lamb rack bones to create lamb chops.

     Dijon Moutarde Crusted Roast Rack of Lamb with Cognac Glace Viande and Parsnip Chive Creme Potato:
     Pipe the parsnip chive creme potatoes onto the back center of a plate, so they form a tall cone shape.
     Place some buttered steamed thick vegetable strips of your choice vertically into the potatoes.  (I used yellow squash, zucchini, carrot and feathered snow peas for the vegetables in the pictures above.)
     Spoon the Cognac Glace Viande on the plate around the potatoes and vegetables.
     Lean the lamb rack chop bones against the potatoes, so the chops stand tall.
     Spoon the remaining cognac glace and the pearl onions on the plate around the lamb.
   
     This recipe takes a little bit of work, but it is well worth the effort.  Glace viande can be made ahead of time, then it can be frozen in portions.  This classic entree is a very nice choice of entree for special guests.  Yum!  ...  Shawna