• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Sign Up for Emails
  • Recipes
    • Main Dishes
    • Sides
    • Cocktails
  • Instagram
  • Contact
    • About
    • Work With Me
  • Privacy Policy

Basil And Bubbly logo

menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Sign Up for Emails
  • Recipes
  • Find Recipe from Instagram
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Grilled Rack of Lamb

    July 8, 2021 Christmas

    Grilled Rack of Lamb

    • Share
    • Tweet
    • Email
    • Print

    Intimidated by lamb? Don't be! Grilled Rack of Lamb is so tender, flavorful, juicy, and delicious. And did I mention that it's EASY to make?! If you can grill a hamburger, you can grill a rack of lamb. I promise.

    Jump to Recipe

    So let's do this.

    grilled rack of lamb

    Do you need a marinade for grilled lamb racks?

    The first thing you need to know is that lamb marinade is KING. Really, anytime you grill a marinade is going to buy you some time / margin of error, and add great flavor.

    Grilling meat is just as much an art as it is a science, so the marinade can help you make a phenomenal product if your "art of grilling" skills aren't perfectly honed yet.

    And even once they are, I think you'll still be pro-marinade. I know I am!

    marinade for rack of lamb on the grill

    How to grill a rack of lamb

    There are a few tricks to guarantee success when grilling lamb:

    • Marinate the lamb to keep it tender
    • Cover the Frenched (exposed) bones with foil to prevent burning
    • Don't overcook! Medium Rare to Medium at MOST.
    • Cook the exterior on high direct heat, and the interior with indirect heat (I go into more detail on this below)
    rack of lamb on the grill
    rack of lamb cooking meat-side down on the grill

    How to cook with indirect heat on a gas grill

    This is KEY to this recipe. If you're using charcoal, carry on. You got this, because direct heat on a charcoal grill is putting the meat, you guessed it, directly over the coals. Indirect heat on a charcoal grill is moving the meat so that it is not directly over the coals.

    But for a gas grill? It's a little different, although the concept is the same.

    Direct heat is the same - cook the meat directly over where the flame is on the grill.

    Indirect heat on a gas grill is easiest with the MOM method - which stands for Medium-Off-Medium. The idea is that you have the outer burners on, set to Medium, and the middle burners off.

    For a four burner grill, the outer two would be on Medium, and the inner two would be off.

    For a three burner grill, the outer two would be on Medium, and the inner single burner would be off.

    grilled rack of lamb sliced into chops

    How long should you grill rack of lamb?

    Cook the rack over high, direct heat for 4 minutes. Flip the rack, and cook for another 4 minutes over high, direct heat. Move the lamb to indirect heat, place the lid on the grill, and cook for another 15 minutes for Medium Rare, 20 minutes for Medium.

    Do you cook rack of lamb fat side up or down?

    Start cooking the lamb with the fatty/meaty side down, then flip it later. Scroll up a few pictures and you'll see an example. You can tell which side is the fatty/meaty side because you will not be able to see the bones through the meat. The underside of the rib rack shows most of the bones through the chops.

    platter filled with grilled lamb sliced into chops

    What to serve will grilled rack of lamb:

    • Grilled Zucchini and Squash
    • Grilled Broccoli
    • Butter Lettuce Salad
    grilled rack of lamb

    Grilled Rack of Lamb

    An easy, tender, and delicious grilled rack of lamb. This recipe uses a garlic rosemary marinade for a robust, juicy flavor on the grill.
    4.76 from 29 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Servings: 2 people

    Ingredients

    • 6 - 8 bone rack of lamb
    • ½ cup olive oil
    • 2 Tablespoons lemon juice juice from ½ lemon
    • 4 - 5 cloves garlic
    • 8 - 10 leaves fresh mint
    • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
    • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
    • 2 teaspoons salt

    Instructions

    • Combine ½ cup olive oil, juice from ½ lemon, 4 - 5 cloves garlic, 8 - 10 leaves fresh mint, 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, and 2 teaspoons salt in a food processor until well blended.
    • Place the rack of lamb in a resealable bag. Pour in the marinade and rub all over the lamb to coat it. Seal the bag and let marinate, refrigerated, for at least for 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
    • Set a gas grill to high heat or prepare a coal grill. The rack of lamb has two sides - one where you see mostly bones and another where you see mostly meet. Grill lamb over direct high heat with the lid open and with the "mostly meat" side down for 4 minutes. Flip and cook the other side over direct heat for another 4 minutes.
    • Move lamb to indirect heat (see notes for how to cook on indirect heat on a gas grill). Put the lid on the grill. Cook for another 15 minutes or until an instant read thermometer reads 125° for medium rare.

    Notes

    How to cook on indirect heat on a gas grill:
    Use this to help you remember how to grill on indirect heat: M-O-M - Medium Off Medium. So on a four burner grill, the outer two burners are on medium and the middle two are off. The meat goes over the off burners in the center of the grill.
    Tried this recipe?Mention @basilandbubbly or tag #basilandbubbly!
    « BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potato
    Shrimp Fra Diavolo »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Marilyn says

      July 11, 2022 at 3:29 pm

      5 stars
      Absolutely fabulous! I made exactly as the recipe said. I marinated it for 4 hours but would try for 24 hours next time. It can only get better! :).

      Reply
    2. Jordan says

      March 26, 2022 at 2:15 am

      5 stars
      Was so good I made it twice in one week! Will definitely make again. Marinated 24 hrs both times and doubled up on the garlic and lemon juice.
      Cooked it on a gas grill and waited til the surface temp was about 800 with a laser thermometer til throwing the rack on. The rack came out perfectly seared on the outside and the inside medium rare and juicy with tons of flavor! Thanks for this!

      Reply
    3. Adam says

      February 16, 2022 at 2:10 pm

      5 stars
      This comes out AMAZING on charcoal! Very simple to make and oh so much flavor. Medium/medium rare was how I did my racks and they were perfect. Hit 133 degrees, removed from grill and let stand a few minutes, then cut. Wunderbar! Try it!

      Reply
      • Nuwan says

        June 12, 2022 at 7:53 pm

        I did not use the recipe but did use the cooking instructions on a tru-infrared grill. Came out great.

        Reply
    4. William E Culver says

      December 10, 2021 at 12:35 am

      5 stars
      Easy marinade to make. I put rack directly on grill 5 minutes per side then moved to middle of grill and used foil underneath and lowered temperature since I only had two burners on my Weber grill. 15 minutes later pulled it and cut it perfecto! Thanks.

      Reply
    5. Marlene says

      September 10, 2021 at 3:26 pm

      Hi. Thanks for the recipe. Sounds perfect! I'm making it now and will comment later. One question: when you move the rack to indirect heat, is that meat side up, down, or both ( flipped halfway through the 15 minutes )?

      Reply
      • Marianne says

        September 13, 2021 at 7:19 pm

        When you move the rack to indirect heat, it should be meat side up.

        So overall the cook will look like:
        Direct Heat, Meat Side Down, 4 Minutes
        Flip!
        Direct Heat, Meat Side Up, 4 minutes
        Move away from Direct Heat
        Indirect Heat, Meat Side Up until done.
        Does that help?
        It can be so hard to describe these things well without video!

        Reply
        • Dennis Yohe says

          June 01, 2022 at 4:20 pm

          Great explanation easily understood!

          Reply
    Newer Comments »

    Please share your thoughts on this recipe! Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Heyyyyyyy!

    My name is Marianne, and I'm two parts food, one part booze, and a dash of snark. I live in Atlanta, GA with my two cats. My personal motto: Champagne and stretchy pants. Sign up for my mailing list to keep up with the new and seasonal recipes!

    as seen in

    Recent Posts

    • Pineapple Infused Vodka (Stoli Doli)
    • Roasted Peruvian Chicken with Aji Verde
    • Air Fryer Onions
    • Espresso Martini
    • Buffalo Shrimp Tacos

    Most Popular

    Southern Baked Macaroni and Cheese

    Perfect Southern Baked Macaroni and Cheese

    air fryer sweet potato fries

    Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries

    Sweet Potato Casserole Bites

    Sweet Potato Casserole Bites

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

    Copyright© 2023 · Cookd Pro by Shay Bocks