Asian Marinated Rack of Lamb

During my career with IBM, we were lucky enough to spend the last year or so living in Sydney Australia. Sydney is a beautiful city, situated on perhaps the most scenic harbor in the world. Here is a painting that my boss gave us when we left Australia. 

It pretty much duplicates the view from our living room and patio. We looked directly through the harbor bridge at the Sydney Opera House and the city skyline. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful setting. 

The food and wine in Australia were also really interesting and beautiful. As you might expect, seafood is abundant, very fresh and prepared in many delightful ways. Pork and chicken were not typically as good as what we got in the U.S., while beef was plentiful and quite good. The biggest surprise to us was lamb. We typically had not eaten a lot of lamb. Growing up in the midwest it was not readily available or very popular. We learned that in both Australia and New Zealand, lamb is very popular, widely available and really very very good. I brought home several recipes for lamb with this one being my favorite:

Ingredients:  (serves four)

Enough rack of lamb for 3 chops / person
4 Cloves Garlic - crushed
1 TBSP Sugar
1 TBSP Chopped Fresh Ginger
2 TBSP Ketchup
2 TBSP Soy Sauce
2 TBSP Dry Sherry
3 TBSP Hoisin Sauce
1 TBSP Honey
1 tsp Chinese Five Spice Powder

Preparation:

Using a boning knife, remove some of the thick layer of fat from the back side of the rack of lamb. Using the same knife, seperate the rack into 4 single chops and four double chops each. Each serving will be three chops, with two of the chops still joined and the third a single chop. Arrange chops in a single layer in a non reactive dish. Combine all remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour over the chops and cover. Marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours, turning occasionally. Grill chops over medium high heat until medium rare. To serve set the double chop on the plate with the two ribs pointing to the ceiling. Place the single chop back to back to the double chop with the single rib inserted between the ribs of the double chop, so that all three chops are standing with the ribs in an upright position. I like to place the chops on a serving of mashed potatoes and also generally serve with roasted asparagus. Serve with a "Big" red wine like Cabernet Sauvignon or an earthy French Burgundy. Salute !!