Make your next barbecue extra special with the help of Michelin-starred chef Marcus Wareing.
These tasty barbecued lamb ribs with chimichurri sauce will impress dinner guests
Lamb ribs lend themselves well to slow cooking, and spicy chimichurri sauce makes a perfect fresh accompaniment. The ribs need to be marinated in the spice rub for at least 12 hours, so I tend to get started the night before I want to serve them.
Serves 4
- 2 x racks of lamb ribs (around 1.5kg/3lb 5oz)
For the spice rub
- 1tsp cumin seeds
- ½tsp fennel seeds
- 1tsp onion seeds
- 20g (¾oz) table salt
- 25g (1oz) soft dark brown sugar
- 5g (¹/8oz) chilli powder
- 1tbsp finely chopped rosemary
For the chimichurri sauce
- ½ a bunch of coriander
- ½ a bunch of flat-leaf parsley
- 8 mint leaves
- 1 green chilli, deseeded and chopped
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
- 70ml (2½fl oz) olive oil
- Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
- Sea salt
Extracted from Marcus Everyday: Easy Family Food For Every Kind Of Day, by Marcus Wareing, published by HarperCollins, £20, available from all good bookshops. Photography: Susan Bell.
To make the spice rub, heat a dry frying pan over a medium heat, add the cumin, fennel and onion seeds and toast for 4-6 minutes until fragrant.
Transfer to a spice grinder or pestle and mortar and crush to a powder.
Mix the powder with the other spice rub ingredients and coat the racks of ribs with the rub. Wrap them in clingfilm and leave to marinate in the fridge for 12 hours.
If you have a barbecue with a lid, heat it to low, unwrap the ribs and place them on the rack for 4 hours with the lid closed, keeping the temperature around 110°C.
If you are using an oven, preheat it to 150°C/fan 130°C/gas 2 and place the ribs directly on the oven racks, with a tray at the bottom of the oven to catch drips. Cook for 2½ hours.
To make the sauce, put all ingredients into a blender or food processor (including the herb stems) and pulse to a paste. Taste for seasoning and serve with the hot ribs.
MARCUS SAYS: I’m a big fan of South American chimichurri sauce. It’s best when made fresh and goes brilliantly with barbecued meat, fish dishes and roasted vegetables. Or mix into a little mayonnaise for a delicious salad dressing
Source: Food Recipes and News
