French Miso Lamb

If you have been following me on Instagram, you may have noticed my recent focus on Italian dishes layered with Korean ingredients like kimchi and soondae. Having grown up with Korean food, I consider many of its dishes to be comfort food, and combining those flavors with Italian cooking felt inevitable.

As much as I enjoy Italian food, I love lamb and have kept the recipes somewhat simple, as I did with Herbed Lamb Double Rib Chops. When I came across Mingoo Kang's Doenjang BBQ Lamb in Jang, it stood out—lamb is not a common ingredient in Korean cooking. Like Chef Kang, I wasn’t exposed to lamb until adulthood. His use of doenjang, a fermented soybean paste, led me to develop a version using red miso. I chose miso over doenjang for its more balanced, less pungent profile, allowing the natural flavor of the lamb to come through.

Named after its two main ingredients, Frenched lamb rack and miso, this French Miso Lamb is simple to make. While it takes at least four hours to marinate, it requires less than 20 minutes in the oven.

INGREDIENTS

[serves 2 to 3]

one and a half pounds of a Frenched lamb rack

one-third cup of red miso

two tablespoons of water

two tablespoons of sugar

two tablespoons of olive oil

one teaspoon of gochugaru

one teaspoon of grated ginger

one teaspoon of fresh mint leaves

a half teaspoon of smoked paprika

a half teaspoon of minced garlic

In a bowl, add all the ingredients listed above except for the lamb rack. Mix the sauce until it turns into a paste. Place the lamb rack in a baking dish and evenly cover the rack with the sauce. Once coated, cover it with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours or overnight.

When ready to cook, take the marinated lamb rack out of the refrigerator and lightly wipe or shake off excess marinade before placing it on a wire rack over a sheet pan. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Once the oven is preheated, place the sheet pan with the lamb rack in the middle of the oven. Remove it from the oven after 10 to 15 minutes depending on what you prefer. For medium-rare, which is what I recommend, the internal temperature should be 120–125°F. The internal temperature should be 130–135°F for medium and 140–145°F for well-done.

Let the lamb rack rest on the sheet pan for 10 minutes before cutting to serve.

This recipe contains affiliate links.

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More recipes:

Samgyetang, aka Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup

Miso Brûlée Salmon

Penne Rigate alla Vodka

Oxtail Risotto

Korean Oxtail Soup

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