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The men in my family love lamb and the women want to run. Â I saw lamb ribs made on an episode of Diners, Drive-in & Dives and have tried to make it a few times. Â It is not hard but to find the right spice rub and length of cook time takes a little practice. Â I am pretty close to having this down.
 Recipe
Smoked Lamb Ribs (adpated from Smoke & Spice):
- In a mixing bowl, combine 1/4 cup of black pepper, 2 1/2 tbsp brown sugar, 2 tbsp kosher salt, 1 1/2 tbsp garlic powder and 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- After the meat has been out of the fridge for a few minutes, coat with worcestershire sauce about 1/4 cup
- Now massage 2/3 of the dry mixture on the ribs, cover and put in the fridge until you are ready to smoke (can do 2 hours to overnight)
- Prepare the smoker to 220 degrees and place ribs in smoker for 2 hours (make sure to have taken the ribs out of the fridge for 20 – 30 minutes before you begin cooking)
- Take ribs off and cover in tinfoil to enable the moisture and heat from them being covered continue to cook the ribs (I did this for a good hour)
- Place back into the smoker for 30 more minutes – I left them in the tinfoil but tented the foil. Â Plate and serve with Whiskey BBQ sauce (see BBQ post for recipe).
I am making this right now. But you never say what to do with the other 1/3 of the spice rub? Put it on right before smoking? Or the last 30mins?
Sorry about that. The spice rub should be put on all at the beginning. If any is reserved, I would apply just before putting back on the grill. Let me know how they turned out?
It came out great! The peppery rub balances the richness of the lamb well. I ended up not using the leftover rub, and I’m glad I didn’t because the whole batch might’ve been a bit too much.
The ribs are very fatty so smoking them for a long time helps render that out.
Wish I could post a pic. 🙂 Thanks for the great recipe!
I wish you had a pic too. Lamb ribs need the slow cooking to render the fat but also to tenderize. what kind of wood did you smoke with?
I actually didn’t put any wood on – just mesquite lump charcoal. Usually that imparts enough smoky flavor for me, and lamb already has so much flavor.
If I’m doing pork or chicken I’ll sometimes put some chips on a couple times, to up the ante a little. Or tea/rice/brown sugar for tea-smoked chicken.
I know there is controversy over sauce or no sauce on ribs. Your thoughts Peter? This is my 1st attempt at lamb breast as well! Smoking on Masterbuilt electric.
So excited for you. Lamb is so distinctive in its flavor that I do not think it needs sauce. Simply serve it on the side and you can have it both ways. Let me know how it turns out.
Awsome recipe! Question…the racks of lamb I bought from Walmart and there is a top layer of far…would you remove the fat or leave it ?
Many meats that our smoked include the fat cap. It helps keep the meat moister. It is ultimately your choice if you keep it but it should melt away in the cooking process if you cook low and slow.
How’d I miss this post? These look great. I LOVE lamb but I have never had lamb ribs. Looks great!
Looks delicious and perfect.