Carré d’Agneau en Cocotte à la Bonne Femme

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5 to 6 quart heavy oval cocotte with a tight-fitting lid, long enough to hold an eight-bone rack
• •Sharp paring knife for shaping the potatoes
• •Instant-read meat thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the carré

   Heat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Pat the rack completely dry, especially over the fat cap, then season it all over with about half the salt and all the pepper. Let it stand while you prepare the potatoes. A wet surface fights the butter and leaves the lamb pale; dryness gives the cocotte something worth building on.

2. 2

   Shape and blanch

   Cut the potatoes into large, even pieces, then pare away the sharp corners so each resembles a plump garlic clove. Carry out Blanchings (No. 273) exactly as its own entry directs, using the cocotte itself. Drain the potatoes, dry them thoroughly, and wipe the cocotte dry. The shaping isn't decoration: rounded, even pieces cook without fragile corners breaking into the butter, while the partial cooking brings their timing into step with the lamb.

   Keep the potato trimmings for a soup or purée. The finished pieces needn't be identical, only close enough in size to become tender together.
3. 3

   Brown the carré

   Set the dry cocotte over medium heat and melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. When the foam subsides, lay in the carré fat-side down. Brown it patiently for 3 to 4 minutes, then turn it across the other fleshy surfaces until it carries a deep hazelnut-bronze crust, about 8 minutes in all. If the butter turns black before the lamb is properly browned, lift out the meat, wipe away the bitter solids, lower the heat, and continue with 1 tablespoon taken from the remaining butter. Never build a dish on burnt milk solids. Transfer the carré to a plate.

4. 4

   Glaze the onions

   Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the cocotte, followed by the peeled onions. Roll them through the butter over medium heat for 7 to 9 minutes, until they are golden in patches and beginning to soften but still hold their shape. Season the onions and dried potatoes with the remaining salt. If the onions colour too quickly, lower the heat and keep them moving; sugar and extra flavourings have no business here.

5. 5

   Roast in cocotte

   Return the carré to the cocotte, fat-side up, and arrange the onions and potatoes snugly around it. Melt the remaining butter and spoon it over everything. Cover the cocotte and roast gently for 18 to 25 minutes, opening it once to baste the lamb and turn the vegetables through the buttery juices. Begin checking early: remove the rack at 125 to 130°F / 52 to 54°C in its thickest part for a rosy centre after resting. A knife should enter the potatoes without resistance. If the lamb is ready while the potatoes remain firm, lift out the rack and let it rest while the covered cocotte returns to the oven for 5 to 10 minutes. Ça se rattrape. Never overcook the meat to punish a slow potato.

   Insert the thermometer between the ribs without touching bone. Bone conducts heat differently and can give you a misleading reading.
6. 6

   Rest and serve

   Rest the carré loosely covered for 10 minutes. Keep the vegetables covered off the heat, or in the oven if they needed extra time. Pour the lamb’s resting juices back into the cocotte, return the whole rack to the centre, and spoon the glossy butter and juices over it. Set the cocotte on a thickly folded napkin and carry it straight to the table. Carve two ribs per person there, with onions and potatoes alongside. No separate gravy is needed. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for an eight-bone rack with the chine removed and the ribs shortened enough to fit your cocotte. Leave a thin fat cap. Lamb needs enough fat to bronze and baste itself, but not the heavy blanket sometimes left for the display case.
• •Choose a waxy potato such as Yukon Gold, Charlotte, or another firm boiling variety. A floury baking potato can crumble after Blanchings (No. 273) and cloud the butter with starch.
• •The garlic-clove instruction describes the shape of the potatoes, not a seasoning. Don't add garlic, herbs, stock, or wine. Butter, lamb juices, onions, and potatoes are the entire composition, and their restraint is deliberate.
• •Fresh small onions brown most evenly. When they aren't good at the market, frozen pearl onions are an honest substitute; thaw and dry them thoroughly before they meet the butter.
• •For diners who prefer lamb cooked through, take the rack to 145°F / 63°C and rest it for at least 3 minutes. Remove the vegetables as soon as they are tender so the longer roasting time doesn't collapse them.
• •Pour a supple red with the lamb, such as cru Beaujolais or a lighter Bordeaux. The cocotte already contains its accompaniment, so a sharply dressed green salad afterward is quite enough.

Advance Preparation

• •Have the butcher shorten and trim the carré a day ahead. Keep it cold and loosely covered, then dry it carefully before seasoning and browning.
• •The onions may be peeled and the potatoes shaped and prepared according to Blanchings (No. 273) up to 4 hours ahead. Dry them well, refrigerate them separately, and bring them out while the oven heats.
• •Don't roast the completed dish ahead. A rack reheated after cooking loses the rosy, juicy centre that makes the carré worth buying. Leftovers keep for 2 days in the refrigerator and are better served cool than repeatedly reheated.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 305g)