These slow roast balsamic lamb ribs are a no fuss dinner item that will please everyone with their sticky glaze and tender meat. They are a breeze to prepare and their aroma is delightful to come home to after finishing work.
In the mid-naughties lamb ribs weren’t a widely used cut of meat in Australia. You wouldn’t find them in the supermarket and it was rare for them to be on display at local butchers. You would generally have to enquire if they had any out back.
This is about the time I started cooking lamb ribs frequently. I was living in Melbourne and my work schedule was hectic. Lamb ribs was the perfect meal to throw in the oven and come back to in a few hours. Not to mention that they were ridiculously cheap at the time. So cheap you could barely comprehend they were lamb given the exorbitant price any other cut of lamb demanded.
My Spanish lamb rib inspiration…
One of my favourite Melbourne restaurants at the time was a Spanish tapas bar, Portello Rosso. This is where I first had the idea for this particular recipe. They had on there menu the best lamb ribs I had ever tasted; so I set out to make my own version of these moorish, melt-in-your-mouth delights.
Fast forward to today and lamb ribs are no longer the cheap cut they once were; now available from the display counter of most butchers.
Unfortunately, Portello Rosso is no longer open. However, my slow roast balsamic lamb ribs which it inspired are still a regular on our family table.
Marinade time and slow cooking is the key to these delectable ribs.
The marinade used here is heavy on vinegar. The sour flavour is balanced with the sweetness from the sugar and honey, the pungency of the garlic and earthiness of rosemary.
I do advise to marinade for as long as possible before cooking. I’ve been know to leave ribs to marinade for over 48 hours if time is on my side. The flavour is divine and the acidity from the vinegar helps to tenderise the meat before it hits the oven.
The long cooking time at low temperature breaks down the collagen in the meat, keeping it tender and moist. When removing the lamb ribs from the oven the meat should be barely holding onto the bone.
Now, I don’t want to restrict on what occasion these lamb ribs hit your table, however, they can be messy. As with chicken wings, I do try and reserve them for family and close friends whom we might be a bit more liberal with table manners.
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Ingredients
- 1 kg Lamb Ribs
- 125 ml Balsamic Vinegar 1/2 cup
- 2 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 5 cloves Garlic crushed
- 2 sprigs Rosemary finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Pepper
Instructions
- Combine vinegar, sugar, honey, rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper in a jug or bowl and whisk to combine to make the marinade.125 ml Balsamic Vinegar, 2 tbsp Brown Sugar, 1 tbsp Honey, 2 sprigs Rosemary, 1 tbsp Olive Oil, 1 tsp Salt, 1 tsp Pepper
- In a large freezer, ziplock bag or bowl combine lamb, garlic and marinade. Massage to coat the meat in the marinade.1 kg Lamb Ribs, 5 cloves Garlic
- Place the bag into the fridge and leave to marinade for 24 hours, turning the bag over anytime you open the fridge to ensure the meat is evenly coated.If you don't have 24 hours, just marinade for as long as possible.
- Preheat oven to 150ºC (300ªF).
- Spread lamb ribs in a single layer in a deep sided roasting dish. I use glass because they are easiest to clean. Pouring all excess marinade from the bag over the lamb.
- Cover roasting dish tightly with aluminium foil and place in the oven for 2 hours.
- Check lamb ribs after 1 hour. If there is no moisture on the bottom of the baking dish add a splash of water to stop the ribs drying out.
- After 2 hours, increase the oven temperature to 200ºC (390ºF). Remove the foil from the baking dish and baste the ribs with the marinade from the bottom of the dish. I use a pastry brush for this.
- Place ribs back in the now hot oven for 10 minutes.After which the marinade will have given the ribs a sticky glaze and the meat will be tender and starting to fall from the bone.
