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Lamb guard of honour with lemon and mint crust

For a traditional Christmas lamb dish, look no further than this lamb guard of honour recipe with a fragrant lemon and mint crust. Served with a flavourful and fruity redcurrant gravy, this impressive meal is ideal for entertaining friends and family around the holidays.

Cooking Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Take off the outer layer of fat on the lamb and discard it.
  2. To form the crumb mixture, combine the breadcrumbs, mint, and the rind and juice of 1 lemon in a food processor until it’s finely chopped. Spread the mixture over the lamb and put it flat in a large roasting tin, crumb-side up.
  3. Squeeze the juice from the other lemon and add the juice, squeezed lemon halves, shallots, and garlic to the roasting tin. Roast for 45 mins until the meat is fully cooked.
  4. Remove the roasting tin from the oven. Organise the lamb racks on a serving platter with the bones facing inwards and interlocking to create an arch. Cover with foil and leave to rest for 10 mins while you make the gravy.
  5. Take the lemon halves, garlic cloves, and large shallot pieces out of the roasting tin. Put the tin on the hob and add the butter. Heat until foaming, then add the flour. Cook for 2-3 mins until thickened, then pour on the red wine and 200ml of boiling water, add the redcurrant jelly and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for 3-4 mins then strain and serve with the lamb.

The Ingredients

  • 2x 8 bone racks of lamb
  • 100g of fine breadcrumbs
  • 1 small handful of fresh mint
  • 2 lemons
  • 3 shallots, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves

For the gravy

  • 15g of butter
  • 1 even tbsp of flour
  • 100ml of red wine
  • 1 tbsp of redcurrant jelly
  • 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce

What to serve with lamb guard of honour

In this lamb guard of honour recipe there are a lot of amazing flavours from the lemon and mint crust, the redcurrant gravy etc. This makes your choice of side dishes important as you don’t want to clash with the strong flavours you’ve already got. For lamb guard of honour, we think you can’t go wrong with:

  • Baby new potatoes
  • Carrots and green vegetables
  • Mint sauce
  • Asparagus

Frequently Asked Questions

The term guard of honour refers to the way the lamb is presented on the dish, it is essentially a fancy way of plating a rack of lamb. It is made up of two racks of lamb, tied side to side, with the bones arching inwards to each other to form an arch.

Lamb and beef typically have similar calories, total fat, protein, vitamin, and mineral content, but lamb often has more omega-3 fat content. Grass-fed lamb also has more healthy fat which is beneficial for cognitive, cardiovascular, and metabolic health.