Lamb Ribs with Onion Salad Recipe

Method

1. Prepare a barbeque for smoking and set the temperature at 110 degrees

2. There is no need to remove the membrane on the lamb belly. It is very thin and doesn't really affect the eating, though the skin on the top side of the belly will need to be removed, as it will become tough and unpleasant to eat. Square off the belly and trim the redundant flap from the smaller end of the belly (rear-end). The yield of a lamb rib is never going to be great, and there is very little meat from the trim, so don't worry if it looks as though you've reduced the rack to a small rectangle. The belly should also be squared off at the shoulder end. The rack of ribs should be nice and neat

3. Rub the rack all over with the mustard and coat evenly with the lamb rub. Smoke the lamb in the barbecue for about 5 hours, or until the meat is just starting to soften and the internal temperature reaches 87 degrees.Remove the ribs from the barbeque and set aside. Adjust the barbecue and set aside. Adjust the barbecue for direct grilling. Grill the ribs for a moment then remove from the grill and keep warm

4. To make the salad, peel and quarter the onions and dress lightly in olive oil. Grill the onions on the barbecue for 10 minues or until charred and softened, then remove and place in a bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to steam. Quarter the baby gems, season with salt and pepper and brush with olive oil. Grill for 1 minute on each side, or until the baby gems are sporadically dark and charred but not completely burnt. Remove from the grill and set aside

5. Lightly peel off most of the burnt outer layer from the onions to leave the lightly charred and soft inner layers, then combine with the baby gems. Dress with a tablespoon of olive oil, the lemon juice, torn mint leaves, parsley leaves, pickled pomegranates and pomegranate molasses. Toss the whole salad gently until well combined and evenly dressed. Season to taste with salt, some sumac and freshly ground black pepper

6. Serve the ribs sprinkled with the remaining sumac and alongside a nice heap of grilled onion salad.