Cedar Planked Lamb Chop with Ginger, Sesame and Sichuan Pepper

When I cedar planked salmon, trout, and chicken, I follow this procedure:
1. Pre-soak the plank in water overnight.
2. Place the pre-soaked plank in a tray of water, place fish/chicken on top of plank.
3. Put the watered tray into a cold oven, then turn it to 325F.

The water in the plank and in the tray adds moisture to the fish/chicken, making it tender. This time, I wanted to experiment on three fronts:

• Try lamb.
• Try preheating oven and at high temperature.
• Try roasting without watered tray. (Pre-soak the plank overnight still.)
  

My experiment turned out very successful. But for fish, I'd still stick with cold oven & watered tray, because fish cooks more quickly and is more sensitive to moisture retention.















Here is my recipe for planked lamb chop with ginger, sesame and Sichuan pepper.

Recipe:
For the Lamb:
Rack of lamb, about 8oz/5 pieces of chops
1/8 tsp ginger powder
1 tbs minced fresh ginger, tightly fit
2 tbs fresh ginger, cut into thin strips
Kosher Salt
Olive Oil

For the Dressing:
Mix toasted black sesame (slight crushed to release fragrant) and Sichuan pepper in proportion of 3:1. You can adjust the proportion to your own liking, depending on how much numbing heat you can take from the Sichuan pepper.

I make a small jar of it, store in the fridge and dress roasted meat and salad with it.

1. Rub ginger powder and fresher ginger onto meat part of lamb rack. Sprinkle a thin layer Kosher Salt. Marinate overnight or at least 6 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 400F.
3. Brush minced ginger off lamb, rub a little olive oil around the meat, sear both sides on heated pan (almost smoking) on high, until browned.
5. Lay a bed of ginger strips on pre-soaked cedar plank, place seared lamb rack on top, put the plank into pre-heated oven.
6. Roast for 16-20minutes or until the inner meat part reaches 145F (for medium rare) on thermometer.
7. Take plank out from oven, loosely cover with foil, let it rest for 5 minutes. When ready to serve, sprinkle sesame & Sichuan pepper mix.