Herb-brined Lamb Prime Rib Roast

Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 6 quarts cold water, divided
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup fine sea salt
• 8 large fresh thyme sprigs
• 6 turkish bay leaves, crumbled
• 4 juniper berries
• 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
• 6 1/2 lbs center-cut lamb rib roast, well-trimmed (8-bone, about 12 to 14 inches long)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns (crushed in mortar with pestle or in resealable plastic bag with mallet)

Recipe

• 1 for brine:.
• 2 combine 1 quart water and all remaining ingredients in medium saucepan.
• 3 bring to boil, stirring until sugar and salt dissolve.
• 4 pour brine into wide pot or container large enough to hold lamb (3- to 4-gallon capacity).
• 5 add remaining 5 quarts cold water; stir to blend.
• 6 let stand until brine is cool to touch, about 1 hour.
• 7 for lamb:.
• 8 place lamb on work surface.
• 9 trim off all but 1/4-inch layer of fat from roast.
• 10 turn roast over so that rib bones point up.
• 11 using boning knife and starting where meat meets rib bones, gradually cut loin away from rack of bones, leaving 2 inches of meat attached to bones (do not cut meat off bones completely).
• 12 tie meat back onto bones with kitchen string at 2-inch intervals.
• 13 place roast in brine, submerging lamb completely and weighing down with heavy pot if necessary.
• 14 cover and refrigerate 5 days.
• 15 remove lamb from brine; discard brine.
• 16 rinse lamb under cold running water for 5 minutes to reduce saltiness; pat dry with paper towels.
• 17 place lamb on rack set over sheet of foil; let stand at room temperature 2 hours.
• 18 position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°f
• 19 place lamb on rack in large roasting pan.
• 20 mix thyme and crushed peppercorns in small bowl; sprinkle mixture over lamb.
• 21 roast until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of lamb registers 140f, about 1 hour.
• 22 remove from oven.
• 23 let roast rest 30 minutes (internal temperature of roast will increase 5 to 10 degrees).
• 24 remove kitchen string from roast.
• 25 cut meat into slices and serve.