Techniques › Butchery and seafood
Frenching a rack of lamb or pork
Advanced Butchery and seafood
Frenching a rack of lamb or pork is scraping the ends of rib bones clean of meat, fat and membrane so the rack looks neat and carves easily.
Written with AI help from the sources listed, and published by Cory. Sources: USDA safe minimum internal temperatures, USDA on the danger zone (40-140°F). Spot a mistake? Tell us and we'll fix it.
How do you do it?
- Lay the rack fat side up. With a boning knife, score across the fat down to the bone about 1 1/2 to 2 inches above the eye of meat.
- Cut away everything from that line to the bone tips, then cut down between each bone along the line.
- Flip the rack, score the membrane along each bone, and push it off. Scrape each bone with the back of the blade, always stroking away from your holding hand.
- Wrap the clean bone ends in foil before roasting so they don't char.
Why does it work?
Frenching is mostly about looks and handling: clean bones make a tidy handle and let you cut neat chops. The meat and fat on the ribs cook much faster than the thick eye and would overcook and scorch. Save the trimmings for stock or ground meat.
What are the common mistakes?
- Scraping toward your fingers — the knife can skid off a slippery bone.
- Cutting into the eye of meat — you lose the best part.
- Leaving membrane on the bones — it burns black in the oven.
Still stuck? Watch someone do it on YouTube.
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