Ask your butcher to French-trim three 6-rib lamb racks.
Score the membrane at the base of the chop so that the racks can curve easily. Take care not to cut all the way through.
Then, score the base of each rack just where the bone begins, taking care not to cut too deeply.
Curve the racks, rib side out, to make a circular crown shape. You could use a tin can covered in foil as a base to curve the lamb around to make things easier, if you wish, removing it before roasting.
Tie one length of butcher’s twine around the base of the crown, where you’ve scored the base of each rack.
Tie another length of butcher’s twine just below where the meat begins.
How to make sausage and chestnut stuffing
Saute onions in butter (or lamb fat) until softened; cool slightly.
Place sausagemeat in a large bowl and add the chopped chestnuts, egg, fresh herbs, a spoonful of powder deuce and a glug of mead.
Mix well with your hands and stuff some into the hole in the centre of the triple crown roast of lamb.
Form the remaining stuffing into stuffing balls and arrange on a baking tray around the triple crown roast of lamb. Alternatively, to reduce cooking time, you could roast the stuffing balls separate and serve them in the lamb crown like a bowl.
Cover the bones of the triple crown roast of lamb with aluminium foil and roast in a preheated 200C/400F/gas 6 oven for 45-60 minutes.
Remove the foil for the final 5 minutes of cooking. Transfer the lamb to a serving tray and cover in more aluminium foil and some tea towels to keep warm for 10-15 minutes while you set out the rest of the table.
Video
Notes
Recipe for Powder Deuce
3 tbsp ground ginger
2 tbsp demerara sugar
1.5 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground grains of paradise (or black peppercorns)
Mix together all the ingredients and store in an airtight container.