Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Lamb shoulder chops

I rarely buy lamb loin chops in the States because they are very expensive, anywhere between $14 and$20/lb. Recently I found good shoulder chops at Union Market, priced at $7/lb. They are cut thick, which I like, and are fattier than I would like (grain fed lambs, if you ask me), but my love of lamb is such that they come home with me in a nice paper bag.

Grilled lamb chops:

As many chops as you and yours would like to eat
A cup of herbs: I used summer savoury in quantity, and added common thyme
A lemons' juice per 4 chops
Salt and pepper
A sprinkle of brown sugar, about 1 teaspoon

An hour before cooking squeeze the lemon juice over the meat and add salt, sugar and pepper. Turn the broiler on full and wait till it is blazing hot.

In a cast iron pan or heavy duty baking tray, lay the chops on top of your herb collection. Put under the broiler until they start to colour black at the edges and flip. It will take about 20 minutes, depending on the heat and thickness of the meat.

An alternate way is to sear them in a smoking skillet (and it must be smoking: heat it for many minutes before adding the chops) for a minute on each side and then to pop them in the oven at 450'-500'F for about 10 minutes.

Then let them rest, covered loosely in tented foil. It must be loose to allow steam to escape or they will sweat in a little lamb sauna. Allow ten minutes of resting and then serve. They will be that much more tender for the wait.

I cut up some baguette and fried the slices in the lamb juices while the meat was resting.

We only live once.

7 comments:

  1. I'm salivating, this looks so good. I rarely buy lamb chops too, because it's so pricey. Sometimes I see a great deal at Trader Joes.

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  2. I wish I could cook like this.
    That looks exquisite & I'm a vegetarian.

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  3. Just got back from a week in Prince Albert at the foot of the Swartberg Mtns in the Karoo. We brought back some Karoo lamb chops - so I will definitely be giving this recipe a try - can't wait!!

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  4. Meems, yeah- if I can face the 15 minute line at Trader Joe's they do have some good deals. But truth be told, I hate Trader Joe's. It's irrational, I know, as I'm only basing that on the one in Cobble Hill. Death by linoleum.

    Lily H - you're a vegetarian and you looked!!!! And you liked... well, I never. You could cook like this with some fat slices of eggplant, couldn't you?

    Lyn - ! Where did you stay? How was the pass? Did you go to de Hel?

    Ah, I have Karoo lamb chop envy now.

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  5. There is a Trader Joes in Queens, that we've been to a couple of times and the lines are minimal. But... you need a car. If I go to the one in Brooklyn or Union Square, I go in the morning on a weekday. It is a madhouse there. I think Fairway is better than Trader Joes for spices and produce.

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  6. looks delicious as all your food does!!!

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  7. Sorry Marie, only just noticed your questions - am printing the basicf muffin recipe.

    Prince Albert - we stayed in a cute self catering cottage on a small-holding in the village - sheep and olives with lei-water coming in once a week to a dam.
    The pass was covered in snow when we arrived, so had to wait for it to re-open before we could drive over it. It was FABULOUS! We did not go to De Hel but we did go to Gamkapoort Dam about 50k west of PA - rough gravel roads and total isolation - we did not see anyone for the whole day. But we did see Black Eagles, a pair of Fish Eagles on their nest and many buck! It was wonderful

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