Lamb Chops

[MustangOrange]

Looking for a good recipe to cook lamb chops inside an apartment (no grill - we just moved and I had to leave it behind in Texas).

I've never cooked them before, so suggestions are appreciated!

 

[flyin shoes]

I don't know if I can find the recipe on the net, but my favorite way to cook them is in a cast iron pan on the cook top first and then finishing them in the oven. Then make a red wine sauce while they are resting.

This method uses the whole rack rather than individual chops.

 

[general35]

i love lamb chops.......

 

[Mrmyke709]

I grill them with fresh rosemary and black pepper. You could probably do them that way on a good hot skillet.

 

[Brisketexan]

We love lamb in our house. But my nealry 5 year old has a beloved stuffed lamb (named "Lambie" -- hey, he wasn't very creative when he started talking), and is sensitive about the fate of lamb.

So, he insists that we label all such meat as adult sheep. Thus, the other night, we had Ram chops.

They were still quite tasty.

 

[THEU]

lamb is my favourite thing to cook. I will say that I normally grill my chops after a marinade of red wine, olive oil, garlic, fresh mint, lemon juice, and rosemary. I would suggest a similar marinade, and then to cook them on a HOT cast iron grill pan. I do prefer my meat med rare (the ONLY way to eat meat in my estimation) so I don't understand people who finish in an oven for very long.

 

[flyin shoes]

It is pretty easy to get a nice medium rare by finishing in the oven if you are dealing with a whole rack. All you do on the cooktop is sear the outside.

You should try it, you might like it better.

 

[THEU]

I just haven't finished in the oven really, so I would have to see. I also have never done a full rack, I have always done individual chops. I do a roasted leg in the over, but I haven't done chops that way.

 

[s102r18]

Seems like lots of lamb confusion here. "Lamb chops" (no modifier) typically means "loin chops." If you have a rack of lamb and cut it into individual chops, those are "rib chops." Both types are awesome; the rib chops are considerably more expensive. (Typical Costco prices are $9.99/lb for a rack of lamb and $5.99/lb for loin chops.) Shoulder chops are less common and should be less expensive (also cooked very differently).
I agree that medium rare is the only way to cook most red meat, but that doesn't preclude finishing in the oven. Get a wireless remote meat thermometer and you can attain perfect medium rare every time whether finishing in the skillet, on the grill, or in the oven. (Be sure not to use the FDA temperature guidelines that come with the thermometer, and to let the meat rest and rise to its correct final temperature after removing it from the heat.) Thicker cuts of meat are better finished in the oven to avoid burning the outsides before the inside is cooked enough.

Cooks Illustrated has several rack of lamb recipes, including a relatively new one with a whiskey sauce and an older one with a red wine and rosemary sauce. Either sauce should work just as well with loin chops. Note: you'll have to log in to read the recipes; a two-week free trial is available if you aren't already a subscriber.

We can't talk about restaurants in this forum but there's one in Elgin that offers a decadently delicious item under the label "mutton." The grocery section of the Walmart Supercenter (at least the one near 620 and 183) often sells something they call "lamb breast." It seems like it could be the same cut of meat used for BBQ mutton ribs, though definitely smaller--maybe from younger animals? I've cooked that over a low gas grill a few times as a quicker version of the BBQ mutton--which saves a lot of time driving to Elgin and back.

When I lived temporarily in an apartment in the DC area I bought a table top gas grill (for outdoor use, of course). You can use that on a patio (fire and property codes permitting) or take it to a nearby park; I'd hate to have to go too terribly long without grilled loin lamb chops, even though the ones with a pan sauce are also excellent.