Another COVID19 food post…but really, I’m just prepping for Easter dinner. I’ll start off by saying that I’ve been trying to order lamb legs for the past 10 days now and it seems like everyone else has the same request. Finally, I watched my Instacart shopper replace my lamb leg with lamb loin chops. While not the same, I’ll make it work. I think the other side of COVID19 shelter-in-place online food orders has turned into a grab bag or mystery box. It reminds me of visiting the dentist, a grueling session of saliva, blood, and the sound of a drill in my head just to get to that prize box of random toys consisting of stickers, high bouncy balls, and maybe that toy that’s worth a little more than $1.
Back to the loin chops. They are like mini porterhouse steaks. They come from the back of the lamb. Most of you are used to seeing “rack of lamb”. Think of rack of lamb and move towards the tail. The meat gets smaller and butchers have figured out a great way of presenting a nice cut. Like porterhouse steaks, the T-bone contains a little loin which is a very tender cut of meat.
I’m preparing these loin chops using what I normally use on any lamb cut. I try to keep this recipe simple. I’ll cook until medium-rare. Anything more than that is a disgrace to the animal.
Lamb Loin Chops
INGREDIENTS
- 2.5 pounds of lamb loin chops (about 10 pieces)
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 tablespoons sea salt
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- ¼ cup chopped fresh rosemary
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ onion – chopped (not pictured)
Take the meat out the fridge, make sure it’s covered, and leave out for an hour. This will bring down the temperature and ensure a great medium rare cook.
METHOD
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Let it marinate for at least 4 hours.
- Start your BBQ grill. Gas/pellet people, turn on high. For charcoal people, build your pyramid, light it, and leave it.
- Once the coals are burning red or your grill is set high, place the lamb on the grill.
- After 4-6 minutes, turn it over. Yes, this whole process is quick. The harder part was getting the ingredients together. DO NOT LEAVE THE GRILL.
- Get your thermometer out and check the temperature. Pull out the loins when they read 135°F or 57°C.
On thermometers, if you don’t have one, get one. You’ll be a better cook.
TIPS
Sprinkle some chopped rosemary as decoration.
Onion powder does wonders.
