If I know my husband, then I’m definitely going to be making him happy with my Valentine’s Day surf and turf meal. Yesterday, I featured the Lobster Risotto as part of my love week series for the surf part. Today, I’m going to share with you lamb chops, one of my husband’s favorites!
I think this is one of the easiest recipes but one that also looks pretty fancy. Before I give you the recipe, I’m going to share with you a few tips to ensure your lamb chops turn out just as amazing!
BUYING THE LAMB CHOPS
Lamb chops are typically bone-in meat chops, typically taken from the rib of the animal. They are loaded with flavor, tender, and cook very quickly, typically within 10-12 minutes depending on thickness and your preference of cook on the meat. Some recipes call for chops to be frenched, which is simply removing the fat from the bone for a cleaner look. If that’s the case, you can either clean away the fat at home or being lazy like me, you can as your meat butcher to french the chops for you.
WHY MARINATE?
Marinating any meat, especially dark meat, helps to tenderize it. This in turn will lead you to have a softer, richer tasting lamb. You can marinate the lamb chops as little as 30 minutes up to overnight. For this recipe, I marinated the lamb for 2 hours as it was mostly dry spices and oil. When I make my Lamb Tagine, I usually marinate the lamb overnight as it will be part of a stew so I want it ultra tender.
COOKING
Lamb chops typically don’t need very much time to cook which is one of the best part about cooking them. I like to do 8-10 minutes for medium rare and 10-12 minutes for medium. Don’t forget to let them rest for an additional 10 minutes because they tend to continue cooking even when pulled out of the oven or off the stove. The outside food is always hotter than the inside, and heat slowly transfers inward, continuing to cook the food even after it has been removed from the heat source, hence carryover cooking. Always check the temp with a food/meat thermometer to make sure it is cooked: 125°F (51°C) for medium-rare, or 135°F (57°C) for medium.
So now that you armed with all of my information to make the best lamb chops, I’m going to share this amazing recipe. I paired my chops with Jeff Mauro’s 4 Cheese Polenta and roasted rainbow carrots. Other grains that would be delicious with these lamb chops would be Couscous or Farro.
From my kitchen to yours, I hope you enjoy this delicious Lamb Chop and have a very special Valentine’s Day!
Pistachio and Goat Cheese Crusted Spicy Lamb Chops
Ingredients
- 1/4 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp red chili flakes
- pinch of ground cloves
- pinch of ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 oz goat cheese, softened
- 1/4 c unsalted pistachios
- 4 lamb chops, frenched
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine all of the spices: coriander, cumin, ginger, cayenne, red chili flakes, cloves, allspice, and black pepper. Mix well.
- Season the lamb with oil and spices. Let it rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
- Meanwhile, in a food processor, pulse the pistachios to a rough chop.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- When you are ready to cook the lamb, remove from fridge and using a butter knife, spread about 1/2 oz of goat cheese on the outer edge of each lamb chop. Press the ground pistachios over the goat cheese so it forms a smooth crust. Drizzle oil over each lamb chop and bake for 8-10 minutes for medium rare or 10-12 minutes for medium cook.
- Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes for carryover cooking.
Here are the tools I used for this recipe:
[…] you love pistachios as much as I do, try out some of these other recipes: Pistachio and Goat Cheese Crusted Spicy Lamb Chops Pomegranate Pistachio Chia Pudding Herb Roasted Acorn Squash with Pomegranates and Pistachios Pear […]
Mouth watering. Thanks for sharing this great recipe