Monday, August 13, 2012

Grilled Lemon & Rosemary Lamb Chops – Classic Inditalian

When it comes to grilling lamb loin chops, I usually go one of two ways. Usually, I take an Italian approach, and marinade the meat with lemon, garlic, and herbs. Or to change things up, sometimes I’ll go with more of an Indian style, and use a yogurt-based marinade along with the associated aromatic spices like cumin, cinnamon, and coriander.

I love both styles, but was having a hard time choosing which one to use this time. Eventually I gave up and decided to combine both into one uber-recipe. As the footage of me slicing through the pink, juicy meat hopefully illustrates, it worked wonderfully, and really did capture the magic of both methods.

By the way, be sure you’re buying “Loin Chops” and not “Rib Chops.” Loin chops look like thick, little t-bone steaks, while the rib chops have a single eye of meat and a long bone. The Loin chops are not only meatier, but work way better on the grill. They cost about the same, so be sure to ask the butcher.

Of course, some people don’t eat/like lamb (poor bastards), so feel free to use this “Inditalian” marinade on any other grillable meat. I’m going to try it on some half chickens next, and I’m predicting it’s going to rock. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients:
8-10 lamb loin chops
1/2 cup plain yogurt
zest and juice from 1 large or 2 smaller lemons
1 rounded tablespoon ground hot chili sauce, like Sambal or Calabrian chilies
4 cloves garlic, crushed fine
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
*Marinate for 4 to 10 hours for best results
*Optional: season chops before grilling with salt and pepper to taste

23 comments:

Alex Liberman said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Alex Liberman said...

Hoegaarden?

Anonymous said...

Looks yummy, couldn't load on site , viewed it on youtube site
thanks for the recipe

gigi said...

These look fabulous... did you get the chops at Costco? They look just like the ones I had last night, that unfortunately I didn't marinate. But I will the next time!

Anonymous said...

Can't watch the video. It just keeps trying and trying to load, but nothing happens, whether I watch from the foodwishes website or try to watch it on YouTube. I've seen people complain about this before with other videos, but this is a first for me. I reset my browser and it still won't load.

Anonymous said...

Any difference in using regular plain yogurt vs. plain Greek yogurt?

Chef John said...

No, not for this recipe, but Greek is better texture for eating IMO.

Chef John said...

Dear people having trouble watching videos: The tech people are checking it out. Should be fixed soon. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

it's fixed, thanks again

Anonymous said...

Marinade looks great! I love lamb, but my wife and two girls won't eat it. Think I going try it on some chicken thighs on the grill.

Chef John said...

It will work beautifully!

Jeff @ Cheeseburger said...

This is an amazing recipe. A combination of Italian and Indian styles.

Anonymous said...

Did the chicken thighs on the grill. Fantastic.

Anonymous said...

Dear Chef John,

I've just discovered you, through the Mac N Cheese video/recipe my coworker sent me (after I caught him drooling over last night's leftovers).

For Kosher purposes, I can't combine dairy and meat.

* What should I substitute for the yogurt? Is this lamb recipe still worth trying?

* Is there a standard substitution I can make to most recipes that call for milk/yogurt in this way?

Thank you for you response, and for this Great site!

Unknown said...

Just tried with chicken thighs and I'm offically in love. Good god that was tasty. Bravo good sir, bravo!

Unknown said...

Hi Chef John - Do you think this would work with elk? My boyfriend is a hunter and we have a freezer full of elk and venison and grouse etc etc. This looks so good though so I'd love to try it out with some game meat.

Thanks!

Unknown said...

Hi Chef John - Do you think this would work with elk? My boyfriend is a hunter and we have a freezer full of elk and venison and grouse etc etc. This looks so good though so I'd love to try it out with some game meat.

Thanks!

Chef John said...

Sure! As long as its the same type of cut!

drocto said...

Really good video - just the right amount of detail and demonstration and commentary.

And you've done people well by showing the trick to cooking with the t-bone side down on the grill for a couple minutes. Typically I start instead of finish with that move, but either way it works!

Seaworthy said...

Tried this tonight to try and understand yogurt marinating for school

Results

Amazing. Serving utensils not required

Betsy said...

Chef- I'm making these this week but I don't have access to a grill right now. So, I need to ask - How would I cook these on the stove top and/or oven? My main concern is the yogurt-based marinade as I don't have much experience with that. Can I still sear the chops in the pan the same as you would if it wasn't marinated? I'm just not sure if the marinade would be as forgiving in a pan as on the grill? Also,Cast Iron or Stainless pan better? Thanks for help and recipe!

Michele Cryan said...

Betsy - CJ always says an oven grill is just a bbq upside down. Good-luck!

CJ - Andy and I are set to cook lamb shoulder chops. Your braised recipe didn't suit me as I don't like stew-like food ( I blame my childhood) but I love the look of this one. Do you think it will work well with lamb shoulder chops?

and..........when are you going to demo Rabo Encendido?

Michele

Bill Brissman said...

I bought a bunch of lamb loin chops when I saw them on sale knowing Chef John would have a great recipe, and expecting to have leftovers. It was a bit of a leap of faith, being my first time ever cooking this cut. I made them as demonstrated the next day and Wow! I ate so much lamb I felt like the antagonist in a Grimm fairy tale!