Do you like lamb? I am Greek so I grew up eating lamb a lot, especially during Orthodox Easter, and LOVE it no matter the cut or preparation. If you are skeptical about eating lamb, or have tried it once and didn’t like it, give this recipe a try. Lamb rib chops are personally my favorite cut so the recipe uses them, but you can also use lamb loin chops if you can’t find ribs. They grill crispy on the edges, moist in the middle, and have a wonderful flavor from the marinade that I use.
If you ever go to Greece then you definitely should give lamb chops (pieethakia arnisiou) a try…no country prepares them as good as Greece 🙂 . I remember the first time I took my husband to Greece and I wanted him to try them and he wouldn’t…for one, he didn’t like them when he tried them once when he was younger, and secondly (which I didn’t know until after I tricked him into trying them) he mostly didn’t like the fact that they are young when butchered. Well, we went out and I told him they were pork rib chops and he devoured them and thought they were amazing (he does not know his meat cuts)…until I told him it was lamb and he got mad at me and told me the real reason he preferred not to eat them…my bad. The moral of the story is that lamb chops can be wonderful if you prepare them right.
You can prepare lamb chops rare, if you like, but make sure you give it a good sear on the outside to kill any surface bacteria. I personally wouldn’t go any rarer than medium rare, although my favorite temperature to eat lamb chops is medium because it has time to burn off and crisp up most of the fat on the edges. Nothing like that lemony crispy crunch on the edges when you bite down on them…and if you have marinated them well the center is still moist.
This recipe calls for 2 racks of lamb but if you want to make more just double or triple the recipe. If you can’t find lamb rib chops then substitute with about 8 pork rib chops per recipe (since they are bigger). This marinade is excellent on pork too, and often used for pork or chicken souvlaki! Whatever you do, make sure you also have some French baguette, pita, or Italian bread handy to dip in the wonderful marinade juices after they are cooked. A side of tzatziki wouldn’t hurt either 🙂 . So let’s do this!
You will need:
- 16 lamb rib chops, frenched (about 2 racks)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 lemons, juice (about 1/4 cup) and zest
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced or finely shredded
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/4 freshly ground pepper, or to taste
- 1 loaf French baguette, pita, or Italian bread, for dipping (optional)
Steps:
- Cut the ribs into individual pieces, if they are still in rack form, and place them in a plastic zip bag or other container with lid and refrigerate until you are ready to marinate.
- When you are ready to marinate your chops, mix the olive oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper in a mason jar (or any jar with lid), put on the lid and…shake, shake, shake well until fully combined and pour half of it over the lamb and stick them back into the refrigerator to marinate for 4 to 6 hours. Reserve the rest of the marinade in the frig until right before you start grilling.
- Every couple of hours, go back to the frig and massage the bag and turn it so marinade gets to all sides. If you put them in a container just use some tongs and give them a stir.
- Thirty minutes before you are ready to grill, take the chops, and reserved marinade, out of the fridge to come to room temperature.
- Fire up your grill and grill your chops to a safe temperature of your liking, at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit, discard the marinating liquid that was already in with the chops.
- Remove from grill into a small roasting pan or heatproof casserole dish, shake the reserved marinade in your jar and pour it over the cooked lamb chops, cover (don’t seal) with a piece of foil and let sit for 15 minutes to 30 minutes to rest and to infuse the yummy marinade into the meat while you get out your sides 🙂 .
- Make sure you get some of the saucy marinade onto your plate with your chops and dip some crusty bread into it and enjoy.
Kali Orexi!
Grilled Lamb Rib Chops
Ingredients
- 16 lamb rib chops frenched (about 2 racks)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 lemons juice (about 1/4 cup) and zest
- 2 large cloves garlic minced or finely shredded
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/4 freshly ground pepper or to taste
- 1 loaf French baguette, pita, or Italian Bread, for dipping (optional)
Instructions
- Cut the ribs into individual pieces, if they are still in rack form, and place them in a plastic zip bag or other container with lid and refrigerate until you are ready to marinate.
- When you are ready to marinate your chops, mix the olive oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper in a mason jar (or any jar with lid), put on the lid and…shake, shake, shake well until fully combined and pour half of it over the lamb and stick them back into the refrigerator to marinate for 4 to 6 hours. Reserve the rest of the marinade in the frig until right before you start grilling.
- Every couple of hours, go back to the frig and massage the bag and turn it so marinade gets to all sides. If you put them in a container just use some tongs and give them a stir.
- Thirty minutes before you are ready to grill, take the chops, and reserved marinade, out of the fridge to come to room temperature.
- Fire up your grill and grill your chops to a safe temperature of your liking, at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit, discard the marinating liquid that was already in with the chops.
- Remove from grill into a small roasting pan or heatproof casserole dish, shake the reserved marinade in your jar and pour it over the cooked lamb chops, cover (don’t seal) with a piece of foil and let sit for 15 minutes to 30 minutes to rest and to infuse the yummy marinade into the meat while you get out your sides 🙂 .
- Make sure you get some of the saucy marinade onto your plate with your chops and dip some crusty bread into it and enjoy.
