GRILLED LEMON-MINT LAMB CHOPS

It happens to all of us, and I have no shame admitting it: I love take-outs during weekdays! You might be thinking, I thought she loved cooking. Yes, I do, but some days I am just too exhausted to do anything but catch up on Grey’s Anatomy accompanied by a glass of wine. On days like those this is my go to recipe. Of course, there is no denying that a home cooked meal is so much healthier and likely tastier than take out. You should also know, I am a huge believer of prepping my weekly meals ahead of time. I get all my produce the weekend before, marinate all the meat products, and throw them in the freezer. On weekday mornings, I remove the marinated meat of choice to thaw and by dinnertime it’s all set to be tossed in the oven or on to a grill. Now, if you have a great butcher like I do, he/she can accelerate this prep process by cutting the lamb chops into individual pieces. All you will have to do is add the spices and throw it on the grill. How easy can this be? The freezer does the marinating part and the grill does the cooking part, while you do the eating part! Now, you may ask what is so special about this recipe? First of all, it is super easy to make, and requires only a handful of ingredients. Last but not least my friend – please try it and see for yourself.

Prep time: 10 mins + Cook time: 15 mins, Total time: 25 mins

INGREDIENTS

Rack of lamb/goat – 8 rib; Frenched; excess fat trimmed off and cut into individual chops
Freshly ground black pepper – 1 teaspoon
Juice of 1 lemon
Thyme (regular/lemon) dried or fresh – 1 teaspoon
(Thyme is optional)
Garlic powder/ garlic paste – 1 teaspoon
Mint leaves – 1 tablespoon, roughly chopped
Olive oil – 1 tablespoon
Salt – 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon

DIRECTIONS

MARINATING

In a zip top freezer friendly bag or container, add the lamb chops and rest of the ingredients.
Seal the bag and mix thoroughly. The lamb chops should look like they have been evenly coated with the spices and herbs.
You may leave it in the freezer. Thaw and grill whenever you wish. The thawing process may take 6 to 8 hours depending on where you live. However, if you plan on making it the same day, put it in the refrigerator for 1 to 6 hours. The chops need to be at room temperature when they hit the grill or oven, so make sure to remove them from the refrigerator an hour ahead.

COOKING

OVEN

Preheat oven at 425 degrees (F) or 218 degrees (C); Line a baking tray with foil and set it aside.
Heat a grill pan on high heat and turn it to medium when the pan is hot (the range knob should be between 6 and 8)
Sear the lamb chops on medium heat for 3 minutes on each side for a total of 6 minutes.
Transfer the lamb chops on to the baking tray and bake it for somewhere between 9 to 15 minutes, depending on how you like your lamb chops cooked.
Suggested cook time- 9 to 10 minutes rare, 11 to 13 minutes medium and 14 to 15 minutes for well done.
Remove from the oven and serve.

GRILL

Heat the grill and place chops on the grill. Place them on the cooler side of the grill first for about 5 minutes and then move them to the hotter side of the grill.
Grill both sides until you have reached the desired temperature on your meat thermometer.
Suggested temperature- Rare 125-130 degrees (F) or 51- 54 degrees (C); Medium-Rare 130-140 degrees (F) or 54-60 degrees (C); Medium 140-150 degrees (F) or 60- 65.5 degrees (C); Well done 155-165 degrees (F) or 68-74 degrees (C)
Remove from the grill and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.

NOTES

Lamb chops: You can replace lamb chops with goat chops. In my opinion, goat chops taste much better than lamb.
Frenched Rack: Is a style of cutting the chops where a few inches of the meat is removed from the end of the bones.
Meat thermometer: Whether you are a grill master or aspiring to be one, a meat thermometer is a valuable investment. It is no fun guessing whether the meat is cooked or not, and you want to prevent getting sick on partially cooked meat.