Last Updated on by What’s Smoking
This lamb loin chops recipe is super easy and quick to pull off. The lamb already has a ton of natural flavor, so all we are looking to do with this recipe is compliment it with some garlic, rosemary and thyme and before you know it, you have a delicious meal that took very little time and effort. This lamb loin chop recipe provides two options on how to cook lamb, one is pan seared and the other is on the grill.
I do not recommend smoking the lamb loin chops as they are too small and will cook to fast before taking on any smoke to make it worth while, they also do better with a hot and fast cook.
What Is The Difference Between Lamb Loin Chops and Lamb Chops?
So what exactly is the difference and if so what is it? So there is a difference loin chops and lamb chops, make no mistake. In the case of lamb loin chops, you are essentially looking at a small t-bone steak. It is probably the best way to describe loin chops. Lamb chops are cut from the lamb rib and usually will have the rib bone in them.
With this recipe we are definitely tackling lamb loin chop, which are more tender than lamb chops and can be done on the grill or pan seared.
Lamb Loin Chops Marinade
With this recipe, we are going to make a simple marinade Typically when marinading you will let the meat sit for at least a couple of hours in the marinade. For this lamb loin chops recipe we really just need to let them sit for 30 minutes to an hour. We are going to need the following (this was for about 3 lbs of lamb loin chops):
- 6 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of minced garlic (you can use fresh garlic cloves as well. In a pinch you garlic powder but I would not recommend the garlic powder)
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 1 teaspoon of black pepper
- 1 tablespoon of rosemary
- 1 tablespoon of thyme
Combined all these ingredients into a bowl, stir well and then you can either add the loin chops to the bowl, some kind of pan/tray or a Ziploc bag. If you are using a bag, although they won’t be in the bag for long, about half way through give the bag a shake to ensure all the chops get marinade on them. If using some kind of pan, I would suggest flipping them about half way through. After an hour pull these lamb loin chops and let’s move onto getting these cooked up. Below I I will review two different ways to make these, pan seared and then on the grill.
Pan Seared Lamb Loin Chops Recipe
So in our first method of making these loin chops we are going to pan sear them in a cast iron skillet. There two ways to prep the skillet, I am going to do this with some butter but you can substitute the butter for olive oil. But before we do that make sure to give your lamb loin chops about 20-30 minutes to come up to room temperature. After that 30 minute time period we are going to get our cast iron skillet cranked up using medium to high heat. Once you have them ready to go, throw some butter in the the pan. You will need about one stick of butter.
Once the butter is melted go ahead and start placing the loin chops in the skillet. Lamb is best done at medium rare – medium. To do this we are going to sear each side of the loin chops for about 4 minutes. We are looking for an internal temperature of 135 degrees. After you do about 4 minutes on each side, go ahead lower the temperature and we will just spoon some of the butter over the loin chips for another minute and ultimately you are lookin for an IT of 140°. At that point, we can remove from the heat and serve.
Lamb Loin Chops Recipe Grilled
Let’s move onto some grilled lamb loin chops. You will want to get the grill up to medium to high heat. Once there we will place the loin chops on and do about 5 minutes on each side. Gauge the time by the thickness of the chops, I will keep an instant read thermometer handy as well. I really enjoy my , instant read meat thermometer . Bang for buck, ThermoPro is one of the best out there. We are similarly to the pan seared looking to take these to an IT of 140°.
After doing 5 minutes on each side, go ahead pull and serve. If you want to place the loin chops into a cast iron skillet and drizzle with some butter, as we did with the pan seared you can but not necessary
Lamb Loin Chops Recipe – In Conclusion
This lamb loin chops recipe is easy to pull together, in many cases you will hopefully have everything you need. It is a short marinade period and whether grilling or searing, you are done in a matter of minutes, probably no more than 10 minutes to cook these.
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Lamb Loin Chops Recipe
This lamb loin chops recipe is super easy and quick to pull off. The lamb has a ton of natural flavor so all we are looking to do with this recipe is compliment it with some garlic, rosemary and thyme and before you know it, you have a delicious meal that took very little time and effort.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs lamb loin chops
Marinade
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tsp of salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp thyme
- 1 tbsp rosemary
Instructions
- Combine your ingredients for the marinade and marinade the lamb loin chops for about an hour
- Once marinade is done, remove loin chops and allow to come to room temperature for about 30 minutes
- As the 30 minutes is wrapping up, heat your cast iron skillet and melt approximately 1 stick of butter
- Take the loin chops and place into the skillet with the melted butter.
- Seared on each side for about 4 minutes and pull from high heat when you get to an IT of 135°
- Lower heat to a simmer, and spoon the melted over the loin chops for another minute. Ideal IT is 140°
- If grilling, grill each side for about 5 minutes and pull from high heat when you get to an IT of 140°
- Serve while hot
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 819Total Fat: 62gSaturated Fat: 26gTrans Fat: 3gUnsaturated Fat: 33gCholesterol: 206mgSodium: 955mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 65g