Rosemary-Lemon Lamb Chops

I’m pretty excited about this recipe! First time making lamb chops and they turned out great! Now, I did call in back up because I wouldn’t dream of making lamb (or using his grill) without asking my dad to join me 🙂 The steps below are mostly prep work, but they prove that a good marinade really does make a difference.

Ingredients:

• 10 lamb chops with bone
• 1/4 cup freshly chopped rosemary
• 1 lemon—juiced and strained
• 1/2 cup oil—I used 1/4 cup vegetable and 1/4 olive oil
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper

Instructions:

• Set out the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and 1/2 cup of oil.
• Juice and strain your lemon.
• Rosemary prep:
  • Hold the stem with the tip of your fingers and slide your fingers down toward the base to remove the leaves. Throw away the stems and chop the leaves using a rocking motion with a chef’s knife.
• Get out a large Ziploc bag and add the oil, lemon juice, rosemary, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
• Seal the bag and move all of the ingredients around with your hands (from the outside) to mix them together.
• Remove your lamb chops from the refrigerator and add them to the bag.
• Seal again and move the contents of the bag around until the lamb chops are fully coated.
• Set the bag lying flat in the refrigerator (put a paper towel underneath in case there is any oil residue on the bag).
• Marinate for at least 2 hours. You can go up to 24 hours if you have the time.
  • Rotate the bag once or twice during this time to make sure all sides are coated in the marinade.

Grilling:

• Remove the lamb chops from the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
• Grill the lamb chops to your personal preference.
• Pair with rice and salad/a vegetable for a complete meal.

Depending on your grill and the thickness of the meat the time will vary. For this recipe, the lamb chops were about 1 1/4″ thick and my family prefers lamb chops to be cooked medium well to well (even though most chefs will tell you lamb should be cooked to medium). I grilled these at 300 degrees Fahrenheit (average) on a covered grill…9 minutes per side and they turned out to be at just about medium-well.

I found the temperatures below if you want to try other cooking preferences–you will need a meat thermometer.

*Temperatures are before any resting time*

Rare: 115 to 120°F

Medium-Rare 120 to 125°F

Medium: 130 to 135°F

Medium-Well: 140 to 145°F

Well-Done: 150 to 155°F