I finally moved my range back into the kitchen last night – hurray! Although, my back is paying the price today. Since it gets dark so early now I decided to broil the lamb chops instead of using the grill. I haven’t used the broiler much in almost 200 days of blogging!
These lamb chops take a couple of hours to marinate, so I’ve figured out the easiest way to make them if you’re not home during the day. First, blend the marinade the night before and store it in a sealed container in the frig. Before you leave in the morning, rub the marinade on the rib chops, cover them, and put them back in the frig. They can marinate for up to 12 hours. Take them out of the frig as soon as you get home, so they can come up to room temperature before they go in the oven.
I got the idea for these from the July 2014 Bon Appétit magazine when I was in the waiting room for a haircut. First I modified it to small (and more affordable) meat servings for four. You need 2-3 chops per person depending on what else you’re serving. Only trim off any hard pieces of fat around the edges of the ribs. Notice in the photo how the thickness influences the internal temperature; these were all broiled together which works for my family because we all like varying degrees of doneness. Since you’re going to let them sit up to ten minutes, when they come out of the oven they can be 5-10 degrees lower than where you want them. If they start to look too dark before you want to pull them out, put a piece of foil over them.
You can make your own masala, or you can buy it in a jar. Watch the ingredients if you buy the stuff in the jar. If not organic, at least check that it’s vegetarian and free of chemicals, gluten, artificial colors, artificial flavors, and preservatives. I had to pay $1 more for better masala.
Spiced Lamb Chops
12-15 lamb rib chops (about 4 lb.)
1 sweet onion
1/2 C fresh cilantro
1/2 C fresh parsley
2 T fresh mint leaves
1 T paprika
1 T tikka masala or garam masala
1/2 T ground cumin
1/4 t red pepper flakes
Peel and quarter the onion, and use the leaves and stems of the cilantro and parsley. Put everything (except the meat) in a food processor until very finely chopped. Place lamb in a large dish or parchment-covered baking sheet and rub with spice mixture. Cover and chill at least 2 hours.
Broil lamb 4 to 5 inches from the broiler about 4-5 minutes per side depending on thickness. The internal temperature should get to around 125 in the oven. Cover and let them rest 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.
