Lamb is meat for true connoisseurs of oriental traditions and taste. Meat is ideal for traditional oriental dishes, but does not always correspond to our ideas in dishes more familiar to us. Lamb meat turns out to be less fatty than pork, and with certain processing it does not have a specific smell. Lamb chops, the recipes for which we will give, can be fried in a frying pan, or for more juiciness, baked in the oven. For lamb, it is advisable to use a marinade, then the meat will be softer.

A selection of lamb chops recipes

Recipe 1: Baked Chops with Balsamic Sauce

Ingredients for 4-6 servings:

• 8-12 lamb chops, 4 cm thick;
• salt and freshly ground pepper;
• 2 teaspoons rapeseed oil;
• 2 teaspoons unsalted butter;
• 30 g Italian ham, finely chopped;
• leeks, large size, white part only, finely chopped, or shallots, 2 pcs., chopped;
• 125 ml quality balsamic vinegar;
• 125 ml veal demi-glace or 250 ml beef broth, reduced to 125 ml.

Step-by-step preparation:

Let the prepared lamb pieces sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Pat the chops dry with a paper towel and season both sides generously with salt and pepper according to the recipe. Place a large baking dish in the oven and heat it to 65°C. Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it starts to smoke, add the lamb chops and fry for 2.5-3 minutes without touching them. Turn the chops over and cook for another 2.5-3 minutes. Check the doneness of the lamb using a special thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chops (without touching the bone); it should show a temperature of 54 °C for half-cooked meat. Transfer the chops to a roasting dish in the oven.

Wipe the pan with a paper towel and return to medium heat. Melt the butter, add the ham and leeks and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes, until the onions are tender, according to the lamb chops recipe. Increase heat to medium-high and add vinegar. Cook, stirring to remove any brown bits from the bottom of the pan, until the liquid has reduced by half, about a minute. Pour in the demi-glace, add 0.25 teaspoons of salt and a pinch of pepper to prepare the chops. Bring to a low simmer and cook for another minute. Remove from the oven, transfer the lamb chops to preheated flat plates, top with the sauce and serve immediately.

Recipe 2: Lamb Chops with Port Wine Sauce

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 8 pieces of lamb tenderloin or ribs, trim off excess fat;
• salt and freshly ground pepper;
• Art. l. olive oil;
• shallots, 2 pcs., chopped;
• a couple of cloves of garlic, minced;
• 500 ml red port;
• 250 ml beef broth;
• tsp Dijon mustard;
• Art. l. chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces.

Cooking method:

Preheat the oven to 200°C according to the chops recipe. Cut the edges of the chops in 2-3 places to prevent them from curling. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Grease the bottom of a large heatproof skillet with olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. When the fat begins to smoke, add the lamb chops and fry them for about a couple of minutes on each side until golden brown on both sides. (Do not place chops too close together; use 2 pans if necessary). Transfer the pan to the oven and cook the chops for 6-8 minutes, until a special thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chop (without touching the bone) registers a temperature of 54 ° C; lamb (semi-cooked) should have an intense pink color when cut near the bone. Transfer chops to a platter and cover with aluminum foil while you prepare the sauce.

To prepare the sauce for the chops, pour most of the meat juices out of the pan (reserve a tablespoon). Add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Pour in the port and broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for about 5 minutes until the liquid is reduced by half. Turn the heat to medium according to the recipe. Add mustard and chopped butter. Once melted and the sauce is smooth, season it to taste with salt and pepper. Place lamb chops on individual plates, top with sauce and serve immediately.

Recipe 3: How to Cook Braised Lamb Chops

Ingredients:

• 8 chops (lamb forearm), trim off excess fat;
• 2 tbsp. l. garlic powder;
• Art. l. dry rosemary;
• Art. l. dry oregano;
• 2 tsp. salt;
• tsp black pepper with lemon zest;
• tsp ground cinnamon;
• 0.25 tsp ground allspice;
• 2 tbsp. l. olive oil;
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped;
• 2 tbsp. l. chopped fresh oregano;
• 2 tbsp. l. chopped fresh mint and fresh mint sprouts for garnish;
• 250 ml dry red wine;
• large tomato, peeled and seeds removed, then cut into cubes;
• 2 tbsp. spoons of tomato paste.

Cooking steps:

Cut the edges of the chops in 1-2 places to prevent them from curling. In a bowl, mix garlic powder, rosemary, dry oregano, salt, black pepper with lemon zest, 0.5 teaspoon of cinnamon and allspice. Rub the lamb chops with this mixture. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes to an hour, or cover and refrigerate overnight according to recipe. Remove from refrigerator before cooking.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large heatproof skillet or casserole dish with a lid, heat the fat over medium-high heat. Add the chops (in batches if necessary) and fry for 3-4 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate. Add garlic, fresh oregano and chopped mint to the pan and sauté for 3-4 minutes until the garlic is soft. Add wine and tomato and stir. Place all the chops back into the pan, in layers if necessary. Cover and simmer in the oven for about an hour until the lamb is very tender.

Using tongs, transfer lamb chops to a platter and cover with aluminum foil. Skim the fat from the surface of the sauce and add tomato paste and 0.5 teaspoon of cinnamon. Taste and add seasonings. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Place chops on individual plates. Pour over the sauce and garnish with mint sprigs.

Recipe 4: Lamb chops with carrots

Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp. l. olive oil;
• 50 g butter;
• 500 g carrots, cut into thin strips;
• shallot bulb, chopped;
• kg lamb shoulder meat, boneless, cut into chops;
• onion, chopped;
• garlic clove, chopped;
• a pinch of dried oregano;
• 10 celery leaves, chopped;
• salt and pepper.

Step-by-step preparation:

Heat half the olive oil and butter in a saucepan, add the carrots and shallots and fry over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, heat the remaining butter and olive fat in another pan, add the lamb chops and fry over high heat for 4 minutes on both sides. Season with salt and pepper to taste and according to the recipe.

Add onion, garlic, oregano and celery leaves to the vegetables, reduce heat to moderate, cover and simmer for another 10 minutes. When the carrots are almost soft, transfer them to the pan with the chops and cook all together for 5 minutes.

Recipe 5: Mustard Breaded Lamb Chops

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp. l. grainy mustard;
• Art. l. chopped fresh rosemary;
• 2 tbsp. l. red grape vinegar;
• Art. l. cold pressed olive oil;
• 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce;
• 4 crushed cloves of garlic;
• freshly ground black pepper;
• 8 lean lamb chops, trim off visible fat;
• sweet potato puree with orange pulp and steamed broccoli (for garnish).

Cooking method:

To prepare lamb chops according to recipe, whisk together mustard, rosemary, vinegar, oil, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and pepper in a shallow glass dish. Place the chops and coat in the marinade on all sides. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

Preheat grill to high temperature. Fry the lamb chops for 2-3 minutes on each side. Cover with foil and let stand for 5 minutes. Serve the chops with sweet potato puree and boiled broccoli.

Per serving of chops: 179 calories, 17 g protein, 2 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 12 g fat (including 4 g saturated), 184 mg sodium. GI cannot be determined due to the minimal carbohydrate content.

Recipe 6: Delicious Grilled Lamb Chops with Mascarpone and Mint Pesto

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 8 chops (lamb tenderloin or ribs), at least 2.5cm thick, trim off excess fat;
• salt and freshly ground pepper;
• 90 g fresh mint leaves;
• 3 tbsp. spoons of mascarpone cheese;
• Art. spoon of pine nuts, fry;
• lemon juice;
• 60 ml olive oil and additional if necessary;
• fresh mint shoots for garnish.

Method for preparing chops:

Light a fire in a covered charcoal grill and let the coals burn until they turn to white ash. Using tongs, distribute the coals so that the thickness of the burning layer is 2 layers of coals, and position the grate at a distance of 13-15 cm above the coals. If you have a gas grill, turn the heat to medium-high, as per the lamb chops recipe. Cut the edges of the lamb pieces in 2-3 places to prevent them from curling. Season generously with salt and pepper and let sit at room temperature while you prepare the pesto for the chops.

To make pesto, place mint, cheese, pine nuts and lemon juice in a blender or food processor. Grind. Without turning off the blender, pour in 60 ml of olive oil and beat until a liquid mass is obtained. Add more oil if necessary to make the lamb chops more tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Place the pesto in the refrigerator while you grill the chops. Pesto can be made ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Sear the lamb for 3-5 minutes on each side until the chops are done to your preference. (If flare-ups occur, move them to a cooler part of the grill.) Test the chops for doneness by inserting a thermometer into a wide part of the meat without touching the bone, or by cutting into the lamb near the bone. Semi-cooked meat is pink near the bone, and the thermometer shows a temperature of 54 °C. Place chops on a platter and cover with aluminum foil until serving. Place a few spoonfuls of pesto on individual plates and top with 2 chops, one on top of the other. Garnish with mint sprigs and serve immediately.

Video recipe: Lamb chops in a frying pan

Chinese medicine considers lamb to be a medicinal food. Lamb is considered a good tonic for general weakness and fatigue. Mutton is the preferred meat for treating male sexual weakness, digestive diseases and abdominal pain. Lamb is rich in proteins, fats, vitamins B1, B2, C, calcium, phosphorus, and iron.

Ingredients

Lamb meat , eggs, breadcrumbs, flour, spices (black pepper, coriander, garlic), salt, vegetable oil for frying.

Recipe

1. Flat pieces of meat, cut from the upper part of the lamb hind leg, are well beaten around the bone. Rub with spices and herbs.

2. Leave the meat in a cold place for a couple of hours so that it is saturated with seasonings and sufficiently salted. You can add a little vinegar (lemon juice) to the meat, and the finished chops will take on a barbecue flavor.

3. Place eggs, flour, breadcrumbs in different dishes.

4. Dip the chops in beaten eggs, then in flour, again in eggs, then roll in breadcrumbs.

5. The chops should be fried over intense heat on both sides until a crispy crust appears.

6. A side dish for lamb chops can be potatoes, boiled in their jackets, then peeled and fried. It is better to use the smallest potatoes, about the size of a walnut (they can be fried whole), but if you don’t have that, any will do. Boil the potatoes in their skins, peel them, cut into flat pieces and fry in oil, adding spices. By preparing a refreshing daikon salad with this dish, you will have a complete second course for Sunday lunch. Ready-made tkemali and chili sauces go well with lamb chops.

Never be afraid to do what you don't know how to do. Remember: the ark was built by amateurs. Professionals built the Titanic. A dessert without cheese is like a beauty without one eye - Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin Seize the moment. Think of all those women on the Titanic who refused dessert. - Erma Bombeck My weaknesses are food and men. Exactly in that order. - Dolly Parton If you go to the store to buy bread, the chance that you will come out with only a loaf of bread is one in three billion. - Erma Bombeck All we need is love, but a little chocolate here and there won't hurt either. - Charles Schulz Don't put off until dinner what you can eat at lunch. - A.S. Pushkin I’m afraid of heartburn or an allergy to caviar from Hennessy, that I’ll get lost at night in a large apartment on Rublyovka and die. - KVN song Everything that I like in life is either immoral or it makes me fat. - François de La Rochefoucauld I use wine when cooking. Sometimes I even add it to dishes. - V.S. Fields. How can you rule a country in which there are 246 varieties of cheese?" - Charles de Gaulle What disgusting, what disgusting this jellied fish of yours! - Hippolyte in the film "The Irony of Fate" I simply cannot eat caviar, but I have to force myself. - Heroine Audrey Tautou in the film "Fatal Beauty" When there is major trouble, I deny myself everything except food and drink. Oscar Wilde What is the difference between a husband and a boyfriend? Thirty pounds! - Cindy Garner Camembert... is another man's friend in difficult times. - Georges Clemenceau You Are you crazy? A dear friend from afar flies in for a minute - and you don’t have a cake! - Carlson, who lives on the roof. On our street there is a bakery called “Bonjour, croissant!” I’m tempted to go to Paris and open a bakery " Hello, toast!" - Fran Lebowitz. And I'll open a bakery in Washington, "Hey, damn it! - Marina R. The food here is absolutely terrible and the portions are too small. - Woody Allen A robot will never replace a person! - Ogre If you want to know me, eat with me. - James Joyce Uh-oh, dear! What kind of peacock is this? Don't you see, we're eating... - Genie from "The Adventures of Munchausen" If a country doesn't have at least fifty varieties of cheese and good wine, it means the country has reached the end of its rope. Salvador Dali By chewing your food thoroughly, you help society. - Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov, “12 Chairs” Nothing brightens up the table like a firecracker in Olivier! - Folk wisdom. If you have unexpected guests and there is nothing in the house, go down to the cellar and take a leg of lamb. - Elena Molokhovets And honey... I just don’t understand what the secret is... If there is honey... then it’s gone right away! - Winnie the Pooh Today I will be photographed for the magazine "Skilled Cook". I urgently need to wash myself and buy new insoles! - Freken Bok I haven’t eaten lobster for three days. - A snickering official (KVN joke) Hunger is not a thing - it won’t run away into the forest. - Popular wisdom Nothing improves the taste of home-cooked food more than studying the prices in a restaurant. - Folk wisdom

I can’t believe that I still don’t have a single lamb dish on my blog! But I cook lamb quite regularly, and a leg of lamb baked in the oven with garlic and rosemary is generally one of my signature dishes. Somehow I haven’t gotten around to posting about lamb yet! But now I am filling this gap and publishing a recipe for lamb chops. Actually, this is not even a recipe, but rather a technology: how to fry lamb chops so that they are soft, juicy and aromatic.

But first, a lyrical digression about lamb. In our family we didn’t cook lamb at all, we’re all about pigs :). My mother is from the Leningrad region, and my father is from Ukraine, and these are not the most “lamb” regions, so both of my parents still have a prejudice against lamb, supposedly it has an “unpleasant smell” (this, of course, is complete nonsense! ) But the Chief Taster simply grew up eating lamb! In France it is very, very popular! In addition, the father of the Chief Taster comes from the small town of Sisteron in the foothills of the Alps, and this city is the real “lamb capital” of France! “Lamb from Sisteron” in France is the same stable combination as we have “Tula gingerbread” or “Vologda butter”. It is truly incredibly tasty, since lambs in the foothills of the Alps graze on wonderful green meadows and eat very tasty grass!

So, during our visits to France, all our relatives and friends constantly baked lamb legs and shoulder blades, fried lamb cutlets on the bones, etc. Moreover, all this stuff was bought from a “familiar butcher around the corner” immediately before cooking, the meat was fresh, and the butcher almost under the hood took it out of the back room, saying “I specially set aside the best pieces for my best customer Madame de Pourpignac! " (How, with such intense “lambing,” all of Gilles’s relatives maintain a weight of 42 to 48 kg is a mystery shrouded in darkness.) Of course, I learned how to cook lamb. By the way, it’s not difficult to cook, easier than, for example, beef. If the meat is of high quality, it almost always turns out soft and juicy.

Ingredients:

5 small lamb chops on the bone with a total weight of 800 g [In the photo I have loin chops, but you can also cook small rib chops this way, only the cooking time will be shorter. The meat, of course, needs to be young, beautiful, fresh, of high quality, and not frozen. Look what nice chops the Chief Taster bought today! :orega

1 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. dried rosemary

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1/4 tsp. salt

[Lamb is a meat with a bright taste, and it is believed that this taste is best shaded and emphasized by these herbs - oregano, thyme and rosemary. They all grow in Provence and are often used in French cuisine. Of course, you can use 1 1/4 tsp. any of them or replace them with the Herbes de Provence mixture. Follow your tastes.]

Rub the chops with 1/2 tbsp. olive oil. In a small bowl, mix all the dried herbs, salt and pepper.

Rub the lamb with the spice mixture and leave for 10 minutes.

Grease a large frying pan with the remaining olive oil and heat well. Fry the chops over medium-high heat.
[Cooking time depends on the thickness of your chops and the heat of your stove and ranges from 2 to 5 minutes per side. I have fairly thick chops (4 cm thick) and they cooked in 9 minutes today.]

Never be afraid to do what you don't know how to do. Remember: the ark was built by amateurs. Professionals built the Titanic. A dessert without cheese is like a beauty without one eye - Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin Seize the moment. Think of all those women on the Titanic who refused dessert. - Erma Bombeck My weaknesses are food and men. Exactly in that order. - Dolly Parton If you go to the store to buy bread, the chance that you will come out with only a loaf of bread is one in three billion. - Erma Bombeck All we need is love, but a little chocolate here and there won't hurt either. - Charles Schulz Don't put off until dinner what you can eat at lunch. - A.S. Pushkin I’m afraid of heartburn or an allergy to caviar from Hennessy, that I’ll get lost at night in a large apartment on Rublyovka and die. - KVN song Everything that I like in life is either immoral or it makes me fat. - François de La Rochefoucauld I use wine when cooking. Sometimes I even add it to dishes. - V.S. Fields. How can you rule a country in which there are 246 varieties of cheese?" - Charles de Gaulle What disgusting, what disgusting this jellied fish of yours! - Hippolyte in the film "The Irony of Fate" I simply cannot eat caviar, but I have to force myself. - Heroine Audrey Tautou in the film "Fatal Beauty" When there is major trouble, I deny myself everything except food and drink. Oscar Wilde What is the difference between a husband and a boyfriend? Thirty pounds! - Cindy Garner Camembert... is another man's friend in difficult times. - Georges Clemenceau You Are you crazy? A dear friend from afar flies in for a minute - and you don’t have a cake! - Carlson, who lives on the roof. On our street there is a bakery called “Bonjour, croissant!” I’m tempted to go to Paris and open a bakery " Hello, toast!" - Fran Lebowitz. And I'll open a bakery in Washington, "Hey, damn it! - Marina R. The food here is absolutely terrible and the portions are too small. - Woody Allen A robot will never replace a person! - Ogre If you want to know me, eat with me. - James Joyce Uh-oh, dear! What kind of peacock is this? Don't you see, we're eating... - Genie from "The Adventures of Munchausen" If a country doesn't have at least fifty varieties of cheese and good wine, it means the country has reached the end of its rope. Salvador Dali By chewing your food thoroughly, you help society. - Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov, “12 Chairs” Nothing brightens up the table like a firecracker in Olivier! - Folk wisdom. If you have unexpected guests and there is nothing in the house, go down to the cellar and take a leg of lamb. - Elena Molokhovets And honey... I just don’t understand what the secret is... If there is honey... then it’s gone right away! - Winnie the Pooh Today I will be photographed for the magazine "Skilled Cook". I urgently need to wash myself and buy new insoles! - Freken Bok I haven’t eaten lobster for three days. - A snickering official (KVN joke) Hunger is not a thing - it won’t run away into the forest. - Popular wisdom Nothing improves the taste of home-cooked food more than studying the prices in a restaurant. - Folk wisdom