How to Cook Lamb Chops in a Pan

How to Cook Lamb Chops in a Pan

Many people do not like lamb because they often compare it to beef. It should not be compared to beef because it is nothing like it. People also think lamb chops have a specific dirty taste to them when in all reality that is just an over cooked piece of meat that has turned gamey. Lamb can be quite delicious when properly cooked and even better when paired with a nice chimichurri sauce or a minted pea side dish. They are easy to cook but can be overdone or overcooked very easily as well.

Choosing the Best Ingredient

When lamb is not the country’s main source of protein, it can be a little difficult to source out and find a decent price for it, especially when beef and pork are much cheaper and in abundance to find anywhere. So, you will just have to go with what you can find. Most likely they will be vacuum sealed packs of lamb chops. Unless you go to a butcher, you may be able to find a better deal and a wider selection. If the lamb rack is together then that is no problem either.

Preparing the Ingredients

If you get a small rack of lamb, chances are there is probably 4 or 5 chops on the rack together. You will want to keep them whole when you cook them. You will also need to French the bones which is a cutting technique. Cut the fat, meat and sinew off between the bones but still keep the chops together. This will help them to cook evenly and make it much easier to portion them later. It also looks nicer than having meat hang off the bones after portioning them. Make sure to season the lamb with kosher salt and black pepper all over as well.

During the Cooking Process

Make sure the pan is very hot to start with a little vegetable oil in order to get a nice good initial sear on the rack of lamb. Once they have been seared, remove them from the pan and cut them individually with one bone per lollipop lamb chop. Place them back in the pan and sear them on both sides of the lamb for just a minute or two. Then quickly take them out of the pan and transfer to a plate. The cooking process is very quick and you should end up with medium rare to medium lamb chops.

The Final Touches

After the lamb comes out of the pan and it is ready to serve, there is not much else to do to it. Just could garnish with some fresh herbs and serve with a great sauce. Lamb chops go great with red wine, English peas, mint and potato sides really well.

Steps:

  1. Season the rack of lamb with kosher salt and black pepper completely. Place a cast iron skillet on the stovetop and heat to medium high heat. Add a little vegetable oil to the pan.
  2. Once the pan starts to smoke slightly, gently lay the rack of lamb in the pan and sear on one side for a couple minutes. Then flip over and sear the other side of the lamb.
  3. Remove the the rack of lamb from the pan and cut into individual portions with one bone each. The place the lamb chops back in the pan and sear for a couple minutes on each side.

After searing quickly remove them from the pan and transfer to a plate. Serve and enjoy!

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