Pan-Grilled Lamb Shoulder Chops

Courtesy of Food Network Kitchens

Lamb is a new thing for me. I never enjoyed it until this past year -- I guess taste buds can change! There were some shoulder chops on sale at Teeter, so I figured this was a great time to try it out. I also have this wine that is amazing and goes well with certain foods. It went nicely with the lamb -- Dark Lady Pinotage. I highly recommend the wine, if you can find it! I have to get it special ordered from a wine store, but very worth it! The lamb chops came out very well and were very tender. The marinade also was a hit; I think I'd even try it on pork!  Yum. The key to this was marinading the chops for about 12 hours...it's a great meal to put in the marinade in the morning and then they're ready for grilling when you get home! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Four 8- to 12-ounce lamb shoulder chops

 

Directions:

To make the marinade: whisk the lemon juice, mustard, rosemary, garlic, and 1 teaspoon of the salt together in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil and season with pepper. Transfer the marinade to a large sealable plastic bag. Put the lamb chops in the bag, seal, and shake vigorously to evenly coat the meat. Marinate at room temperature for 1 hour or in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 12. Remove the chops from the marinade and transfer them to a plate. Discard the marinade. Using a spoon, lightly scrape the remaining marinade off the chops and pat them dry. Preheat a large cast-iron grill pan over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Raise the heat to medium-high. Season the chops with salt. Place 2 chops on the grill pan, and cook until the chops have distinctive grill marks, about 3 minutes. To make crosshatched grill marks, re-position the chops, moving them about 45 degrees on the ridged pan, and continue to cook about 3 minutes more. (The chops will have only cooked on one side at this point.) Set the chops aside and repeat with the remaining 2 chops. Return the first set of chops to the pan to cook them on the other side. Reduce the heat to medium low, and cook the chops until medium-rare, about 2 minutes. Repeat with the other chops. Let the chops rest for about 5 minutes and serve.  NOTE: This did take me a bit longer to cook because I wanted them Medium -- just cook a few more minutes on each side until the desired temperature.