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These minted lamb chops are simple, quick and impressive. It transforms humble lamb chops into a flavoursome and delicious dinner that is suitable for impressing guests or even a quick mid-night meal since it takes only minutes to pull together.
What are lamb chops?
Lamb chops, or cutlets as they are often referred to, are the ribs of the lamb. You can buy them before they have been cut apart which is then a rack of lamb.
Chops are the most expensive and tender cut of lamb, and absolutely beautiful when fried or grilled, either on their own, or with seasonings and flavours.
How long should you cook them?
Lamb cutlets are most tender when they are cooked to medium-rare. They aren’t suitable for slow or long cooking. To cook to medium rare on a grill or frying pan takes around 7-8 minutes depending on the thickness of the meat. If you want a well-done piece then cook for an additional 4-5 minutes.
How do you know when they are done?
There are 3 ways to determine how cooked the lamb is:
Firstly, you can learn to press the meat and gauge how ‘done’ it is. It takes a bit of practice but once you’ve nailed it then it’s a great skill to have. To learn this, place the pad of your index finger gently against the pad of your thumb. Feel the fleshy piece on the inside of your hand just underneath your thumb, This is what ‘rare’ should feel like when you press the meat in it’s thickest part.
Press the different fingers against your thumb to see how the tension changes through medium-rare (middle finger), medium (ring finger) and well done (your little finger).
Secondly, you can use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chop. For medium-rare you want the chop to be 65C/ 150F. For well done you want to bring it up to 75C / 167F. Medium well will be in the middle of the two.
Finally, you can carefully cut into one cutlet and take a peek inside. But obviously, the chop won’t look as impressive when you serve it.
Ingredients
This recipe needs only 5 ingredients, plus salt and pepper:
- Lamb chops (cutlets) – around 3 per person is a good amount
- Fresh mint leaves – you could use dried mint (use around half the amount), but the flavour is really best with fresh mint
- Garlic cloves – peeled
- Shallots – peeled
- Olive oil
How to make them
Roughly chop the shallots and garlic and add to a food processor or blender along with the olive oil and fresh mint and some salt and pepper. Blitz until you have a rough paste that you can easily spread.
Heat a frying pan or grill pan over medium high heat and add a small splash of oil (you won’t need much because of the oil in the mint mixture). Spoon half of the mint puree over the pieces of lamb and spread it evenly over one side of each piece. Add the pieces to the pan, mint covered side down. Spoon the remaining mint mixture onto the back of each piece and spread it out.
Cook the lamb for 3 minutes before flipping it over. Cook the second half for 4 minutes before serving.
Looking for more great lamb recipes? Check out these honey & orange lamb cutlets or this lamb steak with feta and mint gnocchi. I love to serve lamb chops with these minted peas too!
Products that work great for this recipe
Russell Hobbs 3-in-1 Blender
Cole & Mason Mezzaluna / Herb Chopper
Cole & Mason Herb Keeper
Minted Lamb Chops
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 1x
Description
These minted lamb chops are delicious and impressive, yet they only take minutes to prepare, making them perfect for a dinner party or an indulgent mid-week meal.
The default recipe serves one
Ingredients
- 3 lamb chops/cutlets (300g / 10oz including bone)
- 8–10 large mint leaves
- 1 large shallot, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Add the mint, shallot, olive oil and garlic to a food processor or blender. Season well and then blitz until you have a rough paste that is easy to spread.
- Spoon or brush half the mixture over one side of the lamb chops.
- Heat a frying pan or griddle pan over medium-high heat. Add a small splash of oil and then, once hot, add the chops, mint side down, to the pan and cook on one side for 3 minutes. While they are cooking spoon the remaining mint mixture over the exposed side of the chops and spread evenly.
- Turn the chops using tongs and cook on the other side for a further 4 minutes for medium-rare. Alernatively, turn and cook for a further 3-4 minutes for well done.
Notes
- Lamb chops are best cooked to medium-rare and will become tougher the longer they are cooked
- Fresh mint gives the best results for this recipe. If you only have dried mint then use half the amount (around 1 tsp per person)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Hob
- Cuisine: British
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 850
- Fat: 73g
- Carbohydrates: 6g
- Protein: 47g
Keywords: lamb, dinner, entertaining, midweek, easy, quick, indulgent, british