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Recipe Friday: Not a Baaa-d Idea
Catersource
February 10, 2023
9 Min Read
February is Lamb Lover’s Month, which means it's a great time for “ewe” to menu easy and versatile lamb chops.
Lamb chops are a simple and elegant presentation option for lamb, with pieces cut into individual servings. Rack or rib chops come from the rack of lamb. Single or double-cut, these elegant chops are often frenched to expose the bone and used in appetizers, salads or entrees. Loin chops are lamb’s version of a t-bone or porterhouse steak. Shoulder chops (called arm or blade chops) are the most economical lamb chops. Lamb chops can be broiled, grilled, pan-fried or roasted. The cook time will vary depending on the thickness of the chop.
Fresh American Lamb marries well with a variety of herbs and spices. Simply season lamb chops with your favorite marinade, sauce or spice rub. When you start with American Lamb, you can count on freshness…and fresh menu inspiration. Chop! Chop!
American Lamb Rib Chops Scottadita
Recipe and image courtesy American Lamb Board
Yield: 12
In Italian, the word Scottadita means burnt fingers. And yes, you have permission to pick up the hot Scottadita chops by the bone!
Ingredients
12 ea. American Lamb rib chops, frenched
1 ½ cups extra virgin olive oil
30 ea. garlic cloves, crushed
½ cup white wine
¼ lemon juice
½ cup mint leaves
¼ rosemary sprigs
¼ cup Italian parsley leaves
¼ cup lemon zest
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
3 ea. radicchio heads, quartered
6 ea. Belgian endive heads, halved lengthwise
Lemon juice as needed
Grated lemon peel as needed
Olive oil as needed
Method
In a blender or food processor, combine olive oil, garlic, wine, lemon juice, mint, rosemary, parsley, lemon zest, red pepper, salt and pepper. Blend until a smooth consistency is reached. Set aside ½ cup for later use. Pour a thin layer of the blended mix into a non-reactive container. Place the rib chops in the mixture. Pour the rest of the mixture over the chops. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
30 minutes prior to cooking, remove lamb from refrigerator. Grill chops over high heat until rare or medium-rare. Briefly grill radicchio and endive.
For each serving, accompany one rib chop with a wedge of radicchio and half head of Belgian endive. Squeeze lemon juice over the radicchio and endive and sprinkle lightly with grated lemon peel, salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil.
Use the ½ cup of reserved marinade as a plate sauce. Garnish with mint.
Grilled American Lamb Shoulder Chops with Herb Marinade and Eggplant Caponata
Recipe and image courtesy American Lamb Board for Chef Will Gilson, Puritan & Company (Cambridge, MA)
Yield: 8
Ingredients for Lamb and Marinade
8 ea. American Lamb shoulder chops
½ cup minced scallions, white and green parts (4 scallions)
½ cup minced fresh tarragon
½ cup minced fresh parsley
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup dry white wine
1 ea. lemon, zested and juiced
2 ea. cloves garlic
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, as needed
Method
In a blender, combine scallions, tarragon, parsley, oil, wine, lemon zest and juice, and garlic, and season with salt and pepper; puree until smooth. Coat both sides of chops generously with herb mixture. Allow to marinate for two to three hours or overnight.
Ingredients for Eggplant Caponata
½ cup vegetable oil
2 ea. small Japanese eggplants (or 1 medium eggplant), small dice
2 ea. ribs celery, small dice
1 ea. red onion, small dice
3 ea. cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup diced roasted piquillo or red peppers
2 T capers
½ cup raisins
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup sherry vinegar
2 T sambal or mild hot sauce (or to taste)
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup diced scallions
½ cup chopped parsley
½ cup chopped mint
Method
In a large sauté pan, heat oil. Add eggplant, celery, onion and garlic. Season with salt and pepper; cook until soft, about five minutes. Add tomatoes, peppers and capers; cook until tomatoes break down. Add raisins, balsamic vinegar, sherry vinegar and sambal; cook until vinegar mellows. Remove from heat; add oil once cool. Finish with scallions, parsley and mint.
To Finish
Preheat a gas or charcoal grill for high-heat grilling. Season marinated chops with salt and pepper. Grill until chops have distinctive grill marks, about three minutes. Reposition chops to create crosshatched grill marks; cook about three minutes more. (The chops will have only cooked on one side.) Flip chops; reduce heat to medium-low or move to cooler part of the grill. Cook chops until medium-rare, twi to three minutes more. Let chops rest for about five minutes; serve on top of Caponata.
Grilled Lamb Loin Chops with Yogurt, Orange and Olives
Recipe and impage courtesy American Lamb Board for Chef Jesse Griffiths, Dai Due (Austin, Texas)
Yield: 4-6
Ingredients
1 ½ lbs American Lamb loin chops, 1 to 1 ½ inches thick
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 T plain yogurt
Juice and zest of one orange, divided
4 ea, garlic cloves, finely chopped, divided
1 ea. small red onion, finely chopped
¾ cup finely chopped green olives
¼ cup coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Method
Pat chops dry with paper towels; season with salt and pepper. Lay chops in a shallow non-reactive pan, such as an eight-inch-square baking dish.
In a small bowl, combine yogurt, half of orange juice and zest, and half of garlic. Whisk ingredients together; pour over chops, turning once to coat both sides with marinade. Cover pan with plastic wrap; refrigerate overnight.
Remove chops from refrigerator 30 to 45 minutes prior to grilling to allow meat to come to room temperature. Remove chops from marinade; let most of it to drip off. Lightly oil grill or grill pan. Grill chops over medium-high heat for three minutes; turn each chop 90 degrees and cook for another three minutes or until chops are nicely charred. Flip chops; cook on other side for about six more minutes, turning halfway through. Chops should still be pink inside. Remove from grill to a warm plate.
In a small bowl, combine remaining orange juice and zest, remaining garlic, onion, olives, parsley and oil; stir well to combine. Spoon some sauce over each chop; serve immediately.
Porcini Crusted American Lamb Chop Salad
Recipe and image courtesy American Lamb Board for Chef Aaron Masanotti, CEC, Sand Point Country Club (Seattle, WA)
Yield: 8
Rack of lamb is often coated in a crust before roasting. Bread crumbs, fresh hrbs and nuts are common ingredients in lamb rack crusts.
Ingredients
2 ea. American Lamb racks
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Wildflower honey as needed
1 lb baby arugula
1 lb baby kale
Method
Season racks with salt and pepper; sear in a hot cast iron pan on all sides until crusty. Remove from pan; brush with honey, then coat with Porcini Crust. Bake at 375°F to finish cooking to desired temperature. Remove from oven; let rest for 15 minutes. Slice double chops for each plate.
Ingredients for Crust
2 cups dried porcini mushrooms
2 cups toasted Panko bread crumbs
½ lb fried sage
½ lb fried basil
Method
In a food processor, combine mushrooms, bread crumbs, sage and basil.
Ingredients for Seasonal Pickled Vegetables
2. ea. watermelon radishes
½ lb sunchokes
2 ea. medium golden beets
2 cups pickling liquid
Method
Clean and peel radishes, sunchokes and beets. Thinly slice in a mandolin; submerge in warmed pickling liquid. Let cool; reserve until plating.
Ingredients for Confit Wild Mushrooms
½ lb seasonal wild mushrooms
Fresh thyme to taste
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Garlic to taste
Extra virgin olive oil as needed
Method
Clean and prep mushrooms. Using a sous vide technique, season mushrooms with thyme, salt, pepper, garlic and oil. Cook at 185°F for 30 minutes. Once cooked, cool in an ice bath; reserve until plating.
Ingredients for Rosemary-Mint Balsamic Reduction
¼ lb rosemary
¼ lb mint
1 qt white balsamic vinegar
1 cup wildflower honey
Method
In a small saucepan, combine rosemary, mint, vinegar and honey; reduce over medium-low heat until syrupy, about 30 to 45 minutes. Once mix coats the back of a spoon, remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
To serve
In a large bowl, toss arugula, kale and Seasoned Pickled Vegetables in a small amount of Rosemary-Mint Balsamic Reduction, oil, salt and pepper. Plate and serve with lamb chops and drizzle of Rosemary-Mint Balsamic Reduction.
Rack of American Lamb with Chimichurri Aioli
Recipe and image courtesy American Lamb Board for Jenna Johansen, Denver, Colorado
Yield: 50
Grilled lamb chops or lamb “lollipops” are often served with a signature chutney or sauce such as chimichurri aioli
Ingredients
50 ea. American Lamb rib chops, frenched
3 ¼ cups water
4 oz. fresh basil, chopped
2 oz fresh tarragon, chopped
1 ¼ cups dijon-style mustard
1 ¼ cups fresh lemon juice
¼ cup chopped fresh garlic
2 T chopped fresh shallots
2 T minced fresh rosemary
1 T crushed red pepper flakes
1 T kosher salt
½ gal canola and extra virgin olive oil blend
Chimichurri Aioli (recipe below)
Method
Trim excess fat from lamb chops.
In blender or food processor, combine water, basil, tarragon, mustard, lemon juice, garlic, shallots, rosemary, pepper flakes and salt. Slowly drizzle oil in thin stream to form emulsion. Pour a thin layer of the marinade into a non-reactive container; place rib chops in the mixture pouring the remaining marinade over chops. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
Remove lamb chops from refrigerator at least 30 minutes before cooking. Season lightly with kosher salt and pepper. Grill chops over high heat until medium rare. You may also roast lamb racks and then cut into individual chops. Serve chops with desired amount of Chimichurri Aioli.
Ingredients for Chimichurri Aioli
1 ¼ cups canola and extra virgin olive oil blend
1 ¼ cups red wine vinegar
3 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T dijon-style mustard
1 tsp agave nectar
1 ¼ cups finely chopped fresh mint
1 ¼ cups finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 ¼ cups finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp finely chopped fresh garlic
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
6 cups mayonnaise (fresh or prepared)
1 T minced fresh garlic
Method
In a bowl, blend oils, vinegar, mustard and agave nectar using stick blender. Fold in mint, parsley, cilantro and garlic; season to taste. Combine with mayonnaise and minced garlic. Reserve unused Chimichurri Aioli in refrigerator for up to three days.
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