As a food blogger, I have to cook ahead of the curve. My family is getting used to early holidays. I need to test the (fill in the blank: Thanksgiving turkey, Chinese New Year stir fry, Christmas roast beast) recipe so I can post it ahead of time.
Also, as a food blogger, I write because I love it, not because I'm raking in the mad cash. I have to keep my day job to pay for my blogging habit.
Every now and again, these two collide. I had grand plans for a St. Patrick's day feast, probably involving a lamb stew. Then the project I've worked on for a year installed over the weekend. The install went about as well as I could have hoped, but there were a string of minor issues and unrelated problems that kept me working from Friday morning until slightly after Midnight on Sunday morning.
Not to mention juggling sick kids all week. Is it just me, or has this been a particularly bad winter for colds?
My grand plans of a slow cooker stew went out the window. It was Sunday morning, I was crushed by my sleep deficit, the kids had an event scheduled for the afternoon, and I still had to do the grocery shopping.
We're out of milk and eggs - a bad sign.
My long, slow cooked dinner became a quickie St. Patrick's day stand in. Just add Guinness.
If your week has been like mine, add a shot of Irish whiskey. You deserve it.
The only saving grace was the sudden appearance of Spring. Lamb stew became grilled lamb chops, so I could sit on the deck, sip my early Guinness, and enjoy the 60ยฐF weather.
Recipe: Grilled Lamb Loin Chops with Garlic, Mustard, and Green Onion Marinade
Equipment:
- Grill (I use a Weber Summit. Here is the current version of my grill.)
Ingredients
- 6 Lamb Loin Chops (Lamb T-Bones), each roughly 1 ยผ inches thick.
Marinade
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 green onions, trimmed, green and white parts minced
- 2 tablespoons honey mustard
- ยผ cup vegetable oil
Directions
1. Marinate the lamb chops
Whisk the marinade ingredients in a medium bowl until they form a thick paste. Remove 2 tablespoons of the marinade and save for later. Add the lamb chops to the bowl with the rest of the marinade and toss to coat. Marinate the lamb for at least 30 minutes, preferably 1 to 2 hours, tossing occasionally to coat.
Or: Put the marinade ingredients in a zip-top bag, zip the bag closed, then squish the bag to combine the ingredients. Reserve 2 tablespoons, then add the lamb to the bag. Squeeze the air out of the bag and zip closed. Marinate, flipping occasionally to coat the lamb with the marinade.
2. Preheat the grill
Set the grill up for cooking with direct high heat. I preheat the grill for 15 minutes with all the burners on high then , brush the grill grate clean.
3. Grill the lamb
Remove the lamb chops from the marinade, letting excess marinade drip back into the bowl, and put the chops on the grill over direct high heat. Grill the chops until they are well browned on both sides and reach an internal temperature of 130ยฐF for medium, about 8 minutes.
I use a three flip approach (or a 2-2-2-2 pattern) to get a crosshatch of grill marks. Grill the chops with the lid closed until they have a good set of grill marks on the bottom, about 2 minutes, then flip them and grill until the other side is marked, about 2 more minutes. Flip the chops again, rotating them 90 degrees as you flip, so the next set of marks forms a cross. Grill until browned, about 2 minutes, then flip them one last time and grill for a final 2 minutes.
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After third flip, with crosshatch of grill marks. Note that the chops are rotated, now pointing Northeast. |
4. Glaze and serve the lamb
Remove the lamb chops to a platter and immediately brush them on both sides with the reserved 2 tablespoons of the marinade. Let the chops rest for ten minutes, then serve.
Notes
- This marinade is very oily. This has a good side and a bad side. The good side is it helps brown the lamb. The bad side is grill flareups. If your grill is prone to grease fires, pat the lamb chops with paper towels before putting them on the grill. This will remove a lot of the marinade, but that's OK - the final glaze of marinade will add the flavor back to the lamb.
What do you think? Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts:
Grilled Lamb Loin Chops, Michael Symon Style
Grilled Rack of Lamb
Grilled Butterflied Leg of Lamb
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Mike V @ DadCooksDinner
You're welcome. And, bourbon smoked sea salt sounds delicious.
Sheila Ann
Hi! Made this last night and it turned out great. The only thing I changed is that I finished with a sprinkle of bourbon smoked sea salt. Served with roasted green beans, tzatziki and warm pita bread. Good stuff, Mike!!!
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner
Thank you, and hang in there - spring has to be coming soon, right?
Jason Rice
I stumbled upon your blog looking up something about corned beef I believe. (I forgot how I found it, actually, but I've had your blog bookmarked for several days now...)
Like you, I'm a dad who cooks dinner every night, and also have been blogging about it at EatsForAllAges.com. I'm quite a bit newer to both being a blogger and a dad than you, but just wanted to say I really like your blog and will definitely be following you and digging through your older posts. This lamb looks awesome, and I will try it out soon if it ever warms up around here!
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner
Thank you. Enjoy the Genesis - it's a great grill.
Marcy Holmes
It's not just you - it's been a terrible year for colds. I've only gotten one, but it knocked me flat. Meanwhile my co-workers were constantly out either sick themselves or with sick kids at home.
I'm going to try this recipe for sure. I've only tried lamb a couple times and it's always prepared the same way - this looks like a nice change of pace.
I recently purchased a Genesis. Hopefully I'll get to try the rest of your book's bbq tips soon.