Lamb Chops

[bleudauvergne]

I've got 4 lamb chops and I want to make the best of them. They're so little and cute. I understand mint compliments lamb, and so do white beans, but does anyone have any marinade ideas? I plan to serve them within the next few days. I want to do something interesting, maybe out of the ordinary.

Thanks for any ideas!

- Lucy

[balmagowry]

I've got 4 lamb chops and I want to make the best of them.  They're so little and cute.  I understand mint compliments lamb, and so do white beans, but does anyone have any marinade ideas?  I plan to serve them within the next few days.  I want to do something interesting, maybe out of the ordinary.

Bleu, I know this probably isn't what you wanted to hear, but an hour's careful consideration of this subject has not affected my initial reaction, which was: NOTHING! Don't do anything! A good lamb chop, especially one that is little and cute, should IMO be done as simply as possible. Grilled or broiled, crusty outside and seriously juicily pink inside, I can't imagine anything more delicious. (I realize you want to do something interesting; I just hate to think of being too interesting with this particular cut of meat. ) Of course, lamb and rosemary are the best of friends; I rarely make a leg of lamb or a lamb stew that doesn't involve fresh rosemary. But for little chops like that I think I'd rather have an accompaniment perfumed with rosemary - like a risotto, perhaps, or sliced potatoes. (My mother used to slice potatoes, lay them in overlapping rows in a shallow pan, sprinkle fresh thyme or rosemary, drizzle OO, and bung 'em into a hot oven until they were beautifully brown; the slices just thick enough that they stayed soft underneath/inside. Simple, delicious, harmonized with almost any kind of meat....) Of course, I know I'm eccentric: I loathe mint jelly. (Oh no - guess cornichons aren't my only sin after all. ) I do like mint in the old-fashioned English preparation, the one that (racks memory, it's been a long time) uses vinegar and is not sweet - but I also know that if it were me I wouldn't be bothering with it for lamb chops.

Peas... peas is nice... I loves peas....

[paul o' vendange]

I'm with balmagowry - s/p, that's it. However, I'm also a big fan of a bit of sauce made from the animal itself, as an extension of the pure flavor of the meat. You mentioned white beans, which I also love, esp. with shank. Have you considered doing a small sauce, using a bit of reduced lamb stock from riblets or the like? I enjoy making a simple integral sauce this way, with in addition to mirepoix, garlic and tomato, an infusion of rosemary the last 1/2 hour, and black pepper the last 10-15 minutes (to get the spice/resiny character, without that much heat). But you still can't go wrong - start with good meat, and trust it. My humble $0.02.

Paul

[Milt]

When I prepare lamb chops, I always broil them. Seasoned meat tenderizer is used some of the time, but not always. My family loves lamb chops prepared thusly. The first dinner my son prepared for his girl friend (Valentine's Day 2003) consisted of broiled lamb chops, potatoes, green beans and salad. She was impressed.

[Jason Perlow]

I'm generally with Balmagowry in the "do nothing except salt and pepper" camp, but I've had baby lamb chops with sort of an Indian-style seasoning on it as an alternative to just salt and pepper. Dust with Garam Masala and then broiled, served with some basmati rice pilaf? With a coriander and mint chutney dipping sauce condiment and maybe some Raita?

EDIT: This recipe looks pretty good, but I just found it by searching for "Indian Lamb Chops" on Google:

http://www.wholefoods.com/recipes/wh_lambchops.html

and this one, which you could modify accordingly and use as your marinade and just broil, but the spicing seems about right

http://food4.epicurious.com/HyperNews/get/...00/47270/1.html

Another possibility would be to dust them with the Garam Masala spice mix, let them sit covered in the fridge for 15-20 mins to let it absorb, and then marinate in a yogurt/coriander/mint (they have prepared mint and coriander chutneys you can mix with the yogurt) mixture and then broil.

[Sentiamo]

Hope y'all are not sharing those 4 cuties Lucy!!

I agree, dont muck around with the flavour if they are mere mouthfuls, savour them as is, maybe a litle rub with a touch of seasalt, pepper,anchovy fillet and parsley? And make a little pan gravy from that?

But then, I do love my anchovies with lamb.

Go figure!

Edited March 28, 2004 by Sentiamo (log)

[bloviatrix]

I make a thick paste-like mixture of evoo, rosemary and scallions and rub it on the chops and let it sit for awhile. Then I either broil them, or do them in a skillet, deglazing the pan with a bit of port to create a sauce.

[bleudauvergne]

Here they are.

I've noticed in photos in one of my American cookbooks that the rib bone is long and has not been broken. Is partially cutting the rib (It's still attached, by the meat) the French way? It has come this way from other butchers too.

I have never cooked indian before, hmmm. It may be time to try. I know I know, might be better to do nothing but S&P. But I'm in the mood for something different!

I have a question about the second recipe that Jason posted. What spices are in Garam Masala and can I mix some up myself? What is a replacement for Ghee? Fermented yak butter doesn't come easy in these parts.

Ah! I see it's simply clarified butter. This will be good because my husband has been bugging me about the butter. "You have started a collection of butter!" he exclaimed. A couple of weeks ago I became obscessed with finding the best farm butter available to me and bought three different kinds. So now I shall make GHEE. From the Food Nepal website - "Ghee is properly done when water is completely evaporated from butter. To find out if water is properly evaporated follow the following procedure. Pour heated butter into small piece of paper. Light the paper on fire. If it gives crackling noise, it is indicating the presence of water. Heat butter for some more time. With experience one can tell if ghee is done with the smell and color." This is going to be FUN! Another site mentions adding cloves to the butter while preparing the ghee. Is that a good idea?

Now, to find CURDS. I can't even find cottage cheese in this country. I wonder what would happen if I used creme fraiche...

Then there's still the idea of enjoying them in their nakedness, and concentrating on what to serve with them.... The idea of anchovy fillet & parsley sounds very nice.

I'm still thinking.

More ideas welcome!

edited to add link about mirepoix - still thinking...

Edited March 28, 2004 by bleudauvergne (log)

[bleudauvergne]

Have you considered doing a small sauce, using a bit of reduced lamb stock from riblets or the like?

I'm considering it!

I enjoy making a simple integral sauce this way, with in addition to mirepoix, garlic and tomato, an infusion of rosemary the last 1/2 hour, and black pepper the last 10-15 minutes (to get the spice/resiny character, without that much heat). 

my emphasis -

Do I make an infusion and add it, or do I add the rosemary to the stock for a 1/2 an hour at the end? I have recently seen on French Gourmet TV the method of making herbal infusions on the side and using them in cooking. Thanks Paul!

Edited March 28, 2004 by bleudauvergne (log)

[paul o' vendange]

I would think either way would be great. I tend to like less steps between the freshly cut animal, and a simple, but finished, pristine sauce, an extension or intensification of the main taste (thank you, Thomas Keller, among others). Therefore, it's my preference to add the herbs to the reducing sauce directly. The reason I don't add the rosemary any sooner is because it is so volatile, and, to me, a little rosemary goes a long way. Your mileage may vary, of course. I add the pepper near the end for similar reason - except, I have found that if I add the pepper too long before the end, all the nice, spice and resin quality tends to dissipate and only heat remains.

Cheers,

Paul

Oh, just saw your picture. Nope, these just came from your butcher this way. You could French them, meaning just incise around the rib bone beginning near the "eye," and scrape away the meat to the distal end, for presentation's sake, if you'd care to. Save the trimmed meat for something, i.e., your small sauce, if you're making it.

[bleudauvergne]

The lamb chop dinner's over.

I decided to follow Paul's advice and go classic, with a concentration on the stock for the sauce. I based my stock on a chicken stock I had going in the crock pot, since although I love lamb, I felt like it too is volatile and would be better to start with something more "background" and grace the stock with the lamb flavor.

I put the chops to marinate about 2 hours before dinner. EVOO, rosemary minced, rinsed/mashed anchovy fillets, pepper, and parsley.

I did as Paul said, included the mirepoix in the stock -

I put the lamb ribs and cuttings in the chicken stock for about 45 minutes.

and made a mint jelly (actually cheated by adding minced fresh mint to a rhubarb jelly I had handy).

I then added the rosemary sprigs to the stock , and timed their presence for 30 minutes, and then removed them. Last 20 minutes was after a hearty grind of black pepper.

This morning, I had also begun by soaking the white beans and had them simmering in chicken stock by late afternoon, with a sage and bay leaf bouquet.

Our guest arrived and I served a cocktail made with rum shaken with leftover voilet flavored ice cream. It so happened that there were violets at the market this morning for 50 cents a plant (they attracted me because of the violet flavored ice cream we had recently enjoyed) so I pinched off a flower for each cocktail. They were great and looked really elegant, and I'll serve them again. She opened her birthday present at that time.

Since at the last minute we had a visitor for dinner, I had to add a course in order to still serve the lamb chops (since they were so small). It was a small chevre for each person wrapped in bacon and topped with fresh thyme, wrapped in phyllo, the packets browned in the oven, and served on a bed of lettuce, drizzled with a honey balsalmic vinaigrette. That's walnuts sprinkled on the top. I will do that again.

Once that course was over, in a period of about 4 minutes, I put the chops under the broiler, strained the fabulous stock and whipped butter cut into small cubes into it off heat, and napped the ribs served over a helping of the beans.

Dessert was cheesecake, and hazelnut and salted butter caramel ice cream. It was ugly and we devoured it with pleasure.

Our guest did not drink coffee but I would have served it if she had.

- edited to say thank you for the advice, encouragement, and inspiration.

Lucy

Edited March 28, 2004 by bleudauvergne (log)

[docsconz]

Wow! What a fantastic looking dinner and so nicely photographed. thanks for sharing. I'm getting hungry now.

[docsconz]

In your opinion, lucy, what did the anchovy add to the marinade? Would you do that again? I love anchovies as an ingredient. This sounds like an interesting if not intuitive combination. I am curious.

[paul o' vendange]

Lucy -

Absolutely, unequivocally gorgeous - congratulations on such a triumph. And thank you for the photos and descriptions, they alone are worth the price of admission.

Paul

[bleudauvergne]

The anchovy was and idea put forth by sentiamo. It was delicious, and distinctive. Although I did not use much, it was fully there. I actually debated, in the course of the meal, if it overshadowed the sauce, and wondered if I should have either omitted/reduced the anchovy (one fillet per two chops) or included garlic in the sauce in order to bring it out to the level of the anchovy. The beans were delicate in flavor, it was a simple contrast to the grilled meat. The anchovy married really well with the mint jelly.

[bleudauvergne]

Thanks to Paul for his guidance.

[paul o' vendange]

Well, thank you, but from the looks of your cuisine you didn't need any help. Any time, though.

Paul