Grilled Lamb Chops
These juicy and smoky grilled lamb chops are marinated in a 5-ingredient blend oozing with rosemary, garlic, and herby flavors with a little kick in between bites. This recipe is easy, fancy, and finger-licking good! A must-have for your spring and summer grilling repertoire.
There are those few people who find lamb’s meat flavor too strong to their liking, and I’m one of them. In fact, I realized that this one was only my second lamb recipe after nearly four years of blogging. Lamb lovers, please don’t hate me!
But that all changed after I went to a restaurant with my hubby and ordered some fancy grilled lamb chops. Oh, my word! If I had been at a backyard BBQ, I would’ve chowed down on those babies until nothing was left but the bone. And thus, the urge to nurture my love for anything lamb was born.
Why Grill Rib Chops?
If you’re still on the fence about lamb, try this recipe. I swear you’ll be a convert as soon as you finish your first chop. I like to choose a cut from the center (rib) section, which features long rib bones with meat at the end.
Grilling cooks at high heat giving you that beautiful Maillard reaction and the smoky flavor beautifully complements the lamb’s gamey taste. Ribs may not be the meatiest of all chops, but they make a lovely visual presentation with a smooth, tender flavor – something you’d pay a hefty price for at a restaurant.
How to Grill Lamb Chops
- Season the lamb with salt, pepper, and the marinade. Grill them or cook them in a grill pan.
- Sauté the onions in butter, add the broth, seasonings, mustard, and cream for the peppercorn sauce.
- Add the cracked pepper and simmer until thickened. Serve with your grilled lamb chops.
Tips and Tricks
- Undercooked lamb chops are too chewy, and overcooked chops tend to be tough and dry. For rib chops, aim to cook them to an internal temperature of 130℉ (55℃). For loin chops, anywhere from 135-140℉ (57-60℃) is ideal.
- Adjust your grilling time to your preferred doneness of the meat. And don’t forget to let the meat rest for 10 minutes before serving it so the juices can distribute evenly.
- Rib chops are already tender, so your marinade is all for flavor. If you can, marinate your chops overnight, but an hour will work fine if you’re pressed for time.
- Goat meat is popular in Africa and the Caribbean. Please don’t repeat my mistake by using lamb and goat interchangeably. The distinct flavor profiles mean that different spices work best for each. For example, there’s nothing like a good goat curry.
Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions
Prepare your herbs and spices and marinate the lamb ahead of time (the day before), but grill when you’re ready to eat! It only takes a few minutes for these bad boys to reach grilled perfection. The sauce is a great make-ahead and reheats well the next day.
Heat leftover lamb in the microwave, oven, or air fryer. Another great way to use leftovers is a clean-the-fridge stew or soup. Save all those veggies that need to be used today by chopping them, tossing them in a pot, adding broth and seasonings, and simmering until they’re tender. Chop up the leftover lamb, add it to the stew, heat it through, and enjoy. Save the bones for a delicious bone broth.
What Pairs With Grilled Lamb Chops
I love pairing lamb with fresh salads on the hearty side, such as a three-bean salad or a refreshing Greek salad. I almost always pair them with a side of potatoes, too. Fondant potatoes or garlic mashed potatoes are family faves around here.
More Savory Recipes for the Grill
- Caribbean Grilled Whole Red Snapper
- Marinated Grilled Shrimp
- Jamaican Jerk Chicken
- Hawaiian Grilled Chicken Thighs
- Spicy Grilled New York Steak
This blog post was originally published in April 2018 and has been updated with additional tips and new photos.
Grilled Lamb Chops
Ingredients
Grilled Lamb Chops
- 6 lamb chops, about ¾-inch thick
- salt and pepper to taste (¼-½ teaspoon per pound)
- 1 tablespoon (2g) fresh rosemary
- 2 large cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 teaspoon (4g) Creole seasoning (or paprika)
- 1 teaspoon (1g) fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon (2-3g) white pepper
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) olive oil
Peppercorn Sauce
- 1 tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter
- 3-4 tablespoons (30-40g) minced shallot
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ⅓ cup (80ml) cognac (or beef broth)
- ½ cup (118ml) beef broth
- 1½ teaspoons (7g) Worcestershire sauce
- 1-2 tablespoons (12-24g) cracked peppercorns
- ½ cup (118ml) heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon (5-6g) Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon (3g) minced chives
Instructions
Lamb Chops
- Season the lamb chops with salt and pepper, and set aside.
- In a food processor or mortar and pestle, blend or crush the rosemary, garlic, Creole seasoning or paprika, thyme, and white pepper. Add a drizzle of olive oil and mix well.
- Rub the meat with the herb mixture, covering each chop evenly.
- Place the chops in an airtight container in the fridge while marinating. Let the flavors penetrate for at least an hour or overnight in the fridge for the best results.
- When ready to grill, bring the lamb chops to room temperature for about 30 minutes. Drain the marinade from the meat.
- Heat your grill or a cast-iron grill pan until hot.
- Grill the lamb chops for 3½-5 minutes per side (flipping once) until browned to the desired doneness.
- When they're done to your liking, take them off the grill and let them rest for about 10 minutes. Serve with peppercorn sauce.
Peppercorn Sauce
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Sauté the shallot and garlic for about a minute or until fragrant.
- Pour in the cognac (or additional beef broth), beef broth, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir well to combine.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the cracked peppercorns. Simmer for a few minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
- Whisk in the heavy cream and Dijon mustard, and continue simmering on low heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens slightly and reaches your desired consistency (4-5 minutes).
- Once the sauce has thickened, remove from the heat and serve immediately with the lamb. Keep in mind that the sauce will continue to thicken as it sets.
Tips & Notes:
- Lamb rib, loin, and sirloin chops are great for grilling. Shoulder or leg chops need a marinade to make them tender enough for grilling.
- Trim off any hard pieces of fat around the edges of the chops to reduce the flare-ups.
- Letting meat rest for 10 minutes before serving for juicier results.
- Please keep in mind that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
Can I cook these and warm them for my lunch the next day?
Absolutely you can! These guys make a great lunch the next day.
I made these over the weekend — simple and delicious! An easy recipe that feels kinda fancy!
Oh great to hear that. Yeah, it is very delicious:) Try some other grilled recipes from the blog to have a collection at your fingertips. Happy Grilling
Hey Imma, It doesn’t say the amount of creole seasoning to be used in the ingredient list just thought I would give you a heads up xx
I usually season according to preference.
Imma, you nailed this one! It will be a hard act to follow. I just stepped away from the table after having one of the best meals I have ever had. And what surprises me is that it was lamb! What drew me in to this lamb recipe was your comment regarding the fact that lamb wasn’t necessarily your favorite. It isn’t mine, either, so I figured that if you found a way to cook it that you liked, I needed to try it. I was not disappointed.
I prepared it exactly as per your recipe, using the homemade creole seasoning. I highly recommend that for anyone that makes this, to marinate the meat a full 24 hours. I did. I was a little worried that that the spices would be so overpowering that you could not taste the meat at all. Not the case. It complements the meat to make it delicious. The salt did not dry out the meat. Lamb is very fatty, so it would be hard to dry out. Also I highly recommend that it be cooked over charcoal. It adds a nice smoky flavor and you can get a good crisp on the fatty edges.
I served it with a Spanish Roasted Potato Salad https://food52.com/recipes/4734-spanish-roasted-potato-salad and a sweet broccoli, carrot, raisin, sunflower seed salad. (Cheated, bought it at the local deli) Everything went together very well. This was for my wife’s mother day dinner.
My daughter was in town from Houston. She likes lamb and has access to some upscale restaurants that serve lamb, to compare. She loved it too. Everyone was gnawing the tasty, crisp bits of meat off the bone!
Thank You!
I’m beyond happy just by reading your comment, Don. So sweet of you to prepare this for your wife’s Mother’s Day Celebration. Indeed, that smokey flavor is a great touch with all the flavors for this meat. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Have a wonderful day! 🙂
Can lamb chops be baked and still come out juicy and flavourful?
Hi, Sandra! I haven’t tried baking these, but definitely will try it some other time. I guess it’ll come out juicy except that you won’t have that smokey flavor. Please let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Great post write up and recipe. luv me some Lamb!! Surely one my favorite meats. These Lamb Chops look awesome. Sating ahead don’t dry out the meat, as it allows the flavors to penetrate a bit into the meat as well help tenderize it. Especially if it’s sitting in a seasoned marinade.
Thank you so much Urban. You always have such insights.
Won’t salting the chops a day previous draw out all the meat juices?
Hi, Shaun. Actually it doesn’t. It actually intensifies the flavor while retaining that juice.
Did you soak your meat to get the gamey taste out before seasoning?
No I didn’t .