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Gas-Grilled Shoulder Lamb Chops

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on August 22, 2007

Yield

Serves 4

Gas-Grilled Shoulder Lamb Chops

Ingredients

4 lamb shoulder chops (blade or round bone) ¾ to 1 inch thick2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Before You Begin

Try to purchase shoulder lamb chops that are at least 3/4 inch thick, since they are less likely to overcook. If you can only find chops that are 1/2 inch thick, reduce the cooking time over the medium-low heat by about 30 seconds on each side. To make sure the lamb chops aren't flaming up under the grill cover, watch for any substantial amount of smoke coming through the vents. This indicates that flare-ups are occurring and need to be extinguished.

Instructions

  1. Turn all burners on grill to high, close lid, and heat until grill is very hot, about 15 minutes. Use grill brush to scrape cooking grate clean. Leave one burner on high and turn other burner(s) down to medium.
  2. Rub chops with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Grill chops, covered, over hotter part of grill, turning them once, until well browned, about 4 minutes. Move chops to cooler part of grill and continue grilling, turning once, to desired doneness, about 6 minutes for rare (about 120 degrees on instant-read thermometer), about 8 minutes for medium (about 130 degrees), or about 10 minutes for well-done (140 to 150 degrees) (see "Taking the Chop's Temperature" below).
  4. Remove chops from grill and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
Gas-Grilled Shoulder Lamb Chops

Gas-Grilled Shoulder Lamb Chops

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Yield

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 lamb shoulder chops (blade or round bone) ¾ to 1 inch thick
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

4 lamb shoulder chops (blade or round bone) ¾ to 1 inch thick
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

4 lamb shoulder chops (blade or round bone) ¾ to 1 inch thick
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

We found that inexpensive shoulder chops were the best choice for our grilled lamb chop recipe because their distinctly gutsy flavor and chewiness held up well to the smoke. But chop thickness was important; the chops needed to be between ¾ and 1 inch thick to keep them from cooking too fast.

Before You Begin

Try to purchase shoulder lamb chops that are at least 3/4 inch thick, since they are less likely to overcook. If you can only find chops that are 1/2 inch thick, reduce the cooking time over the medium-low heat by about 30 seconds on each side. To make sure the lamb chops aren't flaming up under the grill cover, watch for any substantial amount of smoke coming through the vents. This indicates that flare-ups are occurring and need to be extinguished.

Instructions

  1. Turn all burners on grill to high, close lid, and heat until grill is very hot, about 15 minutes. Use grill brush to scrape cooking grate clean. Leave one burner on high and turn other burner(s) down to medium.
  2. Rub chops with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Grill chops, covered, over hotter part of grill, turning them once, until well browned, about 4 minutes. Move chops to cooler part of grill and continue grilling, turning once, to desired doneness, about 6 minutes for rare (about 120 degrees on instant-read thermometer), about 8 minutes for medium (about 130 degrees), or about 10 minutes for well-done (140 to 150 degrees) (see "Taking the Chop's Temperature" below).
  4. Remove chops from grill and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

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