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Gas-Grilled Loin or Rib Lamb Chops

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on August 5, 2009

Yield

Serves 4

Gas-Grilled Loin or Rib Lamb Chops

Ingredients

8 loin or rib lamb chops, 1 ¼ to 1 ½ inches thick2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Before You Begin

While loin and rib chops are especially tender cuts of lamb, they tend to dry out if cooked past medium because they have less intramuscular fat than shoulder chips. To make these chops worth their high price, keep an eye on the grill to make sure the meat does not overcook. These chops are smaller than shoulder chops; you will need two for each serving. With the cover down, it can be hard to detect flames. Watch for excessive smoking and extinguish flames with a squirt bottle as soon as they erupt.

Instructions

  1. Turn all burners on a gas grill to high, close the lid, and heat until very hot, about 15 minutes. Scrape the cooking grate clean with a wire brush; leave one burner on high and turn the other burner(s) down to medium.
  2. Rub the chops with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Grill the chops, covered, over the hotter part of the grill, turning them once, until well browned, 4 minutes. (If the chops start to flame, drag them to the cooler part of the grill and/or extinguish the flames with a squirt bottle.) Move the chops to the cooler part of the grill and continue grilling, turning once, to the desired doneness, about 6-7 minutes for rare (about 120 degrees on an instant-read thermometer) or about 8-9 minutes for medium (about 130 degrees).
  4. Remove the chops from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
Gas-Grilled Loin or Rib Lamb Chops
Styling by Marie Piraino.

Gas-Grilled Loin or Rib Lamb Chops

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Yield

Serves 4

Ingredients

8 loin or rib lamb chops, 1 ¼ to 1 ½ inches thick
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Ingredients

8 loin or rib lamb chops, 1 ¼ to 1 ½ inches thick
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Ingredients

8 loin or rib lamb chops, 1 ¼ to 1 ½ inches thick
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Why This Recipe Works

Lamb loin and rib chops are often cut quite thick—about 1 1/2 inches was the thickness we often encountered—so the challenge in developing our grilled lamb chops recipe was to cook them through without overbrowning the exterior. We found that when grilling the chops for our grilled lamb chops recipe, using a two-level fire was best—the chops could be seared on the hotter side of the grill, then moved to the cooler side to cook through. This method also reduced potential flare-ups (which often occur with lamb).

Before You Begin

While loin and rib chops are especially tender cuts of lamb, they tend to dry out if cooked past medium because they have less intramuscular fat than shoulder chips. To make these chops worth their high price, keep an eye on the grill to make sure the meat does not overcook. These chops are smaller than shoulder chops; you will need two for each serving. With the cover down, it can be hard to detect flames. Watch for excessive smoking and extinguish flames with a squirt bottle as soon as they erupt.

Instructions

  1. Turn all burners on a gas grill to high, close the lid, and heat until very hot, about 15 minutes. Scrape the cooking grate clean with a wire brush; leave one burner on high and turn the other burner(s) down to medium.
  2. Rub the chops with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Grill the chops, covered, over the hotter part of the grill, turning them once, until well browned, 4 minutes. (If the chops start to flame, drag them to the cooler part of the grill and/or extinguish the flames with a squirt bottle.) Move the chops to the cooler part of the grill and continue grilling, turning once, to the desired doneness, about 6-7 minutes for rare (about 120 degrees on an instant-read thermometer) or about 8-9 minutes for medium (about 130 degrees).
  4. Remove the chops from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

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