Grilled Lamb Shoulder Chops

Lamb is a hard to find meat that I really like to eat once in a while. Since it is springtime and Easter is just around the corner, lamb is suddenly available.  Joey has never had lamb before so we decided to pick some up at Sprouts on Sunday.  I browsed the recipes on my phone and finally found one on Epicurious that I adapted for our chops.

Lamb shoulder is a rather fatty but cheap cut of lamb. It is a good stand-in for regular chops as long as you are not afraid to do some carving. You still get that same great lamb flavor and the portion is a bit larger than that of a classic chop.  Joey didn't end up liking lamb too much so we probably won't be having it often, but if you do like lamb, this recipe is a keeper.

Ingredients:
3 T fresh mint, chopped
3 T fresh thyme, chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
1 small shallot, minced
2 t olive oil
juice and zest from 1/2 lemon
salt & pepper to taste
2 lamb shoulder chops

Directions:
1. Combine 2 1/2 T mint, 2 1/2 T thyme, garlic and shallot in a bowl. Rub the mixture all over the meat of the lamb and place on a plate and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for several hours or overnight
2. Later, mix oil, juice and zest in a bowl until slightly thicker.  Pour mixture all over lamb and let rest about 1 hour before cooking (I only did this part for 30 minutes if that)
3. Heat the grill to medium high
4. Grill lamb over indirect heat about 3 minutes per side until medium rare
5. Let lamb rest at least 10 minutes and then slice, working your way around the fat
6. Serve with yogurt sauce if you like.  I served with crispy roasted potatoes because I wanted to make sure it was filling, the lamb alone may not be filling.

Lamb & Carrot Curry

Last night I purchased 5 lamb shanks for $10. I thought it was a pretty good deal for lamb. Little did I know you are supposed to use lamb shanks in slow-cooked recipes because they are tough and fatty. However, I didn't do that. I grilled 2 shanks and they were not tough but instead delicious.

And what to do with the rest? Today I chopped two up into little pieces and made some quick and easy curry! I highly recommend this recipe. It is quick, easy, and you probably have most of the ingredients in your cupboard!

Lamb & Carrot Curry (serves 2 only, maybe 1 very hungry individual)
Ingredients
2 lamb shanks, trimmed and cut into small chunks
1 14oz can coconut milk
1/2 to 1 Tablespoon Thai red curry paste
1/3 cup chicken stock (for some reason they only had chicken broth so I used that)
handful of multicolored baby carrots (or two regular carrots coined)
dash Worcestershire sauce
dash soy sauce
1 T brown sugar
cooked rice for serving

Directions
1. Bring coconut milk and curry paste to a simmer in a large saucepan. Simmer 5 minutes.
2. Add all other ingredients except rice. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until carrots are tender and lamb is cooked through
3. Serve warm over rice. Curry will be slightly thickened.

Grilled Lamb and Roasted Carrots

It is spring here in SoCal and as a result the Farmer's Market is brimming with fun vegetables to try. Last weekend, I was browsing the Ojai market and saw some beautiful carrots. Not just orange carrots but also red and yellow. In hindsight, I probably should've chosen a plate that was not yellow so you could get the full effect of the colorful carrots but man they looked great and tasted better.

Easter is also right around the corner so lamb was on my mind. If you are afraid of flames, don't grill lamb steaks! The flames were jumping like frogs!

There is no recipe for this meal really. Grill Lamb steaks 4-5 minutes per side (but a nice herb rub would really be something with these), serve warm.

For the carrots, cut off the stems and wash carrots. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast 10-15 minutes depending on the size of your carrots--mine were small so 15 minutes was a little long. The carrots will be sweater once cooked.