Lemon Garlic Marinated Lamb Loin Chops Recipe with Mint Vinaigrette

This Lemon Garlic Marinated Lamb Loin Chops recipe is shared courtesy of Corporate Executive Chef Chris Moyer of Perdue Farms. I am a Perdue Farms Ambassador, and the thoughts expressed here are my own.

Lamb is one of those meats I love to eat but am intimidated to cook. I’m not sure why, except that it is not as common as other meats so perhaps it’s just that I have not mastered cooking lamb yet. I’ve been relegated to ordering lamb dishes in fine restaurants, and always enjoy the meal so much. So with the help of Chef Chris Moyer, I am learning new ways to prepare lamb at home with this delicious Lemon Garlic Marinated Lamb Loin Chops recipe.

Of course the whole process must start with quality meat, like that from Niman Ranch and Perdue Farms. The meats I order from PerdueFarms.com to be delivered to my front door are always top quality, from chicken nuggets to lamb loin chops. Plus I love that all products are humanely and responsibly farm-raised with no antibiotics ever. For this Lemon Garlic Marinated Lamb Loin Chops recipe, we are using lamb loin chops from Niman Ranch. You can order them here from Perdue Farms using my affiliate code and receive 15% off your first order!

Lemon Garlic Marinated Lamb Loin Chops Recipe

We’re so pleased to share this Lemon Garlic Marinated Lamb Loin Chops recipe directly from the kitchen of Chef Chris. Below is his description regarding his inspiration for this dish in his own words. (I asked him to send us a recipe for lamb loin chops we could prepare on our livestream cooking show “Dinner’s Gonna Be a Little Late Tonight!”)

This was a great recipe challenge for me. I dreamt last night about my childhood. I was born in England and lived there until I was 10 when my family and I moved to the states. I remember eating Lamb sometimes for Sunday Dinner. Usually accompanied with Yorkshire puddings, Popovers… In England, Lamb is usually served with a mint sauce. This is different than the mint jelly stuff we have in the US. This is made with fresh mint, vinegar and sugar. So, this recipe is inspired by my mother’s Sunday dinner.

From Chef Chris’ childhood – and updated for modern tastes – comes this delicious Lemon Garlic Marinated Lamb Loin Chops recipe.

Ingredients

Marinade

• 1 package of Niman Ranch Lamb Loin Chops (usually 6 in a pack)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Zest of 1 lemon, only the yellow, no white
• 3 garlic cloves, minced finely
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Pommery Mustard (or any whole grain mustard)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons malt vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper, fine grind

Instructions for Lemon Garlic Marinated Lamb Loin Chops Recipe

For the Marinade:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together all the ingredients.
2. Place the lamb chops in the marinade to fully coat. (I put the marinade and chops in a Ziploc bag to get maximum coverage).
3. Please in refrigerator to marinade for about 4 hours.

For the Vinaigrette:

1. In a small bowl, mix the mustard together with the lemon juice, honey, vinegar salt and pepper.
2. Drizzle in the olive oil while mixing to combine.
3. Taste for acidity. It is supposed to be acidic so taste it and adjust acidity with more malt vinegar if needed.
4. Set aside.

For the Lamb:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat an oiled cast iron pan over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes.
3. Place the chops evenly in the pan to sear on one side for about 2-3 minutes.
4. Flip the chops and sear the other side for about 2-3 minutes.
5. Place pan in oven and cook until meat temperature reaches 135-140 degrees – about 4 minutes.
6. Remove pan from oven and let stand for 2-3 minutes before plating.
7. Place 2-3 chops per plate and drizzle with vinaigrette.

Serve with Roasted Potatoes and Creamed Spinach. (See Patti’s Creamed Spinach recipe here.)

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Chef Remarks on Cooking Lemon Garlic Marinated Lamb Loin Chops Recipe

As professional chefs do, Chef Chris cooks his meat by temperature not time. I have estimated time above for people like me who need a timer to tell me when to take the meat out of the oven!

Here are his notes on cooking the Lemon Garlic Marinated Lamb Loin Chops recipe:

Need to cook by temperature, which goes for all proteins. I would shoot for an internal temperature of 135 degrees. Remember that the chops will “carry-over cook,” which means they will continue to cook after they are pulled from the oven. 130 degrees is rare. 135 to 140 degrees would be in the medium rare zone. If pulled at 135 degrees, it should carry over 5-7 degrees and you would end up with a nice medium rare. I would check after 3-4 minutes and recheck after that. They are small, so I don’t see them taking too long to cook through.

If You Like Lamb…

If you are a fan of lamb like me but not sure how to prepare it, here is another great lamb recipe:

Recipe for Moroccan Rack of Lamb