These Lamb Loin Chops are marinated in a delicate rosemary garlic vinaigrette then beautifully pan seared and finished in the oven for the most tender and mouth-watery dinner.
If you're looking to impress your family and friends with an elegant dinner idea that's simple and is ready in under 20 minutes. You're definitely in the right place. If you love lamb but have not tasted lamb loin chops you're in for a real treat.
I don't know about you but sometime I want to make an elegant dinner in the comfort of my own home. Whether or not it's these lamb loin chops, or learning How to Make Lobster Tails, Tri Tip, or Prime Rib Dinner with Red Wine Sauce I like to change things up a bit and treat my family and friends to an elegant dinner to celebrate a special occasion or 'just because'.
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FAQ's
Lamb chop come from the shoulder and is probably the most common cut of lamb you see at the grocery store year-round. This cut of lamb has several bones running throughout and requires a longer cooking time than the lamb loin chop. Lamb loin chops, on the other hand, have the appearance of a tiny T-Bone steak. They're more tender and require a shorter cooking time.
In my opinion, lamb loin chops taste less gamey than lamb chops (cut from the shoulder).
Marinade
Ingredient list
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Juice from a lemon
- Fresh garlic cloves
- Kosher salt
- Dried thyme
- Dried Rosemary
- Smoked Paprika
- Herbes de provence (my new favorite ingredient)
This simple marinade really packs a punch when it comes to the flavor and tenderness of these lamb loin chops. There's nothing fancy about this marinade. It only requires common everyday ingredients that you may already have in your pantry.
The good news is that lamb loin chops do not need to marinate for an extended period of time. Marinated them for at least 15 minutes up to 30 minutes is perfectly fine. Marinating them for more than 30 minutes isn't necessary.
With that said, all that is needed for this simple marinade is the base of a basic vinaigrette such as a quality oil and an acid. For this, I used extra virgin olive oil, the juice of a fresh lemon, dried herbs, smoked paprika and kosher salt to taste.
You can simply pour the marinade into a large ziploc bag, add the chops, and place on the counter top for 15 to 30 minutes, so the flavors of the marinade can permeate throughout the meat.
Pan Sauce
The pan sauce adds a nice elegant finish to these perfectly cooked oven baked lamb loin chops.
It's made by retaining some of the oil and brown bits from the skillet that were formed during the searing process (which already have loads of flavor). Cold butter is added to the skillet then whisked vigorously. This butter pan sauce is then spooned over each lamb loin chop for a rich moist and tender chop.
Please refer to the recipe card below for detailed instructions for making this delicious pan sauce.
How to cook in oven
- Rinse the lamb loin chops under cool water and pat dry thoroughly with paper towels.
- Prepare the marinade in a measuring cup and pour into a large ziploc bag.
- Add the chops to the ziploc bag and allow to marinate.
- Remove the chops from the marinade draining any excess.
- Heat oil into a large cast iron skillet, when super hot sear on one side then flip.
- Place the skillet into a preheated oven until done.
- Place the chops onto a clean platter and allow to rest.
- Meanwhile, make the pan sauce and spoon over the top of each chop.
Oven Temperature
The lamb loin chops are first seared on the stove-top then placed in a 400 degree preheated oven to finish the cooking process and is cooked to your desired done-ness.
Cooking time
The lamb loin chops are ready in under 20 minutes. They take about 6-8 minutes to sear (on one side) on the stove-top then are placed in the oven for about 8-10 minutes.
We prefer ours cooked just until no longer pink and 10 minutes is perfect. However, rather than focusing on time it's best to use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the lamb.
The USDA recommends that lamp chops are cooked until an internal temperature of at least 145 degree F is reached.
Notes
- After washing the chops, pat dry thoroughly before adding the chops to the marinade.
- Marinate for at least 15 minutes up to 30 minutes.
- Allow the chops to come to room temperature before searing.
- Before searing, make sure the cast iron skillet is really hot and do not crowd the pan.
- Remove the chops from the skillet when they're done and immediately transfer them to a clean platter to prevent any carry-over heat.
- Allow them to rest for at least 5 minutes before cutting.
Serve with the following sides
- Herb Garlic Mashed Potatoes Recipe
- Oven Roasted Potatoes
- Crispy Oven Roasted Broccolini
- Fresh Spring Mix Salad
- Roasted Beet Salad with Grilled Peaches
- Sauteed Green Beans
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Thanks for visiting,
~Cree
📖 Recipe
Rosemary Marinated Lamb Loin Chops
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet
- measuring cup
- Oven
Ingredients
- 2 lbs lamb loin chops
- 2 tablespoon grape-seed oil
- 2 tablespoon cold unsalted butter (2-3 tablespoon of cold butter for the pan sauce)
Marinade
- 4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon herbes de provence
- 3 garlic cloves (chopped)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- To a small measuring cup, add extra virgin olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, kosher salt, dried thyme, dried rosemary, herbes de provence, smoked paprika and whisk. Set aside.
- Rinse the lamb loin chops under cool water then pat dry with paper towels.
- Grab a large ziploc bag and add the lamb loin chops, pour all the marinade into the ziploc bag. Push the excess air from the ziploc bag and gently move the bag around until all lamb chops are generously coated in the marinade. Marinade for at least 15 minutes up to 30 minutes. (Marinating longer than 30 minutes isn't necessary).
- Place a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add grape-seed oil. When oil is hot, add chops to the skillet making sure to not overcrowd the skillet. Sear on one side for approximately 6-8 minutes.
- Flip the chops and immediately place in the preheated oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Remove chops from oven and place on clean platter. Allow them to rest for 5 minutes before cutting. Meanwhile, discard the excess oil from skillet leaving behind about 2 tablespoon of oil plus the brown bits in the skillet as those bits have loads of flavor. Add the cold butter to the skillet and whisk vigorously.
- Drizzle the pan sauce over each chop and garnish with fresh thyme if you'd like.
- Serve with some delicious side dishes and enjoy.
Notes
- Nutritional facts serve as a guide only.
- After washing the chops, pat dry thoroughly before adding the chops to the marinade.
- Marinate for at least 15 minutes up to 30 minutes.
- Allow the chops to come to room temperature before searing.
- Before searing, make sure the cast iron skillet is really hot and do not crowd the pan.
- Remove the chops from the skillet when they're done and immediately transfer them to a clean platter to prevent any carry-over heat.
- Allow them to rest for at least 5 minutes before cutting.
CV
How much butter? CV
Cree
Hi CV - 2 to 3 Tablespoons of butter as noted in the recipe card. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Have a great day.
Jeff
That was WAY too long on the sear time. I had my stove set to 6 on a 1-10 setting. Six minutes is ridiculous. I should have listened to my instincts. I would say 4 minutes is about right.
Mine were burnt at that time. Right minutes would have made them completely inedible. Not a cheap meat to run. I hope you check the comments first.
Cree
Hi Jeff,
I’m not sure what type of stove-top you used that has a setting that ranges from 1-10. By chance, did you use a hot-plate? I personally have not used such a stove-top or burner. If I did, I would have provided detailed instructions on the setting that I used.
In any event, the only logical conclusion I can think of at this time is that perhaps your level 6 setting has a temperature that’s slightly above medium-high heat and therefore may need 4 minutes vs. 6 minutes. It’s hard to say as it seems as though you and I used two different types of stove-tops for searing.
I do not think 6 minutes is WAY too long or ridiculous as that’s what has always worked for me, and I shared it as a guide. It really depends on what one considers as 'medium-high' for example. As you can see from the photos I provided within the post, the lamb loin chops DO NOT look burnt at all.
I would like to add that in life we should always listen to our intuition even if it comes to something as simple as a recipe. By the way, it’s not uncommon for someone to make adjustments when following a recipe to suit their own needs and taste.
Thank you for visiting, and I wish you a great week.