Cooking with Jonny69: A big fat lamb chop

[Jonny69]

Just for Tom0 because he asked so nicely

I cooked a killer lamb chop a while back and yes, I know I should have posted it on here when I did it. I picked it up off the butcher's counter reduced, it was one of those bits of meat that caught the corner of my eye as I walked past. A small amount of saliva forced its way out the corner of my mouth and I knew it had to be dinner. It's a thick bit of meat, about 3-4cm thick and all the better for it.

I prepared the chop by stabbing it with a sharp knife and stuffing it with fresh rosemary from the herb box, slithers of garlic, salt and pepper:

Then under a very hot grill to really sear the outside and add loads of flavour but leave it pink in the middle. It can then stand in foil for about 10 minutes:

I overdid it slightly but it was still very good. I served it with potato rosti and home made ratatouille I had in the freezer ready to go:

Pick out the rosemary before you eat it, and let those rostis soak up all that meat juice

 

[Jonny69]

I make ratatouille quite a lot but never thought of freezing it - how do you recook it and what does it taste like after?

I just nuke it. It's a bit softer the second time around but tastes the same. It's one of those things that takes a while to cook so it's handy to make lots and freeze in portions.

I always find lamb and pork so fatty...which cuts are the least fattiest?

Not sure, I don't get lamb very often because it's quite expensive, but if you get it off the butcher counter you can pick a bit that's not as fatty as the chops they bung in packs. Cooks better when it's really thick too. Pork loin is very lean (the long thin round cut), just be very careful not to overcook it otherwise it'll be dry

 

[Jonny69]

mate that is excellent gonna try this!

When I go to butchers do I just ask for a lamb chop or...particular wording?

It's a lamb steak, quite a bit bigger and meatier than a chop, no bone and the fat is thinner. This was a quite a fatty one and the others I pick off the butcher counter are a lot meatier

 

[Jonny69]

What container was it in during grilling? Just foil on the bare rack?

Yup

Looks nice and the rosemary must have been nice.

But I still can't work out why people spoil everything with Garlic, it's one of those things that most people seem to put way too much into almost everything. What's the point of having a nice flavoursome piece of lamb when you can't actually taste it through the garlic?

Two things: 1) I love garlic 2) Garlic goes REALLY well with lamb and when you stab it in like that it practically melts and infiltrates the whole piece of meat.

I'm hungry now