Grilled Lamb Chops Recipe with Bonus Guide to Cuts

There's no need to be intimidated by lamb! This Grilled Lamb Chops recipe with veggies and chimichurri is so easy and so so good.

This grilled lamb chops recipe post is sponsored by lamb producers from the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. I am happy to partner with them to share this delicious recipe with you. 

Jump to:

• Why You Should Consider Cooking Lamb
• Rich Flavor + Nutrition
• How to Buy and Cook Lamb
• Grilling Lamb Chops
• Recipe

Why You Should Consider Cooking Lamb

Up until a year or so ago, I would pass right on by the lamb in the meat section of my grocery store without even thinking. “Who really cooks that anyways?” was my common thought, if I even had one. Honestly, I think this response comes from a lack of knowledge and experience with lamb more than anything else. I never ate it growing it up and for some reason, I thought it was a super complicated meat to work with. 

In the past year, however, my attitude toward lamb has completely changed. This is largely in part to a sponsored trip I took to New Orleans last year with The Tri-Lamb Group to learn all about lamb at the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine. It was an incredible experience learning how lamb is raised, the different ways to cook it and the many flavor options.

So now, I am authentically a lamb fan, and it makes me very happy to present to you this Grilled Lamb Chops with Chimichurri recipe. Take a look:

Rich Flavor + Nutrition

Lamb is a favorite in Mediterranean cuisines. Being who I am (a registered dietitian), and this website being what it is (Make Healthy Easy), there has to be some nutrition angle about lamb to get me excited enough to share it with you. So here’s the good news. 

While it’s often not even brought up in the “healthy protein” conversation, lamb holds its own as a great choice in a healthy diet:

• On average, a 3 oz serving of lamb is considered a lean protein and has about 150 calories. This perfect portion (which happens to be the size of most rib and loin chops) is also an excellent source of protein.
• Lamb provides a wide array of nutrients needed for a healthy body. It provides 34% of the Daily Value of niacin,14.61% of selenium (making it an good source), 79.16% of vitamin B12 and 25.18% of zinc.
• The type of fat found in lamb is also noteworthy as 40% of the total fatty acid content comes from healthy monounsaturated fat. That’s pretty significant. 

Lastly, I think it’s very interesting to briefly talk about how lamb is raised. While some lamb are finished on grain, they spend most of their time grazing on pastures. The shepherds that care for the lambs commit to practices that foster animal well-being. These shepherds remain intimately involved in their day to day life. The lamb we enjoy in the US comes from our country as well as Australian lamb and lambs from New Zealand. 

How to Buy and Cook Lamb

You may be passing right on by the lamb at your grocery store too. When I stopped to look, I realized my store carries lamb nearly year round.

Lamb Meat Cuts

I've seen various cuts of lamb at my local grocery store. The most common cuts I find regularly stocked are ground, chops, loin and leg/shoulder. Here's a quick breakdown of a few different lamb cuts:

• Lamb Shank: this cut of meat comes from the lamb leg 
• Rack of Lamb: this is the unsplit primal rib. When two rib roasts are sewn together, it makes a lamb crown roast forming a circle or crown.
• Lamb Shoulder Chops: the shoulder has excess fat, strong flavor, and inexpensive compared to other cuts of meat.
• Lamb Neck: a versatile cut of lamb with high fat and good for slow cooking.
• Lamb Breast: contains excess fat but is a flavorful cut good for low heat recipes with long cooking times. 

Cooking Techniques

• Lamb Shank: best for slow cooking methods. This method will help break down the connective tissue and create a tender meat.
• Ground lamb: use like any ground meat. Cook to an internal temperature of well done at  170 degrees F.  
• Single Rib Chops: perfect for searing and grilling. Cook to medium rare at 145 degrees F. 
• Lamb Loin chops: grill or sear indoors. 
• Legs and shoulders: the right choice for braising low and slow until an internal temperature of medium at 160 degrees F to well done at 170 degrees F.

Don’t be afraid to ask the butcher at your store to cut up one of the pieces of meat to make it work for a recipe. You can also order a certain cut of meat ahead of time if it’s not usually carried in your store. My store usually gets me a certain cut in 1-2 days. 

Grilling Lamb Chops

One of the best ways to cook lamb, especially if you're a beginner, is to grill lamb chops. This Grilled Lamb Chops recipe with Chimichurri and grilled peppers and tomatoes seriously knocked my socks off (as well as a few other people). It convinced me that grilled lamb needs to happen much more often in my life. It’s seriously so easy to grill, just like any other meat. It’s quick because lamb chops are the perfect, individual portion size. 

The flavor of lamb is so rich (in a great way) that it needs little help to taste delicious. This recipe couldn’t be easier, but it tastes like you slaved all day! As I mentioned in the video, it is perfect for casual al fresco dinners any time of the year. Here’s how you make it.

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Recipe

I hope you give this grilled lamb chops recipe a try the next time you have friends coming to your dinner table or for any special occasions. I’m pretty sure you will win the night with it. 

Cheers!