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Tonight for dinner I decided to cook rosemary garlic lamb chops. I wanted something different since we regularly cook chicken, fish, and occasionally beef. So to switch things up a bit, I picked up some lamb at our local grocery store! I love the unique flavor of lamb, and honestly don’t include it enough in our regular rotation of meals. Lamb is a rich source of protein, and includes other health benefits such as iron, zinc, and fights against anemia.
In my recipe below, I recommend using fresh ingredients where possible. This meal can be prepared in 30 minutes or less, but I also included additional steps for a meat brine, which will open up the pores of your meat for more flavor and remove the game taste that typically comes with lamb. I also recommend allowing your lamb to rest at room temperature with the marinade for 1 hour if time allows. If not, feel free to skip the brine and 1 hour marinade rest steps in my recipe below.
Rosemary Garlic Lamb Chop Video Instructions:
Internal Temperatures for Cooking Lamb:
Everyone also has different preferences when it comes to the internal temperature for their meat. As a quick guide, here are the temperatures you should look for to ensure your lamb is cooked to perfection:
- Rare: 115 to 120°F
- Medium-rare: 120 to 125°F
- Medium: 130 to 135°F
- Medium-well: 140 to 145°F
- Well-done: 150 to 155°F
As an alternative, you could also try cooking lamb inside of the air fryer, it’s soooo good! I have another recipe for air fryer lamb here. If you’re looking to sauté your lamb chops, continue reading to the recipe below and enjoy!
Rosemary Garlic Lamb Chop Recipe:
Rosemary Garlic Lamb Loin Chops
Equipment
- Mortar and Pestle
- Cast Iron Skillet
Ingredients
- 6 pieces lamb chop loin
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp fresh rosemary chopped
- 4 tbsp olive oil light olive oil (higher smoke point)
- 2 tbsp butter
- salt for seasoning & brine
- pepper for seasoning
Instructions
Brine Lamb Chops
- Take a bowl and fill it with water (about 4 cups or so)
- Add coarse salt to the water (about 1/4 – 1/3 cup)
- Place lamb chop loins into water brine solution and allow these to sit for 30 minutes. This will open up the pores of your meat for added flavor. Making a brine for your lamb before cooking will also remove some of the blood from the meat and the gamey smell/taste.
- After 30 minutes, remove your lamb chops from the brine solution and safely discard the water mixture. You are now ready to season and cook your lamb!
Marinade
- Salt and Pepper your lamb chop loins to your preference
- Mince garlic, and chop your fresh rosemary leaves.
- Take a mortar and pestle or a bowl and spoon and combine: 6 cloves of garlic (I calculate one garlic clove per chop), 2 tbsp of fresh rosemary, and 3 tbsp of light olive oil. If you have a mortar, you can release the flavors of these ingredients by grinding them together, or you can simply mix this marinade together by using a bowl and a spoon. Spread this marinade mixture on both sides of your lamb, and allow it to rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
Cooking Lamb Chops
- Take a cast iron skillet and heat the skillet until it is hot and ready. Drop in 2 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of light olive oil. Once the butter and oil are melted, place the lamb chop loins into the cast iron skillet. You should hear a sizzling sound. If you do not hear a sizzle, your skillet is not hot enough. After adding all of the lamb chops, add in 1 sprig of rosemary to the butter and oil mixture for additional flavor.
- As the lamb chops are cooking, occasionally pick up the lamb chops with a pair of tongs and press the fat against the pan. This will render or melt the fat for additional flavor. You will start to notice a nice even brown sear on your lamb chops.
- As the lamb chops are cooking, occasionally tilt your pan, and use a spoon to scoop up the butter, fat, and rosemary renderings, and drizzle these on top your lamb. This base will allow you to add these amazing flavors back into the open pores of your lamb. Repeat this process until your lamb reaches the preferred temperature:Rare: 115 to 120°F | Medium-rare: 120 to 125°F | Medium: 130 to 135°F | Medium-well: 140 to 145°F | Well-done: 150 to 155°F. An alternative way to check the temperature of your meat is to simply remove the lamb chop that is at the center of your pan, and cut it down the middle to see if you like the color of the meat. Enjoy!
wooow! I just had my dinner and night snacks, but this still makes me hungry. why is this so looking good and delicious??! <3 I love this!
I love lamb. Your lamb chops look delish. I will try this out when next Eid comes along.
ok this looks really yummy, i need to try this asap!
I love how easy they are to make. Especially for myself with 3 kids. I’ll need to try. Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks love! When this quarantine is over, I’ll make some for you! If you try before then, let me know how it turns out! ❣️
Believe it or not, I’ve never had lamb before. But my husband and my daughters LOVE it!
Wow, you make it sounds so simple. I think I’m going to try this. I’ve always been afraid to make lamb for the first time, because I never knew how to avoid that funny taste it sometimes has. But with all the spices, I feel pretty confident. I’ll let you know when I’ve tried it 😊
Wow! looks very simple recipe. I can arrange dinner date at home itself. Thank you.
wow. i really need to try this recipe. just printed and saved to my pinterest feed. this really looks amazing! perfect perhaps for Mother’s Day?
I have never cooked lamb chops – this sounds like a great, hearty recipe. Sounds like it would be easy to make, as well.
I can’t wait to cook Rosemary Garlic Lamb Chops. It sounds so yummy right now!
Yum! I love lamb chops. Where did you purchase your lamb chops? They are really big and juicy and not like the kind I find in the local store.
Hi Autumn! I picked these up at Harris Teeter.
Lovely Lamb recipe. I am looking forward to my wife cooking this in the upcoming week. 😀
They look yum but here non veg is banned now, hopefully will mk it after lockdown.
I love this Rosemary Garlic Lamb Chops recipe. I wonder if I can make it in the air fryer. Thank you!
I love lamb chops. This is such a lovely easy recipe. I will definitely give it a try.
I made these lamb chops for my anniversary and they were absolutely amazing. Very easy to make as well. I highly recommend adding this to your recipe list.
Thanks for trying out my recipe! Saw your photos and they looked sooooo good! S/O to the chef!
This recipe encouraged me to make lamp chops for the first time and they turned out AMAZING! I seared the chops about 7 minutes before flipping and that was perfect for me. I love that the ingredients were simple, yet flavorful. Hubby loved them too and I’m keeping this recipe in my back pocket!
Thank you so much! ❤️
Oh, wow! this looks really tempting and yummy! I will definitely give this recipe a try.