What to do with Costco Halal Lamb: Lamb Chops

Costco’s around the US have been selling Halal lamb  for quite some time. Our family has been buying the lamb rack for years. Usually, we sear it then cook it slowly on the grill or in the oven. This time, I decided to cut it into chops, marinade it, and grill it quickly over direct heat.

• After checking what ingredients I had in the fridge (e.g. cilantro, mint, ginger), I googled a lamb chop recipe and found one that fit the ingredients I had on hand. Leite’s Culanaria had a nice recipe in which some of the marinade is reserved and used a sauce over the lamb just before consuming. Below is my (slightly) modified version

Ingredients:

• 2 tspn minced ginger
• 1/4 cup mint
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 1 tblspn honey
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 tblspn salt
• 1/2 tblspn pepper
• 1 rack of lamb (that can be cut into 8 chops)

Directions:

1.  Combine ginger, mint, cilatro, honey, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a blender and process until completely blended and smooth. Reserve 1/4 cup for garnish

   

2.  Cut the lamb rack along the bones to make chops. Unfortunately, the thickness of the chops will likely not be uniform unless the rack happens to be completely symmetric

   

   

3. Marinade the lamb chops in the marinade for at least 30 minutes (up to 4 hours)
4. Prepare the grill for direct heat at 400 degrees Fahrenheit (medium-high heat)
5. Transfer the chops to grill directly over the heat source.

   

6. Grill for 5-10 minutes each side, depending upon how thick the chop is. Most recipes recommend cooking to medium rare. A few of my family members refuse to eat anything pink, so I had to cook some of the chops to well-done. I was surprised that even at well-done, the meat was still tender. 
7. Before serving, pour a little reserved marinade over the chops. This helps add more flavor and reduce the game-iness of lamb.