No-Fail Grilled Lamb Chops are marinated in rosemary, garlic and citrus for a simple yet elegant meal for entertaining. Ideal to serve at summer and fall gatherings.
No-Fail Grilled Lamb Chops is a recipe that we use often in our house. It’s not really even a recipe, because it’s just a few herbs and spices with some citrus then you grill it to your liking. The no Fail part of No-Fail Grilled Lamb chops comes about in how you grill them so they remain juicy, not dried out and get the perfect seared crust.
Seasoning options for grilled lamb
For today’s no-fail lamb chop recipe, I’m suggesting garlic, lemon and rosemary for super clean and simple flavorings. Other herbs and spices such as thyme, cumin, celery salt and cumin also work. If you want a smoky flavor chili powder and some chopped mild chilis will give a nice kick.
I also have a greek lamb chop recipe here that you could use as well for simple, but very flavorful lamb.
What cuts of lamb to select to grill
- There are three kinds of lamb that work on the grill, loin chops, shoulder chops and rib chops. I find the loin or rib chops work the best because you can trim off most of the fat which prevents them from starting the flare-ups on the grill.
- You can also grill a leg of lamb, but its not a quick meal for entertaining. They are delicious, but I find I need those meals that can come together quickly in the summer and fall.
- Buy the chop at a width of 1 1/4″ – 1 3/4″ thick, and make sure the cut is the same thickness for the whole chop.
- The chop cooks evenly and doesn’t dry out in parts if you make sure the cut is uniform for all of the chops.
How to cook lamb on the grill:
You will set your grill up with a hot area and a medium-hot area. I find it works successfully every time if I grill the chops on the medium heat until the lamb is about 15° from the final doneness wanted. Then you move it to the hot section to get the beautiful sear marks before you remove it from the grill to allow it to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
How long to cook lamb chops on the grill:
Since all lamb chops are of different sizes I find using a thermometer is the best way to get your lamb chops cooked to the temperature you prefer. 110° for rare, 130° for medium-rare or 150° for medium.
If you don’t have a thermometer you can use the following guidelines for timing on a 1 1/2″ lamb chop to achieve
- Rare: use 3-4 minutes per side on the lower heat section of the grill and then 1 minute per side on the high heat area of the grill for searing.
- Medium-rare: 4 minutes medium heat, 1-2 mins sear
- Medium: 5 minutes medium heat, 1-2 minute sear)
What to serve with Lamb?
- Creamy scalloped potatoes
- Moroccan Rice Pilaf
- Garlic Snap Peas ~ a perfect side dish for Lamb
- Air Fryer Brussel Sprouts with Bacon (so easy and fast to make!)
Love Lamb? You can find ALL the delicious lamb recipes right here!
More Lamb Recipes you might enjoy!
- Greek Lamb Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce
- Air Fryer Lamb Chops
- Grilled Boneless Leg of Lamb
- Greek Style Lamb Chops
Looking for other quick recipes for company?
- Mustard Glazed Pork Chops
- Chili Lime Chicken
- Grilled Steak with a bourbon garlic butter!
- Butter Salmon (Dinner in less than 20 minutes!)
PIN THIS TO YOUR CHICKEN BOARD OR EASY DINNER RECIPES FOR ENTERTAINING BOARD so you can find it easily when you need it.
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No Fail Grilled Lamb Chops
No Fail Grilled Lamb Chops are marinated in rosemary, garlic and citrus for a simple yet elegant meal for entertaining. Ideal to serve at summer and fall gatherings.
Ingredients
- 16 lamb loin chops
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 sprigs rosemary
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a plastic bag, place all ingredients but the lamb chops and salt and pepper. Mix well. Then add lamb chops and allow to marinate for 30 minutes up to 1 day. If grilling later, keep chops in the fridge until 30 minutes before serving. Allow to come to room temp before grilling.
- Prepare your grill with the 2 section cooking. One part hot, one on medium to lower heat.
- When the grill is ready, remove from the marinade and season with salt and pepper. Then place chops onto the lower temp area of the grill. You will use a thermometer to cook to the desired doneness. (See Notes). Cook the chops turning once only until the chops are 15 ° before the desired doneness. So if you are cooking to Medium Rare, you will cook them to 130° then move them to the hot area of the grill to give them the final sear mark. About 1 1/2 minutes per side, but use your thermometer to guarantee no fail finished temperature.
- Once at desired temp, remove from grill and allow to rest 10 minutes for juices to settle back into the chops before serving.
Notes
lamb Doneness temperatures:
125 Rare
145 Medium Rare
155 Medium
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
8 ServingsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 342Saturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 149mgSodium: 154mgProtein: 47g
Jim Leo
Tuesday 17th of October 2023
I have been cooking my lamb this way for 25 yrs. I make a paste with the same ingredients for my leg of lamb.
Homemade Plum BBQ Sauce - Bowl Me Over
Saturday 29th of April 2023
[…] Lamb Chops would be perfect! […]
Mama K
Wednesday 8th of April 2020
I just made these for my family, and they were AMAZING. My 4yo and 7yo devoured them, declaring the meat to be "super yummy!!"
Because I don't do well with advance planning, the marinade only had about 45 minutes to work its magic, so the garlic was the star of the show. Next time, I hope to do a little better planning so that the lemon and rosemary have time to shine a bit more. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Michele
Monday 13th of April 2020
So glad you enjoyed them.... I love that your kids loved them! They were a favorite of mine growing up too! ~ m
SMerch
Sunday 26th of January 2020
I have never made lamb of any sort and very much dislike it my husband has had it several times and also wasn’t a believer it can be good although he had an hors d’oeuvre once that he said was amazing well this recipe now changed both our thoughts! I put the lamb loin chops in a container drizzled with evoo added lemon zest squeeze d juice of half added jarred minced garlic two sprigs of fresh rosemary let it sit over night shook it up every so often took it out a few hours before cooking to set to room temp set one side if grill to med other to high grilled until it hit 115 then moved it over seared it beautifully temped out at about 140 but two were very thick let rest 10 minutes the two bigger ones were med rare and smaller med well I totally forgot to salt and pepper then before cooking I bet would have been even better if possible husband LOVED it!!! The meat was so tender and juicy I even tried it and it was really good only the slightest taste of lambiness he didn’t even notice it but it’s lamb right lol thank you so much for the delicious recipe!!!!!!!!
Julie
Wednesday 23rd of October 2019
Excellent! I always fix lamb chops with Olive oil, fresh rosemary, fresh garlic, course cracked pepper and course salt. The additional of lemon zest & the juice added a certain brightness and elegance to this dish! The grilling tips - basically reverse searing - is the best way to grill a thicker cut to desired finish, and get that nice sear crust. Well done!