Lamb is a beautiful meat. I love how a native Australian described his love of lamb on Google, “you haven’t lived until you had lamb.” And while lamb is the national meat in Australia, I dare say, it is of equal prominence in some parts of the Mediterranean, and I ate a lot of it growing up!
But lamb can be intimating. A few months ago, we had a bunch of friends over, and I ended up serving these braised lamb chops. Everyone ate well; in fact everyone had second helpings. But as we started to clear the table, a friend of mine quietly confided, “I never really liked lamb.” I smiled thinking, “O NO!” Then she explained that until she had my lamb dinner, she had written anything lamb off. She went on to candidly explain her reasons. She had been scarred by what she described as “gamey, under- spiced lamb!”
One of the ways I love to cook lamb is braising. Since it’s winter time, and with what else we all have to make for the Holidays, braised lamb chops are an easy and impressive dish. I start with a simple spice mix; crushed mint and garlic powder are a must! And after browning the lamb chops, I work on a braising sauce of shallots, white wine, lemon juice and broth. Out-of-this world! A couple of hours in the oven is all it took to accomplish some fall-off-the-bone lamb chops! The spices and the braising liquid work so well together to tame that “gamey” taste.
Let me also add, the wine-lemon braising liquid doubles as a nice gravy or sauce to serve with the lamb chops. So be sure to keep that! You don’t have to make an additional cranberry chutney if you don’t want to. I just thought I would experiment with a cranberry-harissa chutney for a little holiday pizzazz . The cranberry chutney here is not necessarily a traditional topping to serve with lamb, where I come from. But the flavors work so surprisingly well together.
Step-by-step photos for Braised Lamb Chops Recipe
(Scroll down for print-friendly recipe)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare the spice mix of salt, black pepper, garlic powder, dried crushed mint (measurements below). Spice the lamb chops on all sides generously with the spice mix. Let sit in room temperature for 20 minutes.
In a large cast iron skillet, heat 2 tbsp olive oil. Now add lamb chops and brown on all sides over medium-high heat. Remove lamb momentarily from the cooking skillet.
In the same skillet, add sliced shallots and toss around briefly. Now add white wine and bay leaf. Bring to a high simmer and let the liquid reduce slightly (about 4 minutes). Add broth and lemon juice, and let simmer again on medium-high heat for another 5 minutes.
Add lamb back to skillet and let everything cook together for 10-15 minutes.
Cover skillet and place in a 350 F-heated oven for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours, or until lamb is cooked to tender. Half-way through cooking, turn the lamb chops over. Cook for 10 more minutes, uncovered. While lamb cooks, proceed to make the cranberry-harissa and mint chutney. Place chutney ingredients in a heavy sauce pan or pot. Place on medium-high heat and bring to a boil; stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and let simmer until cranberries soften forming a thick chutney (about 10-15 minutes). Stir a couple of times during cooking. Remove from heat and set aside.
Once lamb is ready, remove from oven. Serve hot with a little garnish of crushed mint and fresh parsley leaves. Place the wine-lemon braising sauce and the cranberry-harissa chutney in two different bowls to serve alongside the lamb chops. Enjoy!
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