Rosemary-Dijon Lamb Chops

zydecopaws · 02-21-2011, 04:58 PM

Another month, another four ingredients that don’t really go together to deal with… This month’s challenge was to come up with a meal that included lamb chops, elbow macaroni, napa cabbage, and blood oranges. By a stroke of luck, I won the dough-in-a-tube throwdown, and was able to pick lamb for last week's throwdown so that I could kill two birds (or a small sheep) with one stone. Or perhaps a sharp knife...

So without further adieu, I present to you a marriage of Rosemary-Dijon Lamb Chops and Brown Rice Macaroni Salad with Napa Cabbage and Blood Orange Supremes.

Let me go on record as saying that my family wasn’t very fond of the this particular meal. In spite of overpaying for it at the not-so-local Whole Foods, this rack was very fatty, and on top of that wasn’t cooked nearly enough to make the wife happy. Personally I like my meat rare, and didn't have near the issues with the meal that they did.

They did like the seasoning, so much so that I will likely use it the next time I cook a leg of lamb. Maybe this is what I get for pushing the limits of the recipe and cooking this as a rack instead of carving it into chops before throwing it on the grill…

The lamb chops in rack form were smothered in a rosemary-dijon paste (recipe here). The lamb was cooked indirectly on the BS Keg at 400°F until it was 135-140°F internally (about 40 minutes). In my mind, this guaranteed it would be juicy and tender, but apparently the pinkness of the meat kept my wife and daughter from eating more than a bite or two each. The seasoning was declared a hit, and will likely be used in the future for some other lamb dish, or possibly a pork tenderloin.

The pasta salad was declared very good, but it was clear it was better without the blood orange supremes than with them. They were too sweet and overpowered the flavor of the rest of the pasta, which is a pretty strong statement when you consider it had feta cheese in it. I will likely make this again, as the brown rice macaroni was flavorful and combined well with the other ingredients. The recipe for the pasta salad can also be found in my blog post, along with links to the other crazies who participated in the festivities this month.

Now where is that Aussie Bill character? I need to speak with him about an ALF award/certification/thingie...

landarc · 02-21-2011, 05:10 PM

I am expecitng a Lamb Farker award any moment meself. Meanwhile, excellent rack you got there sir.

Ron_L · 02-21-2011, 05:49 PM

Nice job! I'm hungry.

Ltigar · 02-21-2011, 08:07 PM

try grilling lamb with nothing but salt.....and you can cook it more than rare its a very tender meat, even if over cooked.

OakPit · 02-21-2011, 11:00 PM

I'm a huge lamb fan, especially rare/med rare. Looks great to me. Can you share the seasoning paste recipe? Sounds intriguing.

Phubar · 02-22-2011, 02:54 AM

Lamb looks good Zyd!

SmokinAussie · 02-22-2011, 04:19 AM

Hey Paul!

There are some people who'd look at that rare rib loin and pass the plate back...

God bless them all but they need prefossional help.

Personally, I'd fang that even if it was still going "Baaaaaa.... where's my Mummy.."

Cheers!

Bill

Big George's BBQ · 02-22-2011, 09:48 AM

Cooked to perfection

zydecopaws · 02-22-2011, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OakPit

I'm a huge lamb fan, especially rare/med rare. Looks great to me. Can you share the seasoning paste recipe? Sounds intriguing.

It's on the blog, but what the heck, I'll reprint it here...

Rosemary-Dijon Paste

1 tsp. sea salt

2 tbs. fresh rosemary (minced finely)

3 tbs. minced garlic

1/3 cup dijon mustard

1 tbs. balsamic vinegar

Fresh Ground pepper to taste

Finely mince the fresh rosemary (use a spice mill or grinder if you have one) and put in a blender with the other ingredients. Blend well (about a minute or two) until all ingredients are well mixed.
Spread thinly on lamb or pork prior to roasting.

zydecopaws · 02-22-2011, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmokinAussie

Hey Paul!

There are some people who'd look at that rare rib loin and pass the plate back...

God bless them all but they need prefossional help.

Personally, I'd fang that even if it was still going "Baaaaaa.... where's my Mummy.."

Cheers!

Bill

WOOHOO!!! I got me an ALF Award!

And personally I liked the whole blood rare thing. Nothing worse than a dried out piece of meat (unless you are eating jerky).

deepsouth · 02-22-2011, 10:16 AM

that looks banGin'!

02-21-2011, 04:58 PM	#1
zydecopaws Babbling Farker Join Date: 01-14-09 Location: Battle Ground, WA	Rosemary-Dijon Lamb Chops Another month, another four ingredients that don’t really go together to deal with… This month’s challenge was to come up with a meal that included lamb chops, elbow macaroni, napa cabbage, and blood oranges. By a stroke of luck, I won the dough-in-a-tube throwdown, and was able to pick lamb for last week's throwdown so that I could kill two birds (or a small sheep) with one stone. Or perhaps a sharp knife... So without further adieu, I present to you a marriage of Rosemary-Dijon Lamb Chops and Brown Rice Macaroni Salad with Napa Cabbage and Blood Orange Supremes. Let me go on record as saying that my family wasn’t very fond of the this particular meal. In spite of overpaying for it at the not-so-local Whole Foods, this rack was very fatty, and on top of that wasn’t cooked nearly enough to make the wife happy. Personally I like my meat rare, and didn't have near the issues with the meal that they did. They did like the seasoning, so much so that I will likely use it the next time I cook a leg of lamb. Maybe this is what I get for pushing the limits of the recipe and cooking this as a rack instead of carving it into chops before throwing it on the grill… The lamb chops in rack form were smothered in a rosemary-dijon paste (recipe here). The lamb was cooked indirectly on the BS Keg at 400°F until it was 135-140°F internally (about 40 minutes). In my mind, this guaranteed it would be juicy and tender, but apparently the pinkness of the meat kept my wife and daughter from eating more than a bite or two each. The seasoning was declared a hit, and will likely be used in the future for some other lamb dish, or possibly a pork tenderloin. The pasta salad was declared very good, but it was clear it was better without the blood orange supremes than with them. They were too sweet and overpowered the flavor of the rest of the pasta, which is a pretty strong statement when you consider it had feta cheese in it. I will likely make this again, as the brown rice macaroni was flavorful and combined well with the other ingredients. The recipe for the pasta salad can also be found in my blog post, along with links to the other crazies who participated in the festivities this month. Now where is that Aussie Bill character? I need to speak with him about an ALF award/certification/thingie... __________________ [B][URL="http://noexcusesbbq.com"]No Excuses BBQ[/URL][/B] [I][COLOR=Red]BBQ, no excuses! Who cares about the weather?[/COLOR][/I] [B][COLOR=Blue] MOINK Ball Wizard and ALF Award Recipient[/COLOR][/B] [SIZE=2]Webers up the wazoo, a bunch o' Pyromids, Bubba Ho-Keg, and [URL="http://noexcusesbbq.com/archives/2987"]the CrockaQue[/URL][/SIZE]

02-21-2011, 05:10 PM	#2
landarc somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 06-26-09 Location: sAn leAnDRo, CA	I am expecitng a Lamb Farker award any moment meself. Meanwhile, excellent rack you got there sir. __________________ [COLOR=DarkGreen][COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=1]me: I don't drink anymore Yelonutz: me either, but, then again, I don't drink any less [/SIZE][/COLOR][/COLOR][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed] [COLOR=Pink]SSS[/COLOR] [/COLOR][/SIZE]

02-21-2011, 05:49 PM	#3
Ron_L Moderator Join Date: 12-09-04 Location: Wandering, but not lost Name/Nickname : Captain Ron	Nice job! I'm hungry. __________________ "Ron Rico, Boss. You can call me Captain Ron..." Naked Fatties Rock! PKGo X 2/PK360/Weber Q1000/Blackstone Camping Griddle/Pit Boss Pro Series 850

02-21-2011, 11:00 PM	#5
OakPit is One Chatty Farker Join Date: 03-17-09 Location: Stowe, VT	I'm a huge lamb fan, especially rare/med rare. Looks great to me. Can you share the seasoning paste recipe? Sounds intriguing. __________________ -Tim Traditional Santa Maria Pit Mini, Small, Medium & Large BGE Weber 22" OTS & 26" OTG & 18"WSM & WGA [COLOR="Red"]Each wearing custom handles from Marty Leach[/COLOR]

02-22-2011, 02:54 AM	#6
Phubar somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 04-24-09 Location: Utrecht,TheNetherPharkinglands	Lamb looks good Zyd! __________________ -TG -WGA (3) -UDS (S,M,L) All fueled by [COLOR=lime]Ecobrasa[/COLOR] Coco Briquettes [URL="http://lowlandsmokers.blogspot.com/2011/06/lowland-smokers-workshop-hei-en-boeicop.html"]Lowland Smokers[/URL] Dutch BBQ Champion 2011 - 2012 [URL="http://lowlandsmokers.blogspot.com/2011/06/lowland-smokers-workshop-hei-en-boeicop.html"]Lowland Smokers[/URL] Dutch BBQ Champion 2013 Low 'n Slow WGA Ambassador

02-21-2011, 08:07 PM	#4
Ltigar Knows what a fatty is. Join Date: 02-13-11 Location: sydney nsw	try grilling lamb with nothing but salt.....and you can cook it more than rare its a very tender meat, even if over cooked.

02-22-2011, 04:19 AM	#7
SmokinAussie somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 10-19-09 Location: Gold Coast, Queensland! (Finally Escaped Melbourne) Name/Nickname : Bill	Hey Paul! There are some people who'd look at that rare rib loin and pass the plate back... God bless them all but they need prefossional help. Personally, I'd fang that even if it was still going "Baaaaaa.... where's my Mummy.." Cheers! Bill __________________ A butterflies wings. About to bring down everything...

02-22-2011, 09:48 AM	#8
Big George's BBQ somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 02-07-08 Location: Framingham, MA Name/Nickname : George	Cooked to perfection

02-22-2011, 10:16 AM	#11
deepsouth somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 04-21-10 Location: Biloxi, MS	that looks banGin'! __________________ Out. Again.