Sherried Lamb Chops

I am pretty traditional when it comes to proteins -- chicken, turkey, pork, beef, fish. I don't like rabbit and I'm not a huge fan of duck. But, a center-cut lamb shank was calling out to me at the grocery store, so I picked it up and figured I could do something with it. If the experiment failed, oh well. It turns out the make-it-up-as-you-go recipe was absolutely delicious. I accepted a little ingredient help from Alton Brown, but the measurements and cooking prep are entirely my own.

Sherried Lamb Chops

2 bone-in lamb chops
olive oil
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground thyme
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup cooking sherry
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp rosemary, crushed

1. In small bowl, combine coriander, thyme, salt, pepper and garlic. Set aside.
2. Blot lamb chops to remove excess moisture. Cover liberally with olive oil on both sides. Coat both sides of chops with spice-garlic mixture.
3. Place seasoned chops in hot skillet. (If the chops don't sizzle when they hit the pan, the pan is not hot enough.) Sear for 2-3 minutes, then turn over for another 2-3 minutes. Before garlic burns, deglaze pan with sherry. Add mustard and rosemary and stir into the pan drippings. Turn the chops over a few times to infuse the sauce. Cover and cook on low heat until desired doneness is achieved, about five minutes.

Substitution Suggestions: I suppose you could experiment with the alcohol used to deglaze the pan, but I like the sweetness of sherry. Fresh is better, obviously, but if you don't have it on hand, dried spices will work just fine.

Lessons Learned: I learned that I should experiment with new meats more often. This recipe was absolutely delicious. I used one large chop (the size of a large hand span), but it's written here for two small chops (the size of two small hands). If you don't think you have enough spice garlic mixture, add to it before you smear it on the chops. I turned the meat over several times to really get the flavor into the meat, then served it with couscous. This is comfort food at its finest.