These Lamb Loin Chops in Honey, Madeira and Mint are so, so tasty. Where I usually tend to go the Greek route in flavors for these, I decided Spain would be my influence tonight.
Ahh the Amazon box arrived! Sorry, but it always feel a little like Christmas when I get something in the mail I ordered. I was excited to open it and view the long awaited purchases, the sad side effect of ordering online and waiting, unlike the instant gratification one gets when actually purchasing in a store and having it in ones own hands. My treasure included several new food related books on photography and cookbooks and after reviewing them all with a quick look over, I knew the current novel I was reading would be put on hold for a while as I took a deeper read into these in the coming weeks.
What awaits me are Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes and The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World’s Most Glorious – and Perplexing – City by David Lebovitz with his My Paris Kitchen: Recipes and Stories on order for April 2014 release, Own Your Kitchen: Recipes to Inspire & Empower by Anne Burrell and Suzanne Lenzer, Focus On Food Photography for Bloggers (Focus On Series): Focus on the Fundamentals by Matt Armendariz, Plate to Pixel: Digital Food Photography & Styling by Helene Dujardin. Hopefully these will keep me inspired, busy, focusing on my work and sharpening my skill set here.
One picture led to another to another and I felt inspired to do some cooking. I had some lamb loin chops I wanted to use and instead of doing a Greek influenced Grilled Lamb Loin Chops, I wanted to do a little Spanish influenced version. I didn’t have any Port, but did have Madeira, and thought a lot about a kabob dish I had a while ago at a Spanish restaurant that was marinated in that. So, I decided to use the Madeira with some honey, fresh chopped mint and a little olive oil as a marinade, set it aside to do it’s thing and while Dave and I went to see the new movie Gravity with George Clooney and Sandra Bullock.
The end result was an amazingly rich and delicious grilled lamb. I put the reserved marinade in a saucepan and cooked it down to a nice syrup consistency to baste the grilled chops with before serving. I paired the chops with some fresh steamed broccoli, purple cabbage, carrots, zucchini and green onions all tossed with a little olive oil, butter, lemon juice and tarragon.
Lamb Loin Chops in Honey, Madeira and Mint
Ingredients
- 2 lbs lamb loin chops
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup Madeira
- 1/2 cup orange honey
- 3 tbsp of fresh chopped mint
- pinch kosher salt
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a bowl whisk the olive oil, honey, Madeira, salt and red pepper flakes thoroughly.
- Strip the mint leaves off the stems and chop coarsely. Mix all and pour into a large Ziploc bag.
- Add the lamb chops to the bag and let marinate at room temperature for 2 hours.
- Preheat the grill to 400°F.
- Grill one side for 3 minutes then turn down to 350°F, flip the chops and grill for 5 minutes more.
- Although, grill to your liking, but for a nice medium with a little pink I do 5 minutes per side over medium heat.
You dont see many recipes that use mint that look this good! Love it!
Mint is always a great herb to use!
Hey Kevin! OMG I marinated my half leg of lamb overnight – I doubled the marinade and added some rosemary (just because I love rosemary) and then slow roasted it to medium rare. I did not even use my homemade mint sauce, just dunked the slices in the pan juices! I think that was the best lamb I have ever done! Thank you! My sides were steamed asparagus and a corn casserole with chipotle, which were good, but that lamb was the star!! My husband forgot to drink his glass of wine because he was so consumed with the lamb!:)… Read more »
Love to read responses like this. So happy your holiday lamb dinner – and dessert, were a success! I do love that marinade. 🙂
Hey Kevin! Menu change – I found some nice asparagus at the market today, albeit it not local, so am subbing that for Easter instead of peas and I am also making my carrot cake, which I only make at Easter and on my birthday because I cannot stop eating it!
I think you guys will really enjoy the marinade for this. Have a great Easter!
Hey Kevin! My local market has leg of lamb for Easter – YES! I am going to marinate it in this and roast it to medium rare. Served with peas and smashed red potatoes and maybe I will add some cabbage and bacon to the potatoes 🙂 I also have our fresh mint sauce as a go along. Here in TN I have thyme, parsley and mint that returns every year in my side garden, which is a good thing! Have a Happy Easter!
Wow, wish we were neighbors! Let me know how it turns out!
Hey Kevin! What a beautiful plate of deliciousness! It looks like Easter!
Now that would be a tasty dinner for Easter, thanks for the idea!