I was feeling like I needed to sink my teeth into something grilled. Something sticky and crispy on the exterior and tender and succulent on the inside. It needed to have a super rich flavor and I think I made it with my Roasted Garlic Balsamic Glazed Lamb Loin Chops.
Flavor wise this dish is so much more than the name I gave it. I mean, I wanted a punch of WOW factor and this delivers.
I thought about it for a while and decided that a reduced balsamic vinegar would be the base and with a little brown sugar here, a little olive oil there, and some fresh rosemary from my garden since the plants are on overload, it would be a good start. Then I thought about the jar of roasted garlic I had in the refrigerator and knew it had to be in the mix. The subtle, deep and rich flavor of the roasted garlic added just that little something else. Since I just got a beautiful bag of Birds Eye chilis the other day for my Thai Sweet Chili Glazed Salmon, I figured a few of them sliced for the spice would help make this all come together. Did they ever.
I try to keep the usual suspects like marinated red onions and roasted garlic already made in my refrigerator for quick adds to other dishes and salads. Fresh herbs are always a must to have on hand for picking up that salad or nuancing that dish and especially for garnishing a plate for the photo.
If you are a food blogger maybe you can relate. I mean, I can hear Dave say right now as I type, “When can we eat it?” as I say, “Just one more picture.” Ha!
OK, so for the roasted garlic – if you don’t have any on hand, preheat your oven to 350°F. With a sharp knife slice the top portion of the head of each garlic bulb. Place the top back on the garlic bulb. Wrap the sliced garlic bulbs in aluminum foil, making a nice little package and place in a 8” round cake pan or baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. When cooled squeeze the garlic from each top and bottom into a small bowl and set aside.
This gets sticky, but get every last drop of that delicious garlic pulp and discard the garlic skins. The roasted garlic is so creamy and buttery, not as pungent or strong as one might think.
The reason I put the tops back on is to use every bit of the garlic bulb and I wrap them so they don’t form a skin either.
Place in a container and top with a little olive oil to keep them sealed and cover. If you make make a large batch store it in the refrigerator for multiple uses.
Using kitchen string tie the rosemary sprigs together. In a small sauce pan add the balsamic vinegar, sugar, rosemary, mashed roasted garlic, and trimmed birds eye chili or red pepper flakes flakes. Heat to boil, reduce heat and simmer until liquid is reduced by half. You want a thick syrup consistency.
Remove from heat, discard rosemary bundle and chilis. Allow to cool and pour over lamb loin chops. Turn meat over to coat on all sides, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. The longer the better.
Get your grill to 450°F. Scrape and clean the grill grates, spritz with oil to prevent sticking. Grill the chops 3 minutes on one side and 5 minutes on the other for medium. Baste with marinade as you grill.
I love when you baste on the grill and it gets all sticky sweet and the tips of areas get crunchy and charred. It all adds to the richness and flavor of the meal.
Look at these beauties! Plus the lamb loin chops are so juicy and definitely hold up to the marinade, but also retain their beautiful flavor.
The chunks of roasted garlic and the thick, reduced balsamic marinade are finger licking good on these bad boys.
I figured for a burst of flavor and color the chopped, fresh mint would be my other herb addition.
I ended up serving these with some steamed barley and for the vegetable, went with Roasted Carrots with Lime and Toasted Cumin Coriander and Fennel that cooked as the lamb grilled.
Don’t you just want to go sink your teeth into this beauty? I did. Enjoy!
Roasted Garlic Balsamic Glazed Lamb Loin Chops
Ingredients
- 8 lamb loin chops
- 1/4 cup roasted garlic
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary tied
- 2 birds eye chili peppers or 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- With a sharp knife slice the top portion of the head of each garlic bulb. Place the top back on the garlic bulb. Wrap the sliced garlic bulbs in aluminum foil, making a nice little package and place in a 8” round cake pan or baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. When cooled squeeze the garlic from each top and bottom into a container and top with olive oil to seal. This gets sticky, but get every last drop and discard the garlic skins.
- Using kitchen string tie the rosemary sprigs together. In a small sauce pan add the balsamic vinegar, sugar, rosemary, mashed roasted garlic, and trimmed birds eye chili or red pepper flakes flakes. Heat to boil, reduce heat and simmer until liquid reduced by half. You want a thick syrup consistency. Remove from heat, discard rosemary bundle and chilis. Allow to cool and pour over lamb loin chops. Turn meat over to coat on all sides, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. The longer the better.
- Get your grill to 450°F. Grill the chops 3 minutes on one side and 5 minutes on the other for medium. Baste with marinade as you grill.
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.
Kevin, neither myself nor my husband (Texans) had ever eaten lamb (hubs always heard his dad complain about the nasty lamb in the army). However, I enjoy trying new foods and he’s flexible. I happened to notice the “Manager’s Special” at the grocery store included lamb loin chops 50% for quick sale and went for it. Hubs enjoys balsamic recipes I’ve made in the past so he chose your recipe from my two options—plus I always enjoy your recipes so it was a slamb dunk! The cut of lamb was tender and the balsamic glaze was sooo delicious! I could… Read more »
Thanks for making my day Carol! Hopefully you can try my Greek Potatoes over on my other site, Silk Road Recipes. Cheers!
Could I cook these on the stove top in a pan?
Definitely, or under the broiler. Just be sure finished temp is 135°F for medium rare and 150°F for medium.
Well, I just tried this with some loin chops.. didn’t marinate them as my husband is iffy about balsamic, but put over top after the lamb was grilled.. omg.. freaking awesome!! Thanks so much!!
Thank you Karen! I am so glad you enjoyed it!
Okay – I’m late to the party and just stumbled on your AMAZING site (lamb loin chops recipe search). I am frantically Pinning recipes and sharing your URL with friends and family. Love everything you do and the variety is absolutely incredible. I really relate as that is the way I and our boys cook – “doesn’t that sound delicious? Then let’s MAKE IT” ! Just wanted to say thanks for sharing your gift and experience. I hope you have 1 million+ followers, man. You deserve it.
Thank you Keri! Better late than never! I hope you find some more recipes on my site you enjoy! Thank you for stopping by!
That’s one of those great recipes I will make even with different cuts and kinds of meat; very forgiving as I often don’t pay much of attention to measuring.
I have already try it twice, both my husband and I loved it!
Thanks a lot for sharing.
Thanks so much, that made my day Duona. Cheers! 🙂
Can I use honey, maple syrup or date sugar as substitute for the brown sugar?
Sure you could Jacqueline, but I would drop the amount down from 1/4 cup to maybe 2-3 tablespoons. Hope this helps. 🙂
Nice glaze. I had to use three-quarter cup of an evil bottle of balsamic vinegar “dressing”, supplanted with three tablespoons malt vinegar as I was out of straight balsamic, but it worked wonders. The sugars caramelize enough to thicken nicely.
So happy to hear that you tried this out Kieran, thanks for stopping by and letting me know. Now that you reminded me of this one I need to get me some lamb loin chops! 🙂
I’ve made this recipe several times and it is always delicious. The key is marinating over night. Thank you for sharing
Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know Gail! Have a great weekend and I think you just reminded me of what to make again this weekend. 😉
Just use this on my lamb chops tonight and it is AWESOME!!!! The only thing is I didn’t have any bird eyes so I use a couple chilpoltes instead. .. Freakin awesome… good job man its a keeper :)))
Sorry for the late reply Brandon, but I’m so happy to read it turned out well for you, too! The birds eye are another type of heat, but the chipotle sounds awesome. Thanks!
I showed the Man this post and he almost squashed me running to the freezer to see if we have Lamb chops. Guess I will be making this tonight. Ill have to try your Crumble for my dinner tho LOL
That’s funny. They were finger lickin’ good for sure. And really, I see nothing wrong with dessert for dinner 😉 Let me know how they turn out for you.
It took a while but I got to making the Lamb Chops eventually. Unfortunately Lamb down here is the most expensive meat available.
But The man Polished 7 Chops himself, and still asked for more. Glutton I know!! LOL.. I might upp the chilli just a tad next time tho, but he said the rest was AWESOME.
Thanks have saved this for future use.
Cheers
Flee
South Africa
Flee! So good to hear from you! I am glad to hear you were able to enjoy these bad boys, it’s one of my favorites. I say the spicier the better, go for it. Have a wonderful holiday with the family and thanks for stopping by the site and updating me. All the best.