Harissa Lamb Chops

Succulent and spicy, these Harissa Lamb Chops are a real feast. Marinaded in my easy Harissa Dressing and then fast roasted or grilled, the chops stay tender within but with a charred, caramelized exterior. For extra spice, serve with harissa spiked yogurt.

CAN YOU IMPROVE ON A GOOD LAMB CHOP?

A plain, simple roasted lamb chop is a wonderful thing. Especially if it’s top quality British lamb.

But, much as I love a well flavoured, juicy lamb chop au naturel, even I sometimes want to ring the changes. I particularly like spicy food and not a week will go by when we don’t have one or two spicy meals cooked at home. And by spicy, I don’t necessarily mean hot. Too much heat can mask the intrinsic flavour of the meat which, it seems to me, is a waste. On the other hand, subtle warm spicing that leaves just a tingle on the lips can be utterly satisfying.

That’s where my Harissa Dressing, based on roasted red peppers, comes in. I’ve written about and given a recipe for my Harissa Dressing here and you’ll need to make a batch of that to cook these Harissa Lamb Chops. While the dressing is great drizzled over falafel, salads, roasted vegetables, meat or fish, it also makes a great marinade for meat – both flavouring and tenderising it.

THE LAMB

For these Harissa Lamb Chops, I used Shropshire breed lamb. Shropshires are a traditional British breed producing rich, succulent meat. I’ve recently bought a lamb box, containing half a butchered lamb, and it’s been great to be able to dip into the freezer and have a wide range of cuts to choose from.

I bought the lamb box from Troutsdale Farm, not far from me here in the Staffordshire Moorlands. Their Shropshire breed lamb, grass fed and raised slowly and naturally, is full of flavour and excellent to cook with.

Because my lamb box contained mature lamb, sometimes called hoggett, the chops were pretty big. I think that’s ideal for this recipe as you can really whack the heat up to get a fabulous, charred exterior without overcooking the tender meat within.

CLICK HERE TO READ MY POST ABOUT TROUTSDALE FARM’S SHROPSHIRE BREED LAMB

IS THIS A RECIPE?

I’m almost hesitant to call this post a recipe. With a batch of my Harissa Dressing it’s really just a matter of giving your raw lamb chops a good covering of it, leaving to absorb the flavours then cooking to your liking.

Ideally, for the best flavour, I’d say marinade your chops overnight if you can. However, even with quite large chops like these, 2 -3 hours will still give you good results. Simply pour over as much of the dressing as you need and rub well into the meat with your hands. Then you just cover and leave in the fridge until ready to cook.

Half an hour or so before you’re going to cook your Harissa Lamb Chops, take them from the fridge and allow to come up to room temperature.

If your chops are thin, then you could cook them under a pre-heated, hot grill or even in a griddle pan. But if they’re pretty thick, like mine, they’d do better in a hot oven. I prefer roasting anyway, as I find it gives more even cooking. But it’s up to you.

Cooking at a high heat drives off the water content in the marinade and leaves behind a crusty exterior while the inside of the meat stays tender and juicy. The roasted red pepper at the base of my Harissa Dressing intensifies this caramelization, giving a wonderfully dark and rich layerof spicy sweetness.

It’s hard to give timings for how long it’ll take for your Harissa Lamb Chops to get to this stage due to differences in size, but I roasted my very thick chops for around 20 minutes, turning the oven up higher still for the final 5 minutes.

WHAT TO EAT WITH HARISSA LAMB CHOPS?

With rich and spicy, meaty dishes like this, I like to serve plenty of cooked and raw vegetables for balance and contrast of flavour and texture. Here we had a simple mixed salad along with my Cauliflower Broccoli Tabbouleh to which I added some pistachio nuts. Pickles like gherkins, whole and sliced chillies, as well as olives, are good for bringing an acidic edge too.

For a lightly spiced, creamy dressing, mix some of my Harissa Dressing into plain yogurt and drizzle over. Lamb’s traditional, herby accompaniment of mint is good stirred in and scattered over the chops too.

Using the same technique of marinading in harissa dressing and then roasting, I’ve also successfully made harissa chicken wings. Just roast more gently at first to ensure the meat is cooked all the way through before taking the heat up a notch to get that delicious, crusty, spicy exterior.

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Harissa Lamb Chops

Marinaded in my easy Harissa Dressing then fast roasted, these lamb chops are succulent and spicy with a caramelized exterior but moist and tender within.

Course Main Course

Keyword Harissa Lamb Chops, Lamb Chops

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

• 1 quantity Harissa Dressing see Recipe Notes below
• 4 lamb chops use 6 if your chops are small
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

1. Pour the Harissa Dressing all over the lamb chops and rub well into the meat using your hands.

   If liked, keep back some of the harissa dressing, stir into plain yogurt along with chopped mint to serve with the chops.

2. Cover and put in the fridge. Leave to marinate overnight if possible, or a minimum of 2 hours.
   

3. Preheat the oven to 200C and put in a roasting tin containing the olive oil.
   

4. When up to temperature, carefully add the chops to the hot oil.
   

5. Cook until done to your liking, turning occasionally (10-25 minutes). The outside should be dark and caramelized: turn up the oven temperature for the final few minutes if necessary.
   

6. Serve with salads, pickles and the harissa flavoured yogurt if liked.

   Recommended accompaniment: Cauliflower-Broccoli Tabbouleh
   

   
   

Recipe Notes

Recipe for Harissa Dressing here

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