Cut of the Week: Grass Fed Lamb Chops

I am amazed at how many people are intimidated by this succulent piece of meat but that may be a by-product of the confusion that surrounds all the cuts of lamb that can tout the name of chop. There are leg chops and shoulder shoulder chops which do best with some marinating and then there are the juicy, beyond tender loin chop and rib chop.

The loin chops have the very distinctive T-Bone that separates the filet from the NY Strip. While these are a bit more work to remove all the meat from the bone, it is definitely worth the work. The Rib Chops on the other hand are best known as the chops you will see in an 8 bone Frenched Rack of Lamb. The "Frenching" removes the meat, cartilage and fat from the long bone for a neater presentation.

Here is a rule of thumb for feeding your crowd lamb chops.

Loin Chops:
2 chops per person (6 oz. chops for small appetite)
10 x 6 oz. = approx. 5 people with small appetites
8 x 10 oz. = approx. 4-5 people with large appetites Rib Chops:
2 chops per person (6 oz. chops for small appetite)
8 x 6 oz. = approx. 4 people with small appetites
16 x 6 oz. = approx. 8 people with small appetites