I love the Mediterranean flavors of these grilled harissa lamb loin chops marinated with fresh lemon juice, garlic, cumin and harissa.
Grilled Harissa Lamb Chops
We LOVE lamb chops in my house; I probably make them twice a month but I wanted to try something different and use up my jar of Mina Harissa so I thought it would be fantastic marinated over these lamb chops (and I was right). I served this with a simple salad and made my skinny tzaziki to go along with it put you can also serve this with pilaf on the side for a quick light Mediterranean inspired meal.
If you don’t like lamb I’m sure this would be a great marinade on a lean steak such as flank.
Calculating loin lamb chops are a little tricky because they only provide you the nutrition for the meat, and since these are on the bone, I cut a few chops off the bone to see what the meat weighed and found the bone weighed about 1 oz, so I subtracted 8 oz from the total weight since I’m not eating the bone. My chops weren’t very large and sizes will vary so you may want to weigh yours to be accurate.
If you don’t have a grill or grill pan, you can also cook them in a skillet or under the broiler. Enjoy!
Grilled Harissa Lamb Chops
Ingredients
- 8 lamb loin chops on the bone, about 3-1/2 ounces each, all fat trimmed off
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 3/4 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp prepared Harrisa, purchased or homemade, I used Mina Harissa
- kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Place the lamb chops in a large bowl and squeeze the lemon juice over them.
- Add the crushed garlic, cumin, Harissa and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Cover with plastic wrap and marinate at least 1 hour, or as long as overnight.
- Spray the grill rack or a grill pan with oil; preheat the grill or grill pan to medium-high heat.
- Grill the chops about 4 to 6 minutes on each side, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the side of each chop registers 145°F for medium-rare, or longer if you like your meat more well done.
I made this tonight and served it with a rice salad and my husband was shocked when we had no leftovers thanks to having company over. Terrific recipe!
Great!!
I made this as written with lamb and also used pork chops. Always a winner and SO good!
These are so good! I couldn’t find the harissa sauce in Toronto so I had my brother in law bring it for me from Seattle. I finally made this recipe on the weekend and it was a hit! I love harissa spiced recipes. Please create more!
I made this the other night and cut the lamb off the bone into thin strips after grilling. I put the lamb into a whole wheat pita with cucumbers, tomatoes, avocado and feta cheese (mixed with a little EVOO, oregano and lemon juice). It was the greatest "gyro" I'd ever had! The lamb was so juicy and the harissa (which I made myself with some leftover chipotles in adobo I had kicking around) gave it just a little heat and flavor, but didn't overpower the tasty lamb.
Looks scrumptious! I had never heard of harissa…now I can't wait to try some. yum
Lamb doesn't have to be gamey or pricey. We raise sheep and sell the lamb at our local Farmers' Market. Check at nearby markets…in the case of lamb, LOCAL makest all the difference!
This looks really good. I bought a jar of harissa at Williams-Sonoma (8.99)as it was featured for chicken wings recipe, which turned out amazing. I am glad to see another recipe using Harissa other than chicken wings though.
Thanks!
A must try. Pinned!
Thank you!
Lamb are so delicious but so darn expensive
Made this yesterday using a Cava brand Harissa (from the refrigerated section, right next to the hummus). My boyfriend, who loves steak with all his heart, said, and I quote "This is better than steak."
Spicy but perfect with tzaziki!
So happy you enjoyed it, I love lamb.
I heat my cast iron pan under the broiler for 15 mins n then place the lamb carefully with tongs for 4 mins and then flip for 3. Haven't tried Gina's recipe yet but I make rub with olive oil, parsley, minced garlic, lemon juice and white wine. I serve mine with sautéed cabbage and cut up tomatoes using the same ingredients. So delicious and healthy too !
Wow! These look great, Gina!
I have fell in love with harissa, after trying eggs in purgatory, but this one knocks it out of the park. Definitely a must try and a keeper. Well done Gina!
I'd love to try this, I have epically failed at Lamb Chops over and over, they always have a strange gamey taste when I make them, but at the restaurant it's A-1.
Be sure they are fresh, it makes all the difference. Also marinating them gets rid of that gamey taste for me anyway.
Crystal! cut might be the lamb itself. I found imported has a gamey flavor,
If the sheep is older when slaughtered then the meat will be more gamey. I grew up where lamb had 3 grades – lamb, hogget and mutton and the grade depended on the age of the sheep. From Wikipedia:-
"Lamb, hogget, and mutton (UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia) are the meat of domestic sheep (species Ovis aries). The meat of a sheep in its first year is lamb; that of a juvenile sheep older than one year is hogget; and the meat of an adult sheep is mutton."
Bought Harissa for your egg recipe — but this lamb may be the first recipe I try it with — love lamb! Sounds incredible! Thanks Gina!
enjoy!
You dont need to spray your grill pan. Just wait long enough, the chops will come off if that side is done cooking. There is also enough fat in the lamb as you can see (the "marbeling" of the meat)
Such a beautiful plate of summery goodness! These chops look so scrumptious!
I've never had lamb before but this looks so yummy!
This looks wonderful, and your presentation is lovely 🙂
yumyyyyy !!! love lamb meet :)..until i see a little LIVE lamb haha
xo
http://franchemeetsfashion.blogspot.cz/
Could you use chicken or pork chops? I'm a little nervous about trying lamb.
Sure
I love lamb but usually it's leg of lamb at a big family gathering. I rarely think of it for weeknight dinner but now I will. Chops are quick and these look tasty!
It's so quick to make chops!