Undercooking even tender lamb chops can render them unpleasantly chewy, while overcooking will lead to tough, dried-out meat. Rib chops should be cooked to about 130°F, while loin chops are better at 135°F or even 140°F.
Braising involves cooking the meat fully submerged in a flavoursome liquid at a low temperature (somewhere in the 60℃/140℉ – 80℃/175℉ range) for a long period of time (anything over 2 hours). The connective tissue softens and the tough collagen turns to gelatin, producing succulent and tender meat.
Slow cooking in liquid transforms tougher cuts of lamb into fork-tender meat.
Tip#3 Cook on Low Heat for a Long Time
It is a connective structure that squeezes out meat juices while heated on very high heat. And this is why well-done lamb is more difficult to eat. The collagen starts to gelatinize as well as the meat becomes softer if the heat is kept between 160° and 205°F.
It's because you haven't let the collagen break down. Extend the cook time, make sure there's enough liquid and keep an eye on the dish.
Simmering in a little bit of liquid or broth is a great way to tenderize. Acidity can also be your friend here. A little bit of vinegar and lemon juice in the liquid can help you tenderize the meat. It adds moisture, but it also cooks the meat.
When meat is sliced with the grain, it often results in tougher, chewier pieces. Follow this tip: The grain of the meat refers to the direction in which the muscle fibers run. Always slice lamb against the grain, cutting across the muscle fibers rather than with them.
What's the best way to cook lamb chops? Lamb chops and steaks, as with beef steaks, should be cooked over a high heat, quickly, and can be quick-roasted, too, depending on how thick they are.
If you cut it incorrectly, you'll end up with tough, chewy meat — even if you cooked it perfectly! It's all about something called the grain. All meat contains muscle fibers that run parallel to each other.
Slow cooking creates a more intense flavour due to the fat present in the cuts. The fat also helps to create tender meat. Tender cuts of meat are more suited to quick cooking either by pan-frying or in the oven. A hot direct heat is necessary to cook the lamb quickly and served pink, overcooked lamb is dry and tough.
Roast lamb should be served pink in the middle. If overcooked, it is dry, chewy and unpleasant. To decrease the cooking time, you can ask your butcher to remove the bone running down the middle of the leg, a technique known as butterflying.
Lamb loin roast is best prepared using dry heat cooking methods such as roasting, grilling, or broiling. Cook lamb loin with care, as it can dry out easily if overcooked. Other cooking methods for lamb loin roast include brushing the loin with oil and sprinkling it with salt and pepper before grilling or broiling.
However, if you leave lamb in the slow cooker for too long it will become stringy and dry. Although it's still edible, it won't have the same tender juiciness that you want from slow-cooked lamb.
Giving the chops a few minutes to rest so the fibers of the meat relax. This means a more tender bite and a juicier piece of meat. Follow this tip: After taking your chops off the stove or grill, or out of the oven, transfer them to a separate plate, tent with foil, and let the meat rest for five minutes.
Marinating the lamb in milk will draw out and settle some of its less pleasant smells and flavors. This method of milk soaking is also used for other meats with overwhelmingly gamey flavors, such as venison.
The common tip for all lamb meat is not to cook the meat for too long. Since lamb meat itself is tender, when overcooked, the meat's fiber shrink and become tougher.
Covering your meat in salt or an acidic marinade several hours before cooking is another way to jump-start tenderization. Salt helps break down those tough proteins, but it needs some time to work. If you sprinkle your meat generously with salt (on all sides) up to 24 hours before cooking, it'll begin the process.
After roasting or grilling a leg of lamb, allow the meat to rest for at least 15 minutes before serving. This helps the juices redistribute throughout the meat instead of over the cutting board!
Tips for Cooking Lamb
Roast leaner cuts of lamb in a hotter oven (450°F) to get a lovely brown crust and a well-cooked center; cook fattier cuts of lamb low and slow (325°F) to render all the fat and allow the lamb to cook in its juices.
While your lamb chops are still on the grill, insert the digital meat thermometer into the thickest part to check the internal temperature. When they reach an internal temperature of 145°F, your lamb chops are done. Most lamb chops will reach doneness in 7 minutes total.
Lamb rib chops (the ones that look like lollipops) are best when cooked to about 130°F. Loin chops (the ones that look like T-bones) are better when cooked to a higher temperature, about 140°F. Note that USDA recommends that lamb is cooked to 145°F, which in lamb chops is about medium-well.
Muscles also toughen with age, so a younger animal yields more tender meat. Additionally, overcooking meat, even meat that comes from the more tender muscles, can make it tough. That's because heat causes the proteins in the meat to firm up.