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Spicy Cumin Lamb Chops (or pork chops)
Jun. 7th, 2010 08:08 amBack when I didn't like to cook, my boyfriend at the time said he loved to curl up with a pile of cookbooks. This had seemed like a bizarre pasttime and yet I've learned to love doing the same thing. Problem is that I'd quickly run out of bookshelves (and cash) if I bought every cookbook I wanted to look at. Hooray for the library! I've been checking out piles of cookbooks and thumbing through for ideas. Good thing too, because some of them turn out to be fun to look at but not really something I'd want to keep around all the time.
So on a night when I was thumbing through Flatbreads and Flavors by Jeffrey Alford, I found this flavor combination and thought I'd try it on some lamb chops. Looked simple enough. It was such a perfect balance of savory with a bit of spicy heat but not too much. The great thing about shoulder chops is that they're a less expensive cut of meat and there's plenty of fat. Fat is where the flavor is! Do not fear the fat. Do not be tempted to trim away all the fat before you cook it. I tried trimming and it was still good but not nearly as good as the full-fat version. Plus it seemed to cook faster and I overcooked it a little. Without the fat, it didn't do that amazing meat plus melting fat taste and texture with each bite. At least cook it with all the fat and then trim away the fat at the end when you're ready to serve. Oh and if you like bone marrow, don't forget to slurp out the bit of marrow in the circular piece of bone. Heaven!
You can also use pork chops instead. I made Spicy Cumin Pork Chops with Grilled Pineapples and Caramelized Onions and that was another night for very satisfied tummies. And another time we tried this with goat loin chops and were still very happy with it.
So on a night when I was thumbing through Flatbreads and Flavors by Jeffrey Alford, I found this flavor combination and thought I'd try it on some lamb chops. Looked simple enough. It was such a perfect balance of savory with a bit of spicy heat but not too much. The great thing about shoulder chops is that they're a less expensive cut of meat and there's plenty of fat. Fat is where the flavor is! Do not fear the fat. Do not be tempted to trim away all the fat before you cook it. I tried trimming and it was still good but not nearly as good as the full-fat version. Plus it seemed to cook faster and I overcooked it a little. Without the fat, it didn't do that amazing meat plus melting fat taste and texture with each bite. At least cook it with all the fat and then trim away the fat at the end when you're ready to serve. Oh and if you like bone marrow, don't forget to slurp out the bit of marrow in the circular piece of bone. Heaven!
You can also use pork chops instead. I made Spicy Cumin Pork Chops with Grilled Pineapples and Caramelized Onions and that was another night for very satisfied tummies. And another time we tried this with goat loin chops and were still very happy with it.
