Tender, juicy, and loaded with flavor, these lemon garlic grilled lamb chops are a favorite in our home. They’re perfect on their own, but a great compliment to any mixed grill!
As the weather warms up I find myself craving grilled meat, and these lamb rib chops are one of my favorites.
They’re not only delicious and tender, but fun to eat since you can easily pick them up and eat the meat off the bone, hence their nickname, lamb lollipops.
Grilled lamb rib chops are excellent with a side of rice pilaf and some grilled vegetables or a green salad with Italian vinaigrette.
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Lamb. If you can, use a Frenched lamb rack. Costco usually has the best prices on lamb rib chops. If you buy the rack, you’ll need to cut it into individual rib chops. It’s very easy to do!
- Garlic, lemon, and rosemary. While there are other ingredients in the lamb marinade, these are the predominant flavors and compliment the grilled lamb chops perfectly.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make it
- Mince 5 cloves of garlic and 1 tablespoon of rosemary leaves. Zest 2 teaspoons of lemon, and juice 1/4 cup of lemon juice. Combine the garlic, rosemary, zest, and juice in a bowl with 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon of Diamon Crystal kosher slat and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper along with 3/4 cup of olive oil and whisk together until emulsifed. (Photo #1)
- If you purchased a full rack of rib chops, cut the rack into individual chops. (Photo #2)
- Season the chops with 2 teaspoons worth of Diamond Crystal kosher salt on both sides. (Photo #3)
- Place the rib chops in a resealable plastic bag and pour half the marinade into the bag making sure the remaining marinade doesn’t come in contact with the raw lamb since you’ll save the other half of the marinade to use as a serving sauce. Mix well and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight. (Photo #4)
- Around 45 minutes before grilling, remove the lamb from the fridge. Prepare a charcoal or gas grill to medium-high heat. Place the lamb rib chops on the grill and cook for 2-3 minutes per side. Note about flame: Lamb chops have a lot of fat, so it has a tendency to flare up when grilled. I always set a cool spot with coal so that I can move them off to the side if the flame gets too high. Once the flame dies down, move the chops back to the hot side and continue to grill. A gas grill is easier to control, especially if you have multiple zones. (Photo #5)
- Once the lamb reaches an internal temperature of 130-135f, remove and serve immediately with the remaining marinade as a dipping sauce. Enjoy! (Photo #6)
Top tips
- Flaming up: Lamb chops have a lot of fat, so they have a tendency to flare up when grilled. I always set a cool spot with coal so that I can move them off to the side if the flame gets too high. Move them back once the flame dies down. Gas grills, with multiple zones, are far easier to control.
- Lamb temperature. Lamb chops are excellent when medium to medium-rare which is roughly 130-135f, though cook them to your liking.
- Enjoy promptly. Grilled lamb chops are best enjoyed right away so have your side and other dishes ready to go!
- Serving. Rosemary stems make a great garnish for the rib chops as they’re visually appealing and add freshness.
More great grilling recipes
Here are a few of my favorite recipes to make on the grill. Sometimes I make them all together and serve a mixed grill!
- Grilled pork chops – center cut pork shops with rosemary.
- Grilled chicken thighs – with a simple Italian marinade.
- Grilled fennel salad – with lemons, oil-cured olives, and shaved Parmigiano Reggiano.
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Lemon Garlic Grilled Lamb Rib Chops
Ingredients
- 8-10 lamb rib chops
- 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal Kosher salt
For the marinade
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves minced
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher salt to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- If required, cut the rack of lamb into individual rib chops. Season the chops with kosher salt on both sides.
- Combine all of the marinade ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk until combined.
- Place the rib chops into a sealable bag and pour half of the marinade on to them. Mix well and refrigerate for at least 2 hours but preferably overnight. Save the other half of the marinade to use as a serving sauce.
- Remove the lamb chops from the fridge at least 45 minutes before grilling.
- Prepare a charcoal or gas grill to medium-high heat. Grill the lamb chops for 2-3 minutes per side or until they reach an internal temp of 130-135f.
- Serve the chops immediately with the reserved 1/2 cup of serving sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
- This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled. Costco has the best price for Frenched lamb racks.
- Half of the marinade is to be saved “before touching the meat” and can be used as a serving sauce.
- Rib chops are best eaten right away after grilling. Leftovers can be saved for up to 3 days in the fridge.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Heh Jim: I’ve made a LOT of your recipes and liked most of them. I tried to make the Lemon Garlic Grilled Lamp Rib Chops and had difficulty cutting the rack into riblets. You said it was easy but . . . I looked at some Utube videos and it looks like a production to me. I couldn’t find the video for this recipe so I was wondering if you could give us some tips.
Hi Debra. You need to cut down at a slight angle. I should have shown how to do it. I will either reshoot that process or make a video soon.
I’d like to make these on the stove top. Can this be done.m? Please explain how.
Hi Nanette, you can make these on the stove in a cast iron or stainless steel pan over medium-high heat. Be sure to use a touch of high smoke point oil.