I once heard an executive say we should acknowledge our efforts but equally celebrate our failures! That didn’t really ring true for me until last night. I boasted and bragged (and perhaps this is why) about our Big Green Egg and how fantastic it is. Well in truth it is, but sometimes the cook can be the weak link in the chain!
I decided to try a simple lamb recipe from Wise One Recipes and well, let’s just say that ALWAYS USE YOUR INTUITION AND GUT FEEL WHEN IT COMES TO GRILLING! I’ll post the ingredients and process but let me tell you that I will never, ever, ever cook on this egg over 500 degrees again!
10 lamb loin chops, cut 11⁄4 inch thick
6 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
6 cloves fresh garlic
1 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 tbsp Mustard
Freshly Ground Pepper Salt (I use sea salt)
The Marinade
Mince the garlic finely. Heat the oil in a small frying pan until hot but not smoking. Add the rosemary and several grinds of pepper to the oil, remove from the heat. Strain the rosemary sprigs out of the oil, the oil will retain enough rosemary flavor. Add the balsamic vinegar, mustard, and garlic to the oil. Stir until blended.
The Lamb
Trim the chops to your liking and place in a non-reactive bowl. Pour the marinade over the lamb, working it into the meat. Marinate for an hour or so, or overnight in the refrigerator. If marinated in the refrigerator, allow them to come to room temperature before cooking.
The Fire (now this is where it ALL went very wrong!!!!)
Fire up the Big Green Egg to 700° (Don’t do this! Fire it up to a nice medium heat of around 400F –
The Cooking (Get everything ready to work quickly, have a pair of good tongs available)
Remove the lamb from the marinade, leaving a thin coating of oil with some of the garlic. Sear the lamb on each side for about two minutes. (at 700 degrees two minutes killed the chops!) Close top and bottom dampers to barely open and roast the chops for an additional twenty minutes. (20 minutes if you want your lamb to resemble the soles of your shoes!) A read with a quick check thermometer should show about 125° for rare and about 140° for medium to medium-well. Ha, ha, ha – when I put in the instant read thermometer, it went off the charts and wailed a warning that the chops were already at 200 F internal temp – they hadn’t been 0n the grill for more than 4 minutes!
Lesson learned – don’t ever boast and cook for friends, particularly when you pick a new recipe. I’ve been burned before and those of you who remember my salt-cured beef…need I say more!
So in the spirit of that executive, yeah, yippeeee, hurray….dinner sucked last night!
R
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