Inexpensive lamb shoulder chops become the star of a flavorful meal when you add thyme, garlic, tomatoes, wine and oven braising. Recipe below.
There are so many thing I love about this dish. First and foremost is the distinctive, mildly gamy flavor of lamb. As I’ve said in these pages before, that gaminess is the same quality that separates venison from beef and duck from chicken. I also love the straightforward simplicity of this meal—a handful of ingredients, simple preparation and time are all that’s required. And most of the time is the meat cooking unattended in the oven—prep time is minimal. And maybe most of all, I love the way it transforms a humble cut of meat into something delicious and satisfying.
In last week’s post about Oven-braised Asian Short Ribs, I talked about oven braising and how its even heat tenderizes flavorful but chewy inexpensive cuts of meat without drying them out. Lamb shoulder chops are another cut perfect for this treatment. Relatively inexpensive, they’re also often marbled with fat that translates into flavor, especially when cooked slowly so that some of the fat literally melts into the meat.
Lamb shoulder chops are fairly widely available in supermarkets, but the chops in question this time were 1-inch thick beauties from Mint Creek Farm. But even thinner chops [typically, they’re about 1/2-inch or so] should be cooked for the full time on the recipe. It’s not about doneness in this case—the cooking time is required to break down the tough meat and connective tissues to make the meat tender. As you can see in the photo, I served the tomato-based sauce over penne pasta. It would also be good with rice.
At the end of the recipe, you’ll find links to other lamb recipes, including a quicker way to tenderize lamb shoulder chops. But do try the braising technique—it’s a great excuse for making your kitchen warm and fragrant on a winter evening.
Braised Lamb Shoulder Chops and Tomatoes
Serves 2
2 bone-in lamb shoulder chops, about 8 ounces each
salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons dried thyme, divided
2 tablespoons canola or olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 14-1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes [see Kitchen Notes]
cooked pasta or rice
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Season chops on both sides with a little salt, a generous amount of black pepper and a little less than half the thyme. Heat a large lidded, ovenproof skillet over medium-high flame.Add oil to skillet and brown chops, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and reduce heat under skillet to medium.
Add onion and sauté about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic and remaining thyme and cook, stirring, until just fragrant, about 45 seconds. Add wine, briefly scraping up the browned bits, then add the tomatoes and stir to combine. Return the chops and any accumulated juices to the pan, cover and place in the middle of the oven.
Braise the chops for about 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours, until tender. The meat won’t be falling-apart tender as some oven-braised meats are, but that’s not what you want from chops. Still, they will be plenty tender and quite flavorful. Plate the chops with pasta or rice alongside. Using a slotted spoon, top the pasta or rice with the tomatoes [the slotted spoon will deliver just the right amount of liquid]. Spoon a little of the juices over the chops and serve.
Kitchen Notes
Canned tomatoes—why they’re okay and how to pick them. Canned tomatoes are a great convenience in the kitchen. They’re also just as good for you as fresh—maybe even better. According to some sources, the heat of the canning process actually allows the lycopene in tomatoes to be better absorbed by the body. My first choice for canned tomatoes are those with no salt added—that gives you more control over the seasoning of your meal. But they’re getting increasingly hard to find. In an effort to differentiate their products and gain more facings on store shelves, companies are tarting up canned tomatoes with all kinds of herbs and seasonings, making plain tomatoes harder to find. Hold out for no salt added if you can find them; if not, try to find those that are merely salted and adjust the amount of salt you add to the chops.
Hungry for more lamb? Here are a few recipes for you. First, if you don’t have time to braise, try these Pan-grilled Shoulder Chops with Rosemary tenderized using a 15-minute coarse salt treatment that I learned from Jaden over at Steamy Kitchen. On the other hand, if you’re looking for more excuses to heat up the oven and your kitchen, try these Roasted Lamb Ribs with Rosemary and Caraway with a nice anise-like kick, or this hearty Lamb Stew made with dark beer and plenty of potatoes. And finally, if you’re feeling flush, try tender [and pricier] loin lamb chops using this Pan-grilled Lamb Chops with Couscous with Onions and Raisins. The chops are simply prepared; the couscous offers a mash-up of Mediterranean/Moroccan/Middle Eastern flavors and heat.
Another photo that looks good enough to eat, Terry. But I must say that if you and Marion ever get tired of that plate, I’ll be more than happy to take it off your hands. Gorgeous! And I love lamb, too. Thanks for such a variety of ways to fix it. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Isn’t that plate gorgeous, Dani? I’m thinking we found it in an antique shop in St. Louis, back before flow blue china cost the earth, as Marion says. Merry Christmas to you and your family too!
That’s the perfect plate of food!
Looks delicious, Terry. I’ve been braising a lot more since we joined a CSA for our meats. They deliver a wider variety of cuts than I might’ve been attracted to in the store, and some of the long-cooking cuts are my new favorites.
Are you concerned at all about all the new yammering about BPA in canned tomatoes? We canned some of our own this year, but I still rely on the good commercial ones quite a bit. (And according to some people, both home-canned and commercial are at risk from BPA.) I’m so used to using canned tomatoes with guilt-free abandon, and I want to get back to that happy place! Not sure what to make of all the news.
P.S. Wow, I sound like a real live hippie in this comment.
Oh man. You’re getting me in the mood for lamb! We just picked up our lamb this past weekend – organically raised and local. I can’t wait to prepare some of it – this might be one of the first things! Yum!
Thanks, chocolate shavings!
Well, hippie Carolyn, you’ve given me something new to worry about. You got me snooping around on the Intertubes and I turned up a couple of things. First, depending on the type of canning lids you use at home, they may indeed be lined with the same BPA-containing resins commercial cans are. And second, Eden Foods’ tomatoes are canned in BPA-free cans—they pay a premium to get these cans. According to their website, you can find their products at Whole Foods. Regarding the level of danger, it’s higher for kids than adults, which is nice and scary. One hopes that the spotlight water bottles have shone on the BPA problem will cause marketers of canned foods to rid their cans of it.
Alta—You just picked up your lamb?!? I am totally jealous.
Marvelous how some colors just make others pop, like the tomato red, burnt umber meat color and your flow blue plate.
About can tomatoes: a family member has a NO SALT diet so by necessity i’ve learned to ferret out low salt products in our overly salted diets. Pomi tomatoes (http://www.boschifood.it) from Italy are the best I’ve found. No salt added & packed in a kind of waxed paper box, like long-lasting milk.
Another brand is Bionaturae’s Organic Strained Tomatoes, in a glass jar. It has a great 5-minute spaghetti sauce–very light. Needless to say both products have no metallic taste hint you sometimes get with cans. Also you can find them at Whole Foods and some large supermarket chains. Both cost about $2.50/24 oz.
oh thank you for this recipe! i really needed a braised lamb recipe last week and just didn’t know what to do with myself. 🙂 Happy Holidays! this looks delicious.
I would say that you have mastered what most chefs aspire to: you have collared the braise. I can imagine dining on this dish, and it being perfect. Great job!
Thanks, Carol! I’ll look for some of these products. Individual states are beginning to ban the use of BPA for various product containers. I think it’s only a matter of time before manufacturers all fall in line and get rid of it.
Thanks, Diva—and happy holidays to you too!
Jason, I’m looking forward to exploring your blog for lots of cooking tips from someone who actually does it for a living.
Thanks, Terry and Carol. I’m going to hunt down some BPA-free lids for next year’s canning and look into those brands in the meantime.
Happy new year!
Hi, Carolyn. I’m really hoping an all out ban of BPA in food containers will happen one day soon. On the other hand, we keep hearing reports of “unsafe levels of lead” being found in children’s toys. To which I say why isn’t any level of lead in children’s toys deemed unsafe and therefore illegal?
Great recipe and pictures.
Braising is great in wintertime. It gives a warm feeling to the home not only due to the heat of the oven but to the odors that envelope your home when something is cooking.
We just had friends over for New Year’s dinner and I made coq au vin, which this dish reminds me of. We get wonderful local lamb at the farmer’s market and I’ll try this one. For my recent guests, I also talked the wife into letting me get the Dutch oven I’ve been wanting for a long time as well and it seems like that would work well here.
Thanks, Ed! Yes, that is totally one of braising’s pleasures.
John—You’re in for some wonderful meals with your Dutch oven! I look forward to some posts based on it. Keep me, um, posted.
I made this meal this evening cannot adequately describe how yummy it was and how simple. I served with pursed root vegetables 🙂 bliss.
I was more generous with the wine and used a pretty good bottle, the meat cost $6 the wine $ 10 but I had lots left over the drink during dinner. This meal made me very happy to be alive.
Wow, thanks, Ann! A good meal really does have that power, doesn’t it? And I’m sure the good wine made it even better.
Made this tonight with some mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus.
INSANELY good!
I’ve made this twice in the last week! It’s so easy and oh, so good! I added a can of white beans about 30 minutes before removing the dish from the oven. I served it with a grren salad and bread. I’m sure this will become a winter staple since I was able to purchase 1/2 a lamb and this dish seems to work with a variety of cuts.
I made this recipe tonight. It was easy and tasted great. I served with rice that I cooked in vegetable stock, with steamed broccoli and dinner rolls on the side. It was a wonderful Monday night change from the ordinary.
I’m not much of a wine drinker, nor do I cook with it frequently, so I asked the liquor store proprietor for assistance in picking a good wine that wouldn’t break the bank. When it came time to pay, I asked if she needed my ID (I’m 30, so they really should still be requiring it). She said no. Because I was cooking lamb, she said she knew I was old enough. Well, here’s to grown up dinners!