Jerk Lamb Chop Recipe. Make tender roasted rack of lamb marinated in an insanely delicious homemade jerk marinade filled with traditional Jamaican flavors! Just marinade the lamb overnight and cook it in the oven or grill when you’re ready for some fiery flavorful lamb chops!
If you enjoy lamb recipes, you will definitely want to check out my Garlic Herb Lamb Shoulder Chops, Garlic Rosemary Lamb Steak, or Juicy Lamb Meatballs next!
Making jerk rack of lamb is super easy! It all comes down to the jerk marinade you use to tenderize and flavor the lamb. Of course, you can buy your own jerk marinade! My favorite store brought jerk marinade sauce is Grace Jerk Seasoning (it is literally THEE best). However, in this recipe, I decided to go the extra mile and make my own jerk seasoning sauce!
What Is Jerk Seasoning Made Of?
Jerk seasoning is made of a blend of allspice, cinnamon, cloves, scotch bonnet peppers, brown sugar, ginger, scallions, thyme, garlic, and salt.
The jerk seasoning I use is from a local black-woman-owned spice company, Studio Spice Company. All of the spices are hand-blended and completely organic!
If you would like to make your own jerk seasoning from scratch, then use a mix of:
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp ground allspice
- 2 tsp dried thyme or fresh thyme
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp pepper
How To Make Jamaican Jerk Marinade From Scratch?
To make jerk marinade from scratch, you simply add all of the marinade ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. The base for the marinade is fresh-squeezed orange juice, cooking oil (I use avocado oil), Jerk seasoning, coconut aminos (or soy sauce; this recipe is gluten-free so I use coconut aminos), scotch bonnets (of course!), and a few other ingredients.
How Long To Marinate A Rack Of Lamb?
Plan to marinate rack of lamb for at least 8 hours or overnight, if time permits. This will yield the best results and give you tender, flavorful lamb.
Prepare In Advance
To yield the best results, you want to prepare this dish in advance. Make the marinade in a food processor. Cover the rack of lamb in the marinade, place it back in the fridge, and let it marinate for at least 8 hours, or up to 24 hours.
When you are ready to cook the rack of lamb, it is as simple as placing it in the oven to roast!
Here’s What You Need To Make This Jamaican Jerk Lamb Recipe
1 Frenched lamb rib racks with 7 to 8 ribs each (1 1/4 to 2 pound rack): “Frenched” means that the rack of lamb is cut so that the rib bones are exposed and excess fat has been trimmed off. When you buy a rack of lamb from the grocery it is usually already frenched. If not, you can ask a butcher to prepare it for you.
Jerk Marinade: I make my jerk marinade from scratch in this recipe. It is as easy as placing all the ingredients in the food processor and blending until smooth, then it’s ready to use! It takes less than 5 minutes and tastes absolutely perfect. You’ll def want to check out my jerk marinade recipe.
Meat Thermometer: Lamb is an expensive cut of meat and must be delicately cooked to the perfect amount of doneness so that it does not become tough and dry, but give you juicy, flavorful meat. The best way to do this is to use a meat thermometer.
Aluminum Foil: For easy cleanup, you’ll roast the lamb on a foil-lined baking sheet. And, more importantly, you will need to wrap the bones of the lamb in foil before roasting so that they don’t burn. This will give you perfect, chef-approved cooked lamb with the best presentation!
How To Make Roasted Rack Of Lamb? (How To Cook Full Rack Of Lamb?)
Classic Method: In this recipe, I will be sharing the classic method for cooking rack of lamb, which involves scoring the fat (making sharp cuts along the fat of the lamb), covering the bones with foil (so that they do not burn), and cooking the rack of lamb whole. It gives you the best, tender, drool-worthy cooked lamb. BTW Medium-Rare to Medium is what you’re aiming for when making perfectly cooked lamb!
Can I Make This Jerk Lamb Chop Recipe On The Grill (or Griddle Pan)? (Jerk Lamb Chops On The Grill)
Yes, you most certainly can! Follow the same process to make the jerk marinade. Then, cut the lamb into cutlets (cut between the bone) and marinate the lamb cutlets for up to 8 hours.
When it is time to Grill, sprinkle the lamb cutlets with a pinch of salt and grill over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes per side for medium-rare (same instructions for a griddle). Be sure to baste with jerk sauce as they are cooking.
What Temperature Should Lamb Chops Be Cooked To? (Best Temperature for Lamb Chops)
Medium-rare (135°F) is considered to be the best temperature to cook lamb and the perfect amount of doneness according to culinary standards. However, if you’d like to cook your lamb to a different temperature, a guide is below:
Rare: 120-130 degrees F (very red inside still)
Medium-Rare: 130-140 degrees F (bright pink inside)
Medium: 140-145 degrees F (light pink inside)
Medium-Well: 145-150 degrees F (barely any pink left)
Well-Done: 150-160 degrees F (no pink at all)
Well done, or cooking lamb past 145°F, is not recommended. You risk the lamb becoming dry, gamey, and tough.
Jerk Lamb Chop Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Frenched lamb rib racks with 7 to 8 ribs each (1 1/4 to 2 pound rack)
- 2 cups Jerk Marinade
Instructions
- (If needed MAKE THE MARINADE:) Add all the marinade ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth.
- COVER THE LAMB IN THE MARINADE: Place the rack of lamb in a Ziploc bag and cover the lamb completely with the marinade. Marinade the lamb for 8 hours, or up to 24 hours (the longer the better.) Be sure to turn the lamb at least once during marinating time. (Reserve about ¼ cup of the marinade to put on your finished lamb chops)
- PREPARE THE LAMB FOR THE OVEN: When you are ready to cook the lamb, remove it from the fridge and place it on the counter. Allow the lamb to come to room temperature before cooking, at least 1 ½ hours. This ensures that the lamb will cook evenly and give you tender meat. Next, wrap the bones in foil. This prevents the bones from burning during the cooking process. You can wrap them individually or place one large piece of foil over all the bones. Preheat the oven to 450°F
- SCORE THE FAT: Use a sharp knife to make shallow cuts through the fat of the lamb. Make the cuts about an inch apart. Then, sprinkle the lamb with a bit of salt and pepper, to your liking.
- ROAST THE LAMB: Place the lamb on a foil-lined baking sheet, fat side up. Roast the lamb at 450°F for 15 minutes. Then, rotate the lamb, and roast for 10-12 minutes for medium-rare. (Cook longer to reach your desired doneness. USE A THERMOMETER TO CHECK THE MEAT)CHECK WITH THERMOMETER & COOK TO MEDIUM-RARE/MEDIUM: A meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat should read 125°F for rare or 135°F for medium-rare. Medium Rare is ideal when cooking lamb chops.
- REST THE LAMB 10 MINUTES BEFORE SERVING: It is very important to allow the lamb at least 10 minutes time to rest before slicing. This will help ensure the meat is nicely cooked, tender, AND juicy as the juices from the lamb will be reabsorbed back into the meat. (If you cut the lamb without resting, you’ll lose all the flavor juices and they will be left on the cutting board.)
- SLICE AND SERVE: Cut the lamb chops by slicing between the bones. Serve 2-3 lamb cutlets per person.
TO COOK AS LAMB CUTLETS (On Grill Or Griddle Pan):
- Follow the same process to make the jerk marinade. Then, cut the lamb into cutlets (cut between the bone) and marinate the lamb cutlets for up to 8 hours.
- When it is time to cook, sprinkle the lamb cutlets with a pinch of salt and grill over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes per side for medium-rare (same instructions for a griddle). Be sure to baste with jerk sauce as they are cooking.
- Remove the lamb cutlets from the heat and rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
- Make sure the lamb comes to room temperature before cooking to ensure even cooking and to yield tender, flavorful meat.
- Medium-rare (135°F) is considered to be the best temperature to cook lamb and the perfect amount of doneness according to culinary standards. However, if you’d like to cook your lamb to a different temperature, a guide is below:
- Rare: 120-130 degrees F (very red inside still)
- Medium-Rare: 130-140 degrees F (bright pink inside)
- Medium: 140-145 degrees F (light pink inside)
- Medium-Well: 145-150 degrees F (barely any pink left)
- Well-Done: 150-160 degrees F (no pink at all)
- Well done, or cooking lamb past 145°F, is not recommended. You risk the lamb becoming dry, gamey, and tough.
Nutrition
I hope you enjoy this Jerk Lamb Chop Recipe! If you try the recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know what you think in the comments. Leave a quick review & star rating! Take pictures, tag #goodfoodbaddie, and share them with me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest! I love seeing my recipes come to life in your kitchen.
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