Lamb chops and rack of lamb are expensive and can be intimidating to cook. Thankfully sous vide cooking allows perfect results every time, often better than you might get in a restaurant. In this post I'll teach you how to cook perfect sous vide lamb chops. You can use lamb loin chops, or a rack of lamb.
Although you can get it cheaper lamb at Costco, I only eat the high quality, grass fed lamb from my friends at Shepherd's Song Farm. They sell both lamb loin chops and rack of lamb, as well as goat.
Why is Lamb Gamey?
Breeds of meat sheep taste much better than wool sheep, which makes up the majority of lamb sold in America. Technically the meat is a by-product of the wool industry. Sheep raised for wool have a much stronger, gamey flavor than meat lamb breeds like Isle de France and others.
Sous Vide Lamb Loin Chops vs Rib Chops
There's essentially 4 types of lamb chops you could make this with. Lamb lion chops are like mini t-bone steaks cut from the short loin.
Unlike a rack of lamb, loin chops are only sold as individual chops.
As each loin chop needs to be browned quickly in a hot pan after they're removed from the water bath, they're easier to over-cook than a rack of lamb.
Personally, I prefer to use a whole rack of lamb. Cooking a whole rack of lamb sous vide allows you to cut the rib chops from the rack after cooking, keeping them perfectly pink and beautiful.
Besides rib and loin chops, there's also shoulder chops, and the epic Barnsley chop.
The Barnsley chop can be cooked sous vide, but is much better pan roasted or grilled.
How to Make Lamb Chops Sous Vide
Depending on if you have lamb loin chops, a rack of lamb, or individual lamb chops you have a few different options here. I'll explain all of them, but the best results will come from using a half or whole rack of lamb.
Preparing a rack of lamb sous vide
For a rack of lamb, you'll want to French it if it has the fat cap attached to the ribs. the images below describe the process.
Season the meat with salt and pepper, then vacuum seal and put into the preheated sous vide water bath. You can add fresh herbs like finely chopped thyme or rosemary to them if you like too.
The best temperature for cooking lamb chops sous vide depends on what kind of chops you have. If you cook individual loin chops or rib chops, you'll want to cook the lamb at 5 degrees less than your desired temperature. This is because the chops are browned individually after cooking where the rack is browned whole and sliced.
I recommend cooking sous vide lamb loin chops at 130-135F for 2 hours for a hot pink center. A whole rack of lamb is harder to overcook. If you cook a whole or half rack of lamb you can cook it to 140 F for medium or your desired temperature as usual.
Individual lamb chop sous vide
If your lamb is already cut into chops they're very easy. All you need to do is season them and vacuum seal as above. Once the lamb is cooked for 2 hours in the water bath remove the chops from the vacuum bag and place on a tray.
Pat the chops dry, then heat a tablespoon of oil in a heavy skillet or frying pan on high heat. It's important to get them as dry as possible to avoid splattering fat.
After the chops are browned they're put on a tray lined with a paper towel and allowed to rest in a warm place for a few minutes before serving. This keeps them juicy and prevents them from leaking red liquid onto the dinner plate.
I like to garnish the chops with a few fresh cut chives and a sprinkle of flaky salt before serving. Lemon wedges add a nice tough too.
Rack of Lamb Sous Vide
If you cook a whole rack of lamb the process is the same, besides the higher sous vide temperature. The images below illustrate the process.
What to Serve with Lamb Chops
There's a lot of things that are great served with lamb. Mint jelly is traditional, but mostly an old-timey thing.
Fresh mint is great, especially added to a sauce like my salmoriglio sauce. Here's a few other ideas for side dishes to serve with lamb.
- Quickly sauteed peas and mint. Cook a little onion or shallot and add some frozen peas and unsalted butter. Add a handful of sliced mint leaves before serving.
- Lamb and turnips is a classic combination. You can roast the turnips in lamb fat for extra flavor.
- Roasted potatoes cooked in lamb fat, tossed with herbs.
- A fresh green salad is a nice if you want a lighter meal.
- Simple mashed potatoes, preferably russets or Yukon golds.
More Lamb and Goat Recipes
Easy Sous Vide Lamb Chops
Equipment
- 1 sous vide machine also known as a immersion circulator or thermal circulator
- 1 Vacuum bags 1 gallon sized bag
- 1 Cast iron skillet or heavy frying pan
- 1 Paper towels
- 1 Vacuum sealer
Ingredients
- 1 lb lamb chops roughly 4-6 loin chops or a rack of lamb
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil or light olive oil for browning
- 4 small sprigs rosemary or thyme optional
Instructions
Season the Lamb and Vacuum Seal
- Season the lamb chops or rack of lamb all over with salt and pepper. Season the chops with a pinch of chopped fresh thyme or rosemary.
- Allow the lamb chops to rest in the refrigerator overnight, uncovered (optional but helps them brown).
- Vacuum seal the lamb with a tablespoon of unsalted butter.
- Put the vacuum sealed lamb in a preheated water bath. If you have individual chops, cook them at 5 degrees F less than your desired end temperature. Cook the lamb in the water bath for 2 hours. It can be held for up to 4 hours if you need.
- If you have a half or full rack of lamb, cook it at 140 F, or whatever temperature you prefer. I like loin chops cooked at 135F for a hot pink center.
- Remove the lamb from the vacuum bag and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Heat the cooking oil on high in a heavy skillet and brown the lamb. Cook lamb chops for no more than 1-2 minutes per side. It only needs a quick sear. I like to cook lamb chops on one side only "kissing the other side for just a few seconds to prevent overcooking.
- Serve the lamb chops on a preheated platter garnished with chives, a pinch of flaky salt and lemon wedges.
Mark
the recipe looks great. I'm cooking for a crowd (like 60 chops). how long should I sous vide them?
Alan Bergo
I would do individual chops for 30 min. Whole racks at least 1 hour. The timing starts when the water returns to the target temperature. The nice thing is for groups like that you have a lot of flexibility and as the temperature will not rise above the target you don’t have to worry about them over cooking. If they’re in the water bath for an extra 30-60 minutes or even a little longer they’ll still be fine. I don’t know what your set up is like-lmk if you want thoughts on execution beyond the SV.
Boris Soudakoff
Dear Alan,
Thank you.
It was an absolute success! - We have been having a sous vide machine bought at Lidl store for ten years or so (on the advice of a friend), and because of all the buttons, etc., I was always wary to actually use it, - I am not a tech person at all-and also having my doubts about the added value where taste and texture are concerned, up to recently when I had my first filets mignons sous vide. It was like a revelation! - Having bought lamb chops the same day I got the filets mignons, I wondered if there would be a sous vide recipe, and that is how I ran into your site and this recipe - Ultra easy for maximum of savor! I added a clove of garlic in the sous vide bag on top of the butter and our homegrown rosemary- I served it withs sautéed French green beans and fingerling potatoes. Next time I will try the rack of lamb.
I am also full of admiration in front of your resilience after having read your story.
Best regards,
Boris
Alan Bergo
Hey thanks Boris.
Paul M Hormel
This looks fantastic. I like that you are using every part of the meat you purchased - fat cap, cracklins, rendered fat, etc. I am adapting your technique for some goat chops as we speak.
Alan Bergo
Hey thanks Paul. I'm here if you have any questions.