Lamb Chops Straight Over the Coals

Method

1. Salt and stand

   Salt the chops on all sides and leave them out for 30 to 40 minutes. Cold chops on a hot fire char before the centre warms, and these are thin enough that there is no room to correct.

2. Build a proper hot bed

   A full chimney spread evenly and left until the coals glow with a light grey coat. You want to be unable to hold a hand five inches above for more than two seconds. Lamb chops are thin and need to be done fast.

3. Render the fat edge first

   Stand the chops on their fat edge, leaning them against each other in a row, for about a minute. This renders the fat cap and starts crisping it, which will not happen properly in three minutes flat on a side.

4. Three to four minutes a side

   Lay them flat over the hottest part. Turn once. You want deep colour and some genuine char. Dripping lamb fat will flare, and unlike most meats a little direct flame here adds to the dish.

5. Pull at 55°C (130°F)

   Probe the eye of the chop, avoiding bone. 55°C (130°F) for medium rare. These are thin, so carryover is small; do not pull much earlier expecting a big climb.

6. Dress and eat with your hands

   Squeeze lemon over them, add coarse salt and crumbled oregano. Serve immediately, on warm plates, with the bones there to be picked up.

Notes worth knowing

• Rib chops are more tender and more expensive; loin chops give you more meat per chop. Both work, cook them the same.
• If your chops are under an inch thick, cut the time to two minutes a side and check early.
• Anything under 1 inch is best cooked on a cast iron plate over the coals instead, so you get crust before the middle goes past medium.

Common questions

Are flare-ups always bad?

No. Brief flare-ups from dripping fat deposit flavour compounds and are part of how lamb and picanha taste over charcoal. Sustained flames are a different thing: they deposit soot and taste acrid. Move the food rather than dousing the fire with water.

Should lamb be served rare?

Medium rare at 55°C (130°F) is the standard target for chops. Lamb fat needs a little heat to render and eats waxy when underdone, so true rare is less pleasant here than it is with beef.