Three minutes a side, and the Greeks were right all along

Cutlets were built for the barbecue. They're thin, they're tender, and that little strip of fat along the edge bastes them as they cook — all they ask of you is fierce heat and a short memory. So do what a Greek taverna does: toss them with olive oil, lemon zest, dried oregano and garlic while the grill heats, cook them hard and fast, then squeeze the lemon over while they're still hissing. Four cutlets, one bowl, dinner for two in twenty minutes. It's barely a recipe. It's more of a habit worth having.

20 mins 2 servings Prep 12 minsCook 8 minsMain CourseGreek

Ingredients

  • 4 Your Farmer grass-fed lamb cutlets (1 pack)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 lemon — zest, then cut into wedges
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • Salt and pepper to season

Instructions

Light the barbecue and get it properly hot. While it heats, pat the cutlets dry with paper towel.

4 lamb cutlets

In a large bowl, toss the cutlets with the olive oil, lemon zest, oregano, garlic and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Leave them in the bowl for 10 minutes while the barbecue finishes heating — that's all the marinade this needs.

2 tbsp olive oilzest of 1 lemon2 tsp dried oregano1 clove garlic

Stand the cutlets fat-edge down on the grill for a minute first, using tongs to hold them together, until the fat is golden and starting to render.

Lay them flat and grill for 2–3 minutes per side, until well charred outside and still pink at the bone. Resist moving them — the char is the flavour.

Pull them onto a warm plate, squeeze over a lemon wedge while they're still sizzling, and rest for 3 minutes.

lemon wedges

Serve with the remaining lemon wedges and a simple tomato, cucumber and red onion salad — and eat them with your fingers. The bone is the handle.

Appears in

In every lamb share — Cutlets (4 pack)

Your Farmer CSA grass-fed lamb share — Pack B selection of pasture-raised lamb cuts, vacuum-sealed, NSW & ACT delivery
CSA Pastured Lamb Share
Sale price From $150.00Regular price $162.41

Why Cutlets and the Barbecue Belong Together

A cutlet is a single rib of the lamb — the same tender eye of meat as a rack, cut into chops you can cook in minutes. Because they're thin, they don't want the gentle middle heat that suits a thick steak. They want the grill at full noise: hard char outside before the inside has time to overshoot. That edge of fat matters too. Stand the cutlets on it for the first minute and it renders to gold, basting the meat as it goes — with grass-fed lamb like the cutlets in our lamb subscription, that fat is where a lot of the pasture flavour lives. The Greeks have grilled lamb this way for a very long time, and Your Farmer® cutlets take to the treatment like they were raised for it. Which, in a paddock full of grass and sunshine, they more or less were.

Swaps and Variations

Dried oregano is the Greek move — it stands up to the char better than fresh. But rosemary and garlic takes this in a more familiar Sunday direction, and a teaspoon of smoked paprika in the oil pushes it towards Spain. Lamb loin chops from the same share work on the same grill with an extra couple of minutes a side, and forequarter chops love this marinade too — just cook them over slightly gentler heat for longer. No barbecue? A screaming-hot grill pan or heavy frying pan indoors does the job with the windows open. If you're planning a bigger cookout, the same fierce-heat rules run our BBQ steak night guide.

Storage and Leftovers

Thawed raw cutlets keep 2–3 days in the fridge, so marinating tonight and grilling tomorrow is fine — in fact the oregano and lemon only improve overnight. Cooked cutlets keep 3 days in an airtight container. They're genuinely good cold, straight from the fridge, but if you want them warm, flash them on a hot grill for 30 seconds a side rather than microwaving. Leftover meat picked off the bone with the salad in a wrap with a spoon of yoghurt is a lunch worth planning for. You can check where we deliver if the lamb share hasn't found your table yet.

Frequently asked questions

How long should lamb cutlets stay on the barbecue?

Two to three minutes per side over high heat, plus a minute standing on the fat edge first. They're thin, so they move fast — pull them while there's still pink at the bone and let the 3-minute rest finish them.

Do the cutlets really only need 10 minutes of marinating?

For this style, yes. Oil, lemon zest, oregano and garlic are surface flavours that work fast, and the fierce grill does the rest. If it suits your day better, they can sit in the marinade overnight in the fridge and they'll be even better.

Can I use fresh oregano instead of dried?

You can, but add it after grilling rather than before — fresh leaves scorch and turn bitter over high heat. Dried oregano is the traditional Greek choice for grilled meat for exactly this reason.

How many cutlets do I need for a family barbecue?

Count two cutlets per adult as a main with salad and sides, so one pack feeds two and two packs feed four. They cook so quickly that doubling the batch adds almost nothing to your time at the grill.

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