The taverna's favourite cheap chop, done the taverna way

Walk into a family-run taverna anywhere in Greece and the lamb on the grill is rarely the fancy cut — it's the big, flavour-rich shoulder chop, rubbed with oregano and lemon and cooked over real heat until the edges char. That's exactly what the forequarter chops in your share were made for. Twenty minutes in a quick marinade while you build a proper village salad — tomatoes, cucumber, olives and a slab of feta, not a lettuce leaf in sight — then a hot grill pan does the rest. Summer dinner, no matter the month.

40 mins 4 servings Prep 25 minsCook 15 minsMain CourseGreek

Ingredients

  • 4 Your Farmer grass-fed lamb forequarter chops
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • Salt and pepper to season
  • 4 ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks (for the salad)
  • 1 continental cucumber, thickly sliced (for the salad)
  • 1 green capsicum, sliced into rings (for the salad)
  • 1/2 small red onion, finely sliced (for the salad)
  • 100g Kalamata olives (for the salad)
  • 200g block Greek feta (for the salad)
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and 1 tbsp red wine vinegar (for the salad)
  • 1 tsp dried oregano (for the salad)

Instructions

For the chops

Whisk the olive oil, oregano, lemon juice, garlic and a good pinch of salt and pepper in a shallow dish, add the chops and turn to coat. Leave them for 20 minutes at room temperature while you make the salad.

4 forequarter chops3 tbsp olive oil1 tbsp dried oregano2 cloves garlic

For the Greek salad

Combine the tomatoes, cucumber, capsicum, onion and olives in a wide bowl — no lettuce, that's the village way.

4 tomatoes1 cucumber1 green capsicum100g olives

Dress with the extra virgin olive oil, vinegar and a pinch of salt, then lay the feta on top in one proud slab and scatter with oregano.

200g feta1 tbsp red wine vinegar1 tsp dried oregano

For the grill

Heat a grill pan (or the barbecue) over medium-high until properly hot — the chops should hiss the moment they land.

Grill the chops for 5 to 6 minutes each side, until charred at the edges and just cooked through — the juices near the bone should run clear.

Stand each chop on its fat edge for a minute to crisp, then rest them for 5 minutes.

Serve the chops beside the salad, spooning some of the salad juices and feta over the meat — that's the best bite on the plate.

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Your Farmer CSA grass-fed lamb share — Pack B selection of pasture-raised lamb cuts, vacuum-sealed, NSW & ACT delivery
CSA Pastured Lamb Share
From $183.33

Fast and Fierce, or Long and Slow — Never in Between

Here's the rule that unlocks the forequarter chop: it's happiest at the two ends of the cooking spectrum. Give it two slow hours in a braise and the connective tissue melts. Or do what the Greek tavernas do — real heat, a proper char, cooked just through with the fat edge crisped — and eat it while it's sizzling. The place it sulks is the middle: a polite medium pan and a half-hearted cook leaves the tissue tight and the fat unrendered. Cut from the shoulder, this chop carries more fat and flavour than anything else in the pack, and grass-fed lamb like Your Farmer® chops brings the clean, sweet fat that makes the char worth chasing. Give them their five minutes of rest at the end, too — straight off the grill the juices haven't settled, and a rested chop eats noticeably juicier. If you want the daintier, pink-in-the-middle version of a Greek grill night, lamb cutlets are the cut for that job.

Swaps and Variations

Warm pita and a bowl of tzatziki turn this into a build-your-own souvlaki night. Chump chops grill the same way with the same timing. Fresh oregano works if the garden has it — use double and add it after cooking, since fresh leaves scorch. And in tomato season, the salad wants nothing more than better tomatoes; it's a dish that rises and falls with the produce, which is rather the point. If you're wondering what to look for in the lamb itself, our guide to buying grass-fed lamb online in NSW covers it.

Storage and Leftovers

The salad doesn't keep once dressed — the tomatoes weep and the cucumber softens — so dress only what you'll eat. Cooked chops keep in the fridge for 3 days; the classic next-day move is the cold meat sliced off the bone into a pita with the leftover feta and a spoon of yoghurt. If you know you'll want leftovers, grill an extra chop on purpose.

Forequarter chops come in every one of our grass-fed meat boxes — the taverna treatment is the fastest way through the pack.

Frequently asked questions

Should these chops be pink in the middle like loin chops?

No — forequarter chops have more connective tissue, which stays chewy at medium-rare. Cook them just through, with clear juices near the bone. The fat and char keep them juicy.

Can I cook them on the barbecue instead of a grill pan?

Absolutely — same heat, same timing. A charcoal barbecue is closest to the taverna original if you have one going.

Why does the feta go on top in a slab instead of crumbled?

That's the traditional horiatiki style — the slab stays creamy and everyone cuts their share at the table. Crumbled feta disappears into the dressing; the slab makes it a centrepiece.

My chops are quite thick. How do I keep them from burning before they cook through?

Drop the heat to medium after the first two minutes each side, and finish them with a lid or upturned bowl over the pan for the last few minutes. Thickness buys flavour; it just needs slightly gentler heat.

Can I marinate the chops overnight?

Yes — cover and refrigerate, then bring them out 30 minutes before grilling. The lemon juice does start softening the surface over long marinades, so overnight is the sensible maximum.

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