One tray, four chops, and potatoes cooked in lamb fat

Some dinners are good because of what you do to them. This one's good because of what you don't. Potatoes and red onion get a head start in a hot oven, then the forequarter chops go on top and do the rest of the work for you — as they roast, their fat drips down and turns the potatoes underneath into the best version of themselves. One tray, no decisions, and the washing-up is a chopping board and a fork. It's the dinner we cook when the day has already taken everything else out of us.

1 hr 15 mins 4 servings Prep 15 minsCook 1 hrMain CourseAustralian

Ingredients

  • 4 Your Farmer grass-fed lamb forequarter chops
  • 1kg potatoes, cut into 3cm chunks (no need to peel)
  • 2 red onions, cut into wedges
  • 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled and lightly smashed
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves picked
  • 1 lemon, cut into wedges
  • Salt and pepper to season

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200C fan-forced. On a large roasting tray, toss the potatoes, onions and garlic with 2 tablespoons of the oil, half the rosemary and plenty of salt and pepper.

1kg potatoes2 red onions4 cloves garlic2 tbsp olive oil

Roast for 20 minutes to give the potatoes a head start.

Meanwhile, rub the chops all over with the remaining oil and rosemary and season them well.

4 forequarter chops1 tbsp olive oil

Sit the chops on top of the potatoes, tuck the lemon wedges around them, and roast for 35 minutes more, until the chops are deeply browned and cooked through and the potatoes are golden in the lamb fat.

1 lemon

Rest everything on the tray for 5 minutes, then squeeze the roasted lemon over the lot and serve straight from the tray.

Appears in

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

Why This Chop Makes the Best Tray Bake

A tray bake lives or dies on the fat, and the forequarter chop has it where the leaner chops don't. Cut from the lamb's shoulder, it carries a generous seam of creamy fat and enough connective tissue to stay juicy through a proper stint in a hot oven — 35 minutes that would dry a loin chop out completely. As it roasts, that fat renders down over the potatoes, which is the whole reason this dinner tastes like more than the sum of its parts. Your Farmer® forequarter chops come four to a pack in every lamb share, grass-fed and full-flavoured, and if the tray bake becomes a habit you can always add a spare pack of forequarter chops to your next box. For the spuds underneath, our seasonal regenerative potatoes were made for this job.

Swaps and Variations

Pumpkin or sweet potato can stand in for half the potatoes — add them with the chops rather than at the start so they don't collapse. Swap the rosemary for dried oregano and extra lemon and it leans Greek; scatter a handful of cherry tomatoes over the tray for the last 10 minutes and they burst into an instant pan sauce. Chump chops work here too with the same timing. A handful of frozen peas tossed through the hot tray at the end rounds it into a complete dinner with zero extra effort.

Storage and Leftovers

Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat them on a tray at 180C for 10 to 12 minutes so the potatoes re-crisp — the microwave turns them to sponge. The best leftover move: strip the meat from the bones, chop it with the leftover potatoes and fold everything into beaten eggs for a frittata that makes Monday look easy. Don't forget the roasted garlic cloves, either — squeeze them from their skins into the frittata, or into a spoonful of mayonnaise for a sandwich upgrade.

Forequarter chops are one of the staples in our lamb subscription — the tray bake is the recipe that makes them the first pack out of the freezer.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to peel the potatoes?

No. The skins crisp up nicely in the lamb fat and save you ten minutes. Just give them a good scrub and cut them evenly so they cook at the same rate.

Do I need to turn the chops halfway?

No — leave them be. The tops brown in the oven's heat while the undersides baste in the juices. Turning them just slows everything down.

Why do the potatoes go in first?

Potatoes need close to an hour at 200C; the chops need about 35 minutes. The head start means both land at the finish line together instead of one waiting on the other.

Can I use loin chops instead?

Yes, but add them for only the last 20 to 25 minutes and expect a leaner result — there's less fat to feed the potatoes, which is half the charm of this bake.

My chops are done but the potatoes aren't golden. What now?

Lift the chops off to rest on a plate, turn the oven up to 220C and give the potatoes another 10 minutes on their own. Next time, cut the potatoes a touch smaller.

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