Fat strip first, faces second, butter last — that's the whole method

There's a right order to a loin chop, and once you know it you'll never cook them any other way. Stand the chops on their fat edge first so it renders golden and crisp. Then sear the faces in that lamb fat. Then, right at the end, a knob of butter, a couple of squashed garlic cloves and a sprig of rosemary go in, and you spoon that foaming butter over until the kitchen smells like a good pub. One pan, seven ingredients, twenty-five minutes — and dinner that feels like far more effort than it was.

25 mins 2 servings Prep 10 minsCook 15 minsMain CourseAustralian

Ingredients

  • 4 Your Farmer grass-fed lamb loin chops
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to season
  • 50g butter
  • 3 cloves garlic, squashed with the flat of a knife
  • 2 sprigs rosemary
  • 1/2 lemon, for squeezing over

Instructions

Take the chops out of the fridge 10 minutes ahead so they lose their chill. Pat them very dry and season generously on both sides.

4 loin chops

Heat the oil in a heavy pan over medium-high heat until shimmering.

1 tbsp olive oil

Using tongs, stand the chops on their fat edge — lean them against each other so they stay upright — and cook 2–3 minutes until the fat is golden and rendering into the pan.

Lay the chops flat and cook 3 minutes on the first side, then 2–3 minutes on the second for medium.

Drop the heat to medium-low. Add the butter, garlic and rosemary, tilt the pan, and spoon the foaming butter over the chops for 1–2 minutes.

50g butter3 cloves garlic2 sprigs rosemary

Rest the chops on a warm plate for 5 minutes, pouring the garlic butter from the pan over the top.

Squeeze the lemon over and serve — mash and something green, or just good bread to mop the plate.

1/2 lemon

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
Sale price From $150.00Regular price $162.41

Why the Fat Strip Comes First

A loin chop is lamb's answer to the T-bone steak — loin muscle one side of the bone, a nugget of tenderloin on the other, and a ribbon of fat running along the outside edge. That fat strip is the bit most people waste. Rendered properly, it turns golden and crisp like good crackling, and it greases the pan with lamb fat so the meat sears in its own flavour instead of plain oil. That's why the chops go in standing up before they ever lie down. Your Farmer® lamb is raised entirely on pasture, and it shows most in exactly that fat — clean and sweet, never waxy — which is why the loin chops in our lamb subscription deserve the extra two minutes on their edge. One more habit worth keeping: cook to feel, not just the clock. Chops vary in thickness, and a gentle press — springy means medium — will never lie to you.

Swaps and Variations

The lamb cutlets from the same share take to the identical treatment — they're thinner, so shorten every stage by about a minute. Thyme stands in for rosemary without argument, and a single anchovy mashed into the butter makes the whole thing deeply savoury without tasting remotely of fish. A spoonful of honey and a pinch of chilli in the butter takes it somewhere stickier and warmer. And the butter-baste itself is a transferable skill — it's the same move we use on beef in our scotch fillet with compound butter, so once you've got it, you've got it for every steak in the freezer.

Storage and Leftovers

Thawed raw chops keep 2–3 days in the coldest part of the fridge, so there's no rush the day they come out of the freezer. Cooked chops keep 3 days in an airtight container. Reheating tends to push them past pink, so eat leftovers cold — sliced off the bone into a wrap with yoghurt and cucumber is my standing order — or give them the briefest flash in a hot pan. The leftover garlic butter is liquid gold: keep it in a small jar in the fridge and melt it over steamed greens or mashed potato later in the week.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get the chops to stand on their fat edge?

Lean them against each other in pairs, fat edges down, or hold them upright with tongs for the first minute until they steady. In a snug pan they prop each other up nicely.

How do I know when they're done without a thermometer?

Press the eye of the meat: soft means rare, springy means medium, firm means overdone. At 3 minutes then 2–3 minutes a side over medium-high heat, a standard chop lands at medium — still pink at the bone.

Won't the garlic burn?

Not if it goes in with the butter at the end, off the fierce heat. Squashed whole cloves flavour the butter more gently than chopped garlic and are much harder to scorch.

Can I cook loin chops straight from frozen?

No — thaw them overnight in the fridge and pat them very dry before they hit the pan. A wet, icy chop steams instead of searing and the fat edge never crisps.

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CSA Grass Fed Beef Share

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