Pan Seared Lamb Chops | Precious Core

April 16, 2022 Stan

Incredibly delicious Pan Seared Lamb Chops filled with flavors from garlic, butter, and herbs! What makes this recipe incredible is how easy it is to make the Lamb Chops yet they taste so good! Perfect for special occasions like Easter, Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Ready in 20 minutes from start to finish!

Pan seared lamb chops in a cast iron skillet

Lamb recipes and Easter just go so well together. And you can enjoy lamb any time of the year as well. Serve them with mashed potatoes or roasted potatoes , and some vegetables on the side. So so good!

I have made these Pan Seared Lamb Chops four times in the past few days and each time, my family inhales everything!

A plate with mashed potatoes and lamb chops.

The Ingredients

Lamb chops. Any lamb chops you find will work here, whether there are the small ones or a Frenched rack of lamb. A Frenched rack of lamb is one that has extra meat and fat removed from the bones of the lamb so it looks prettier. If you get a rack of lamb, just cut it into lamb chops. I have made this recipe with the smaller lamb chops and lamb chops I cut from a Frenched rack of lamb. Both work perfectly well.
Salt and pepper.
Olive oil.
Butter. Use good quality butter for great flavor.
Minced garlic.
Fresh thyme and rosemary. These herbs go so well with lamb, adding lots of flavor.

See recipe card below for quantities.

How To Pan Sear Lamb Chops

Pat lamb chops dry with paper towels. Season the lamb chops with salt and pepper

2. Heat olive oil in a cast-iron skillet or another skillet to be smoking hot.

3. Put the lamb chops in the skillet pressing them down once they touch the skillet.

4. Cook for 3-4 minutes on one side then flip to the other side.

5. Add butter, garlic, and herbs. Once butter melts, spoon melted butter with garlic and herbs over the lamb chops. Let the lamb chops cook to desired doneness.

6. Rest pan-seared lamb chops for 5 minutes then serve.

Pan seared lamb chops served on a large tray, garnished with fresh thyme and rosemary leaves

How Long To Pan Sear Lamb Chops

Pan sear lamb chops for about 3-4 minutes on the first side and about 2-3 minutes on the second side. Decrease or increase the time depending on the level of doneness you are going for (see my guide for doneness below).

Insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of a lamb chop. Let it be 5 degrees below your desired temperature. As the lamb chops rest away from the heat, they will continue to cook inside to your ideal temperature.

Here is a guide for the varying temperatures for cooking lamb ranging from rare (rarely done) to well-done.

For Rare Lamb Chops: Remove at 120°F to get a temperature of 125°F.

For Medium Rare Lamb Chops: Remove at 130°F to get a temperature of 135°F.

For Medium Lamb Chops: Remove at 140°F to get a temperature of 145°F.

For Medium-Well Lamb Chops: Remove at 150°F to get a temperature of 155°F.

For Well Done Lamb Chops: Remove at 160°F to get a temperature of 165°F.

Top Tip

A cast-iron skillet is the best skillet for making pan-seared lamb chops because it creates a nice crust on the meat and makes for an even distribution of heat. I used a 12-inch cast-iron skillet for this recipe.

More Easy Dinner Recipes

Hope you enjoy this Pan Seared Lamb Chops recipe as much as we do. Have a wonderful Easter! Here’s to new beginnings!

Pan Seared Lamb Chops

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American, Western

Keyword: Pan Seared Lamb Chops

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 269 kcal

Ingredients

1½ Lamb Chops (8-9) pieces cut from a Frenched rack of lamb, see Note 1
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon black pepper
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
4 plump garlic cloves, minced or grated easily grate the cloves using a Microplane grater
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, plucked from their stems
1 teaspoon fresh minced rosemary leaves

Instructions

Pat the lamb chops dry with paper towels. This step is very important as it helps the lamb chops develop a nice crust when placed in the pan.
Sprinkle the salt and pepper as evenly as possible on both sides of the lamb chops.
Place a cast iron skillet (preferred for a nice sear) or another skillet on high heat. Add the olive oil to the pan and let it heat up until smoking hot.
Place the seasoned lamb chops on the skillet pressing each lamb chop down as soon as each touches the skillet. Note: if using a small skillet, cook the lamb chops in 2 batches. I used a 12-inch cast iron skillet so I could cook all the lamb chops at once.

Let the lamb chops cook on one side for 3-4 minutes then flip them to the other side and let them cook for another 2-3 minutes or until desired doneness. See recipe notes below for a guide to varying degrees of doneness from rare to well-done.
Once you flip the lamb chops to the other side, add the two tablespoons of butter, minced/grated garlic, fresh thyme, and rosemary, distributing them around the pan. When the butter melts spoon some of the butter including the garlic and herbs over the lamb chops. Remove the pan from the heat and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with minced parsley if desired.
Serve lamb chops warm with mashed potatoes or roasted potatoes, and sauteed veggies.

Recipe Notes

1. A Frenched rack of lamb is a rack of lamb that has the fat and meat removed from the bones. This makes for a prettier presentation. You can find already Frenched racks of lamb at the supermarket.

2. To cut the rack of lamb into chops, place the rack of lamb upright, bones standing upright on a chopping board, place your knife between two bones, and cut straight down. Repeat until you have cut the entire rack of lamb into chops.

3. Instead of using fresh thyme leaves and minced rosemary leaves, you could add entire sprigs of thyme and rosemary to the pan to infuse the lamb with their flavors. I have tried it both ways and both yield great flavor but I prefer that with the minced leaves.

*The lamb chops pictured in this recipe were made with full sprigs of thyme and rosemary.

4. Here is a guide for the varying temperatures for cooking lamb ranging from rare (rarely done) to well-done.

For Rare Lamb Chops: Remove at 120°F to get a temperature of 125°F.

For Medium Rare Lamb Chops: Remove at 130°F to get a temperature of 135°F.

For Medium Lamb Chops: Remove at 140°F to get a temperature of 145°F.

For Medium-Well Lamb Chops: Remove at 150°F to get a temperature of 155°F.

For Well Done Lamb Chops: Remove at 160°F to get a temperature of 165°F.