The BBQ Bible: Proper Aussie Lamb Chops

So it's been a while since I've cooked anything at all; but thanks to the benevolence of my good friends here in Bali (and the "Ex-Pat" lifestyle, thanks again John and Meredith Lancett!), I have recently inherited a propane BBQ. Don't get me wrong, cooking on coal has been nothing if not interesting for the last 2 years. But it gets kind of old when you have to run around to 3 different hardware stores to find the briquets you want... Be that as it may, the Gods have smiled upon me and I actually cooked two days in a row last week (GASP!) one of which is a recipe I've been working on for quite some time now.

Russell and Anna Oakley are what I would call "proper Aussies" from Tasmania and I had the privilege of seeing them get hitched before they went back home to start their family. However, Russ showed me his favorite way to grill lamb chops, and when Aussies start talking about grilling - you want to pay attention. Basically, you get your BBQ up to max temp, and you sear sear sear all that delicious flavour into those little puppies.

Get yourself some good looking chops. Nothing less than 3/4 inch thick would be my suggestion. I like to let my meat sit on the counter (usually in a container, either marinating or still packaged - and none of this applies to cooking chicken!) for at least 30-45 minutes, but not much longer. The idea is to get them up to room temperature, but there is still quite a debate about the "risks" of leaving meat out on the counter. Personally, I have not had a problem with letting meat sit at room temperature for a bit, and it does give you better results - BUT, I would not advise leaving meat on your counter for hours on end.

Sprinkle some high quality olive oil on 'em, and rub them down with the coarsest salt and pepper you can get your hands on. And really rub them down, get all that flavour into the meat. But only do this RIGHT BEFORE YOU GRILL THEM.

Now Russell's big secret was simply to sear them until practically blackened on the outside, and still more or less rare or almost bloody in the middle. You would think this would be easy, but it's not. Why? Because you spend years trying NOT to burn things, and then all of a sudden you have to un-learn everything in one shot. Lamb chops are finicky little buggers and I was surprised at just how hot I had to make my grill to get the result I was after So don't hesitate and don't be afraid of some flare ups. Put those suckers right out over the flames for 2-3 minutes a side!

You know they're ready when the meat puckers and pulls away from the grill itself. Then get them off that insane heat pretty fast - like most meats (except chicken) they will continue to cook a little bit even after they are removed.

Peppers are are interesting thing to do on a BBQ, and there are two ways of attacking them: (1) you can treat them like an onion, chop them into big pieces, drizzle some oil, and then toss them in a brilling basket or... (2) you can make their tough peel work for you. So while you are superheating your BBW for the chops, try blackening the peppers WHOLE and directly on HIGH heat. The peels while contain most of the moisture and cook the pepper from the inside out.

Then throw them into a bowl, and cover it with a lid or something relatively air tight. Let them sit for 20 minutes or until cool enough to touch. From the bottom, peel the burnt skin off with a paring knife, you'll see that the skin comes off pretty easily. Then open 'em up, seed them and cut to serve. They will retain a really nice "smokey" flavour from the grill.