Here’s how I do ‘em:

Take some lamb shoulder chops, and leave them out on the counter to get to room temperature. While they’re resting, rub in some olive oil, kosher salt, and a lot of herbs de provence (I generally use at least 1/2 T per chop).

When they get close to room temperature, start heating up a cast iron skillet. You can use a non-stick pan, but I’d really recommend the cast iron. My burners don’t get quite as hot as I’d like, so I need to keep it on high. If you have a reasonable stove, you can probably set it to medium-high. After the pan is hot, toss the chops on in, taking care not to crowd them, and cook them to  your preferred doneness. I generally like my meat next to raw, but for lamb shoulder chops, I tend to cook them a bit more. I like them so there’s a nice crisp crust formed on both sides. Delicious. Really.

This time, I had some carrots that I cooked up with maple syrup and Jamaican jerk seasoning, and some… I forget if it was mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower. Probably the mashed cauliflower.

At my local supermarket, the lamb shoulder chops are generally about $3 each, so for a total of about $10, I can make lamb chops and sides for my fiancee and I. Beats the pants off of spending $40 at a restaurant for something similar, and to be honest, while I love dining out, I’ll take these lamb chops over just about anything.

And here, we have a Breakfast Casserole. Layer of sliced, fried potatoes on the bottom. Eggs, bacon, sausage and multiple cheeses on top. Tossed it in the oven until it was done, and that’s that.

I happened to come across a leg of goat at the Asian Market near my office. I’m a pretty big fan of goat, and usually pick up a leg whenever I stumble upon one. Generally, I’ll go Jamaican, or sometimes African. Today, it’s Bacon. I cut some slits in it and stuffed it with chunks of bacon and garlic, wrapped it in bacon, and threw it in the oven.

Note: When checking temperature, be very careful when sliding the pan back in to the oven. I wasn’t, and wound up covering my foot in 350 degree oil. This was several months ago, and my foot is still red. No joke. Safety first, folks!

Lunch at R2L in Two Liberty Place, Philadelphia. I had the spare ribs, which were amazing.

The view wasn’t shabby either. I can see 3 states from here.

Lamb is just about my favorite thing ever. Generally, the shoulder cut chops are my go-to cut, but it was Christmas, so it was time for something a little more special.

I used the same recipe that I use for my lamb chops, but modified it slightly. I took the leg out of the fridge several hours before cooking, to let it get closer to room temperature.

While it was sitting, I poked some holes in it with a knife, and stuffed them with cloves of garlic. I probably did that with about 10 or so cloves of garlic for a 6lb Semi-Bone-In Leg of Lamb. I then rubbed it down with olive oil, and gave it a nice coating of Herbs de Provence – probably a good 1/4 cup, at least for the whole leg. I rubbed in about 1.5tsp Kosher Salt, and let it sit a bit more.

After it had reached closer to room temperature, I started heating up a cast iron skillet with just a bit of butter in it. Once the butter was about browned, I seared all sides of the lamb, and threw it in the oven.

20 minutes at 425 degrees, then lower to 350 until it is cooked. I pulled it out when a meat thermometer in the thickest part read about 140 degrees. It will continue to cook for a little while after you take it out, so this gave us a good medium rare.

Fantastic, as always.

Needed to use up some ingredients