Lamb Chops with a Cognac Dijon Cream Sauce

Name: Lamb Chops With A Cognac Dijon Cream Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 42 min
Total time: 47 min
Ingredients: 2 Frenched Racks of Lamb; Olive Oil; Kosher Salt; Freshly Ground Black Pepper; 1/4 Cup Shallots; 1/2 Cup Plus 1 1/2 Tablespoons Cognac; 3 Cups Heavy Cream; 4 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard; 1 Teaspoon Finely Chopped Rosemary; 1/4 Cup Grated Parmigiano Reggiano; Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper (To Taste)

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Roasted Lamb Chops with a Cognac Dijon Cream Sauce are the perfect dinner for a chilly night. Make it for a simple meal or a fancy holiday!

Meat Lovers Rejoice!!!

We’re making lamb tonight at the House of Nom, and normally, I’d start one of these posts with a meat pun, but I’m afraid I’d butcher it.

So, on the news last night, I saw a report that the rebel forces are gaining ground in their revolt against the evil Ice Queen Elsa and her tyrannical treatment of her people. That mean’s spring is coming, but we haven’t defeated her yet. She’s not ready to Let It Go. Monster! Well, it’s still a bit chilly here on the East Coast, so it’s appropriate to make a good hearty, meat dish.

I Love Lamb

I’ve been a long time lover of lamb. It’s such a wonderfully, juicy meat and when I felt my lamb craving I Googled lamb with mustard sauce. two flavors that go so damn well together. Well, one of the first hits that came up was friend of Nomageddon Amanda Biddle’s blog Striped Spatula. She has an amazing recipe for Beef Tenderloin With A Cognac Cream Sauce and I thought to myself that I could adapt this pretty easily for lamb! So, dear readers, let’s get in the Nommobile and take a trip to Lambtown; Population: Us.

Lambtown: We’re Un-Be-Leat-Able

We should get started with this recipe before I get even more carried away with the lamb puns.

Ewe Got It!

Last one I swear. OK, so we need to start as all recipes should start, by gathering ingredients. Go to the butcher, or your grocery store’s meat department, and pick up a Frenched rack of lamb.

Frenched? Was Someone Kissing It?

I sure hope not. I heard you can get sick that way…So a Frenched rack of lamb is a rack of lamb where the bones are exposed. The butcher will usually have already done this but if not you can ask they’ll French it for you. ???? The rest of the ingredients you can pick up at any grocery store, aside from the cognac. For this recipe, we’re not gonna break the bank so we’ll just go with the cheap cognac and in this case, you can pick up a bottle of Alize VS Cognac. Now that’s not to say that if you use a top shelf cognac you aren’t gonna get top shelf flavor, and if that’s the case well then Pass The Courvoisier.
Oh wait, I almost forgot. This recipe calls for grated Parmigiano Reggiano and given the latest news about mass produced parmesan cheese using wood pulp as filler you should probably grate your own. Be sure to pick up a wedge of parm from the cheese section or if they grate it in house it’s probably a safe bet.

Wake Up Sheeple!

So, let’s get cooking. Preheat an oven to 350ºF and position the rack in the middle. Next, we’re going to use a large cast iron skillet because it is oven safe. Now, I love my Lodge Cast Iron skillet because it’s so versatile. The problem with a cast iron skillet is that sometimes you get concentrated hot spots, due to the fact that cast iron is actually terrible at conducting heat. This may sound counter intuitive but that’s also where cast iron shines. Because it’s such a terrible conductor, it’s phenomenal at holding heat. So, to make sure we get even heat across the pan, we’re going to need to preheat it over medium heat.
While everything is preheating, drizzle extra virgin olive oil onto the lamb and rub to coat it well. Salt and pepper the racks generously. Now, using tongs, place each rack into the skillet and brown it all over (about 2-3 minutes on each side). Once you get a nice brown crust, stand each rack up, interlace the bones, and lean each rack against the other. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes is up, cover the rack with foil to make a tent and put it back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes. The temperature of the meat should be 135ºF.
When it’s ready, remove the meat to a to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Place the skillet over medium heat, add the chopped shallots, and sauté until beginning to brown (about 3 minutes). Add 1/2 cup cognac and scrape up all the tasty brown bits. Let it simmer for 2 minutes and then add the heavy cream and dijon mustard. Gently simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 5 minutes). Stir in the grated parmesan until melted and smooth, then add the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of cognac, the finely chopped rosemary. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
Cut lamb into individual chops and serve in a pool of the cream sauce with extra sauce on the side. There will be extra sauce and I recommend serving it with a good bread to soak it up. Tres Magnifique!

Currently Jamming To

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This recipe requires a little something special. Here’s a list of what you will need:

[list][list_item icon=”fa-cutlery”]Large Lodge Cast Iron Skillet[/list_item][list_item icon=”fa-cutlery”]Alize VS Cognac[/list_item][list_item icon=”fa-cutlery”]Dijon Mustard[/list_item][list_item icon=”fa-cutlery”]Meat Thermometer[/list_item][/list]

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