How to cook lamb to make it taste delicious

Many people have difficulty cooking lamb properly. However, it would be great if you could cook it at home just like in a restaurant, with the outside golden brown and the inside slightly pink. If you're going to the trouble of cooking lamb, you'll want to cook it in a way that brings out the best in its flavor.

So this time, we will tell you the key points to prepare lamb and cook it to the perfect degree, just like the lamb you would eat at a restaurant.

The final result is different! Preparations you should do before grilling lamb

Lamb is thick. Grilling it at home can seem like a big challenge. However, if you don't just grill it, but also take care to properly prepare it and keep it warm after cooking, you can enjoy moist and juicy lamb. First, let's look at how to prepare it so that it cooks deliciously.

Thaw slowly in the refrigerator

When it comes to frozen meat, thawing is the most important factor in determining the final product. There are various thawing methods, such as thawing at ice temperature or thawing under running water, but the easiest method is to thaw it in the refrigerator.

Just move it from the freezer to the refrigerator before cooking, but make sure you know when to start thawing it. For example, for lamb chops or lamb T-bone, 24 hours before. For large pieces of meat, it's best to move them to the refrigerator 2-3 days beforehand.

Remove from the refrigerator and allow to return to room temperature

Once it's completely thawed, it's important to let it return to room temperature. The trick to properly grilling any meat, not just lamb, is to take it out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking and let it return to room temperature. This is because if you grill it while it's still cold inside, it won't cook all the way through to the center and will end up being unevenly cooked. If that happens, you won't be able to bring out the delicious flavor of the lamb.

You might think, "If the meat is undercooked, I can just cook it again," but when you cut the meat, the juicy juices escape, reducing the flavor by half. Therefore, it's important to remember to let the meat return to room temperature inside so that it can be cooked thoroughly in one go.

How long should you cook lamb? Basic cooking tips and tricks for delicious cooking

Beef steak is a meat that is not dangerous even when raw, and can be eaten rare or medium rare. The surface of cut beef may be carrying food poisoning bacteria, so it should be thoroughly cooked, but if it is fresh, there is no need to worry if the inside is raw.

So, is it okay to eat lamb rare? Let's take a closer look at how long lamb should be cooked to be safe.

Beware of parasites!

Chicken and pork must be thoroughly cooked to remove the risk of food poisoning and parasites, meaning they are extremely dangerous when eaten raw. The same goes for lamb, although there are some types of lamb that can be eaten raw.

However, caution is required as a parasite called "Toxoplasma" is likely to infect lamb as well. For those with weakened immune systems, such as pregnant women, this can be life-threatening, so be sure to cook lamb thoroughly.

The method for sterilizing the aforementioned Toxoplasma is said to be sufficient by heating meat to a core temperature of 55°C for at least 5 minutes. If you are still concerned, we recommend heating it until the core reaches 67°C.

It's difficult to judge the core temperature of meat just by looking at it, so we recommend using a meat thermometer. You can also purchase high-performance meat thermometers from The Meat Guy, so be sure to check them out.

Meat thermometer

The best way to cook lamb

When thick lamb is cooked at the right temperature, the cross section will turn a light pink color. This is called "rose color" and is the cooking doneness that makes lamb taste the most delicious! Lamb is naturally a very red meat, so even if it is cooked at a higher temperature than beef, the inside will turn a rose color. However, if the color is more red than pink, or if the center is still visibly red, it is undercooked, so please be careful. The goal for lamb is "browned on the outside and rose colored in the center"!

Crispy on the outside

Rose-colored center

Delicious cooking methods for different cuts of lamb

From here, we will introduce how to grill different cuts of meat and different thicknesses.
Take this opportunity to learn the best way to grill lamb chops, T-bone steaks, and lamb slices. The basic method for grilling steaks is to add garlic, but if you don't like garlic or it doesn't suit you, you can omit it.