How to cook delicious lamb meat

last update date 2023-09-19 | release date 2023-02-21

A lot of people might not know how to cook lamb meat well. It would be nice to get the outside browned, while the inside remains a bit pink, just like they do in the restaurants. This might be tough to do, especially if you don’t have a lot of experience in cooking lamb meat.

So today, we’ll be giving you some tips on how to cook lamb meat! We’ll guide you through the process from preparation to cooking! Let’s go!

Lamb Preparation

It might be a little intimidating to try cooking a big block of lamb meat at home. However, by thoroughly preparing the meat before cooking, you can have soft and juicy lamb meat. Here are some key points to remember.

Thaw Slowly in the Refrigerator

This part of the process is often overlooked, but it’s actually one of the most important steps! There are various methods to thaw meat out, but the easiest and best way that we recommend is to let the meat thaw out naturally in the refrigerator.

It’s pretty straightforward. Just transfer the frozen meat from the freezer to the refrigerator. The key is to plan out the thawing time. If you’re thawing out lamb chops or T-bone, 24 hours is enough. For bigger cuts of meat, transfer it to the fridge around 2-3 days before you need to cook it.

Let the Meat Come Back to Room Temperature Before Cooking

After thawing the meat and taking it out of the refrigerator, make sure to let it rest and come back to room temperature first before cooking. A good rule of thumb is to take it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you plan on cooking the meat. This rule goes for any type of meat, not just lamb. If you cook the meat before it’s back to room temperature, you can end up with meat that’s cooked on the outside but still raw on the inside.

Some might think “well… if it’s undercooked, then I’ll just cook it again.” Doing this will affect the juiciness of the meat. It’s best to get it right all in one go to get the best results.

Lamb Meat Cooking Time, How to Grill Lamb

With beef, as long as you get fresh meat, it’s fairly safe to eat it even if it’s a bit on the rare side. If the surface of the meat is cooked thoroughly, that lessens the risk of food poisoning. So, it’s okay to eat it rare or medium rare.

But how about lamb meat? Is it okay to eat it rare? How long should we cook lamb meat? Let’s take a closer look…

Beware of Parasites!

Chicken and pork must be thoroughly cooked to remove the risk of food poisoning and parasites. In other words, raw is very dangerous. It's the same with lamb meat, but there is also lamb meat that can be eaten rare.

Proper caution is required when choosing to eat rare meat. A parasite called "Toxoplasma" is likely to parasitize lamb meat. If you have a weak immune system, like during pregnancy, it’s best to refrain from eating rare meat. The risks are high when consuming meat that’s a bit raw, so make sure to thoroughly heat the meat before consumption.

A way to eradicate the Toxoplasma parasite mentioned earlier is to heat the meat to a certain temperature. Heating meat all the way to the core at 55℃ for 5 minutes or more should be enough. If you still have some concerns, we recommend heating the meat until the core temperature reaches 67℃.

It is difficult to judge the core temperature of the meat by just looking at it, so we recommend using a meat thermometer. You can purchase one at The Meat Guy’s online store, so make sure to check that out too.

Meat Thermometer

Lamb Meat Best Doneness

You want to aim for the center of the meat to be a nice rose color. The outside should be brown, while the inside is heated just enough so that it’s nice and pink. Lamb meat is naturally reddish, so even if you heat it at a higher temperature compared to when cooking beef, the inside will still be rose-colored. If you’re getting more of a reddish color on the inside than a rose pink, then it’s still undercooked. Be careful.

The outer layer is browned

The center is a rosy pink color

Lamb Meat Cooking Method (by cut)

Different cuts of lamb meat may require different cooking times. Here is a guide on how to cook each cut.
We hope this guide can help you master how to cook different lamb meat cuts like T-bone, lamb chops, and meat blocks. The following methods will require some garlic, so make sure to have that ready before cooking. However, if you’re not super into garlic, then you can just not use it.

Lamb Chops (4-5 chops), T-bone Steak

1. Once the meat has come back to room temperature, season both sides with salt & pepper.
2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan over low heat with 1 clove of crushed (or smashed) garlic. Once the garlic is slightly browned, remove it from the frying pan.
3. Raise the heat to medium. Once the oil is hot, wipe the excess moisture off of the lamb meat with kitchen paper and start cooking it in the pan. Cook one side for about 3 minutes or until browned. Flip it over and cook the other side for another 3 minutes. At this time, you can wipe off the excess oil in the pan, so the lamb won’t be so greasy.
4. Turn the heat off, cover the meat with aluminum foil, and let it continue to cook with the residual heat for about 7 minutes.
5. Plate it and serve with your favorite sauce.

Here’s a guide on how to make some delicious sauces.
TAKING YOUR LAMB CHOPS TO THE NEXT LEVEL! SAUCE FOR LAMB CHOPS

Lamb Meat Block（roast beef cooking method using lamb meat）

1. Take the meat out of the refrigerator about an hour before cooking and let it come back to room temperature. Season with salt & pepper before cooking.
2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan over low heat with 1 clove of crushed (or smashed) garlic. Once the garlic is slightly browned, remove it from the frying pan.
3. Raise the heat to medium. Once the oil is hot, wipe the excess moisture off of the lamb meat with kitchen paper and start cooking it in the pan.
4. Cook for 2 minutes on each side. When all sides are browned, remove from the frying pan, wrap in two layers of aluminum foil, and let it rest for 30 minutes.
5. Plate it and serve with your favorite sauce.

For this recipe, we used a 5cm-thick block of lamb meat. Anything thicker than that might be difficult to cook in a standard frying pan. It might be better to use an oven for thicker cuts of meat, so you can make sure that the heat reaches all the way to the center.

Lamb Meat Slices

Lamb meat slices are pretty easy to cook. You can use whatever method you like to grill this type of cut. Just make sure to let it come back to room temperature before cooking. Cook both sides in high heat and serve! Make sure to eat it up while it’s warm. When lamb meat cools, the fat will start to harden, and the mouthfeel might not be too pleasant then.

Lamb meat has a nice balance of fat and protein. It’s also a rich source for unsaturated fatty acids which can help reduce bad cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides, while increasing good cholesterol (HDL). It’s great for staying healthy, so try these methods out and eat lots of lamb!

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