Last Updated on September 22, 2023 by Melissa Reome
This post is sponsored by Hamilton Beach. Rest assured all opinions are my own.
There is something magical that happens when you marinade lamb and cook it on a grill. Whether cooking over charcoal, wood or a gas grill, an extra layer of flavor is imparted on the grilled lamb that makes it even more delicious. My recipe for grilled chimichurri lamb chops is a quick recipe to prep and cook. It takes less than five minutes to make the chimichurri thanks to a food processor and less than 10 minutes to cook the lamb on the grill.
I’ll be the first one to say that own a ton of kitchen tools and gadgets. However, there is one seemingly common one that has been missing, a food processor. Food processors are the ultimate multi-taskers. The Hamilton Beach 8-Cup Stack & Snap Food Processor With Bowl Scraper is my new best friend. It has a multitude of features which I will share some information about. It is available on Amazon here and would make a great gift for those who love to cook.
I think it’s important when buying kitchen appliances to invest in a reputable name. The Hamilton Beach Manufacturing Company was founded in 1910. Companies don’t exist for over one-hundred years unless they are putting out quality products. I grew up with their products in my kitchen.
Food Processors vs Stand Mixers
Food processors do a lot of things that stand mixers can’t do but also share some capabilities like mixing and blending. Trust me, if I have the chance between lugging my heavy and bulky six quart stand mixer from the basement vs grabbing my light food processor that fits in my kitchen cabinet, I’m grabbing the food processor.
The food processor also has the benefit of having a cover over whatever you may be mixing. That means less flour or liquid flying around the kitchen. Yes, sometimes I can be a messy cook but I swear it isn’t intentional. Sometimes the tools we have help contribute to the mess.
Accessories
The Stack and Snap Food Processor comes with a bowl scraper, a chopping/mixing blade, a reversible fine or coarse shredding disc and a dough blade.
Bowl Scraper: This might just be my favorite feature of the Hamilton Beach Stack & Snap Food Processor. The Bowl Scraper is used with the chopping or mixing blade to remove food from sides of the bowl. You turn it from outside of the top of the mixer so you don’t have to open it to scrape down the sides of the bowl before you continue mixing. It’s genius!
Chopping/Mixing Blade: This blade is used to coarsely chop, mince, mix, or puree food. Don’t like finely chopping up onions and getting all teary eyed? You’ll love letting this machine do all of the work for you. Love homemade salsa? Add your ingredients and in just a few seconds, everything is chopped and mixed for you. There are so many potential applications for this blade.
Reversible Fine or Coarse Shredding Disc: This disc is used to shred a variety of foods such as chilled cheese, carrots, cabbage and potatoes. Tip: Don’t buy pre-shredded cheese at the grocery store. It is coated with cellulose powder, mold inhibitors and anti-caking agents. Aside from all this extra stuff you don’t need with your cheese, when you shred your own it melts better and it costs less.
Love coleslaw? This blade has your back. Chopping up cabbage and carrots in a uniform manner can be messy and time consuming. Let this blad do the work and save some time. I see a lot of homemade potato pancakes and hashbrowns in my future using the shredding disc.
Adjustable Slicing Disc: Unless you have great knife skills, making uniform slices of a large quantity of vegetables can be a bit daunting. Enter the Adjustable Slicing Disc. Potatoes au gratin, no problem! Pepperoni for pizza or to snack on, easy peasy. Sliced onions and peppers for a variety of applications in just a minute or two is a life saver. You can even use this blade to slice chilled cheeses. Remember when you chill cheese it is much easier to cut because it is more firm.
Dough Blade: This blade is used to mix cookie dough, pastry crust, knead bread dough, pizza dough and crumb toppings. If you’ve ever made your own pie crust by hand where you mix cold butter pieces and water with flour, you know how messy that is. Not only that but ideally, you want those little pieces of butter mixed into tiny pea sized bits with the flour to yield the nicest flaky crust. It’s a job better left for the food processor. We have these appliances because by saving time cooking, we can spend more time with those we love.
Safety Features
The Hamilton Beach Stack and Snap Food Processor comes with a locking arm which keeps the bowl secure when mixing or chopping. A food pusher protects your hands from the blade by advancing the food down the chute toward the blade. Suction feet on the bottom of the processor help to secure it to the counter so it doesn’t move while being used.
The last and my favorite safety feature is the cord storage area. This helps to keep the cord safely stored so you don’t have to wrap it around the unit in your cabinet. You simply push the cord into the storage area where it is then out the way and properly secured within the unit. You simply pull it out when you desire to use it again.
What Is Chimichurri?
Chimichurri is a sauce made from combining a variety of herbs with olive oil, vinegar or an acidic component and a number of other possible additions such as a variety of spicy peppers to give it a little punch. It is commonly used in Argentinian, Brazilian or Uruguayan cuisine as a condiment for grilled meats. I personally love it on beef, poultry, lamb or even on shrimp. Chimichurri can be used as a marinade prior to cooking or to served on the side to complement the meat after cooking.
How To Make Chimichurri
It doesn’t get any easier than this honestly. Using the food processor, the onion and garlic is minced first, The herbs and other dry ingredients are added next and are chopped into small pieces. Last, the liquid portion is added in to combine all of the ingredients. It all comes together in just seconds with the food processor. I made it by hand for years and it’s definitely more time consuming and messy.
Help, I Don’t Like Cilantro!
Have no fear. Many classic chimichurri recipes don’t even use cilantro. If you’re one of the unfortunate souls that do not like the taste of cilantro, just omit it and double the amount of flat leaf parsley. Fresh oregano is also great in chimichurri. The amount of herbs you add isn’t an exact science so don’t stress if you don’t have a certain amount. Use the recipe as a guideline and taste it after all the ingredients are added. The taste can easily be adjusted by adding more or less oil, vinegar, salt or pepper flakes.
Marinating The Lamb Chops In Chimichurri
After you make the chimichurri, reserve half of it to use as a condiment after the lamb chops are finished cooking. Never eat marinade that had raw meat in it. I prefer to marinate lamb chops for about two hours. It is okay to marinade them for eight hours or overnight if that is more convenient. The lamb takes on plenty of flavor because the chops are quite small. Using the chimichurri as a condiment after the chops are cooked gives it an extra pop of flavor as well.
How To Grill Lamb Chops
Preheat grill to high heat and oil grill grates. It is preferable to also have a lower heat zone of a lower temperature (two zone cooking). Add marinated lamb to grill and grill over direct heat until nicely colored on both sides. If the chops are browned nicely but need to still cook more, move to the lower temperature side of grill until finished.
Cook lamb chops until 120°F for rare, 125°F for medium-rare, 130°F for medium, 140°F for well done. Lamb chops are best served rare or medium-rare but cook to your preference. Remove grilled lamb chops from the grill and allow to rest for five minutes prior to serving. Serve with a side of chimichurri as a condiment.
This recipe is perfect for dinner or even an extra special lunch. Don’t be afraid to try the chimichurri by itself to complement other proteins as well. It is truly delicious!
Are you a chimichurri fan? Try it on my picanha (top sirloin cap) recipe here.
Grilled Chimichurri Lamb Chops
Equipment
- Hamilton Beach 8-cup Stack & Snap Food Processor
- Grill or grill pan
Ingredients
- 6 lamb loin chops or lamb rib chops
Chimichurri Marinade & Sauce
- 1 bunch flat leaf parsley (or 1 cup)
- 1 bunch cilantro (or 1 cup) (may double parsley if you don't like cilantro)
- 1 cup high quality extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/2 red onion (may substitute 1 large shallot)
- 1/8 tsp dried red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- In food processor, add onion and garlic. Pulse on low to chop into small pieces. Add parsley and cilantro into food processor along with red pepper flakes, salt and optional lemon zest. Pulse on low until finely chopped for a few seconds. Add olive oil and red wine and continue to pulse until thoroughly mixed. This will only take a few seconds. If you do not have a food processor, chop all of the ingredients finely by hand then mix together.
- In a non-reactive container (such as glass, ceramic, plastic or a plastic storage bag), add the lamb chops and half of the chimichurri. Make sure all of the lamb is covered with marinade.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate to marinate for 2 hours ideally. If you don't have 2 hours, 1 hour will be work fine. You may marinate them for up to 8 hours or overnight.
- Preheat grill to high heat and oil grill grates. It is preferable to also have a lower heat zone of a lower temperature (two zone cooking). Add marinated lamb to grill and grill over direct heat until nicely colored on both sides. If the chops are browned nicely but need to still cook more, move to the lower temperature side of grill until finished.
- Cook lamb chops until 120°F for rare, 125°F for medium-rare, 130°F for medium, 140°F for well done. Lamb chops are best served rare or medium-rare but cook to your preference.
- Remove lamb chops from grill and let rest 5 minutes. Serve with the extra chimichurri that was not used for the marinade. Never consume the leftover marinade that raw meat was in. Always make extra for use as a condiment with the grilled meat.
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