The hardest thing about grilling lamb chops is buying them. Because once you get them home, the rest is easy.
My favorite style of chops resembles lamb lollipops — a long, slender bone with a fat nugget of sweet and tender meat at the end. And they are just begging to be grilled.
Most meat counters stock lamb loin chops, which are tasty, but the bone to meat ratio is too high for my liking. Instead, I purchase racks of lamb, preferably from New Zealand or Australia, and cut my own chops from the racks. Each rack will have 7 to 8 bones, and most racks are packaged “Frenched.” It’s a fancy term that means that the rib bones are cleaned and exposed. If your rack is not Frenched, most butchers will do it for you.
Buying a whole rack and cutting them into chops just before grilling ensures the meat is fresh, pink and pristine. Plus, this lets me choose to cut them in double-bone or single-bone portions. If I am serving the lamb as the main course, I generally cut one rack into four double-bone portions. If I am serving them with cocktails or at a more formal affair, I cut them into single bones and they become easy-to-eat finger food.