Grilled Berbere-Spiced Lamb Chops With Cucumber-Lentil Salad Recipe

The reverse sear makes evenly cooked grilled lamb chops incredibly easy, while fiery, spicy berbere gives them a ready-made flavor upgrade.

By
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Editorial Director
Daniel joined the Serious Eats culinary team in 2014 and writes recipes, equipment reviews, articles on cooking techniques. Prior to that he was a food editor at Food & Wine magazine, and the staff writer for Time Out New York's restaurant and bars section.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Updated May 01, 2024
Closeup of grilled berbere-spiced lamb chops, shingled on top of cucumber-lentil salad.

Serious Eats / Daniel Gritzer

Why It Works

  • Starting the lamb on the cool side of the grill allows it to slowly reach the perfect internal temperature. A quick sear over high heat browns the outside.
  • Cooking lentils with aromatic vegetables and herbs greatly improves their flavor.

I don't often have access to a grill here in New York City, so when I was down in Florida a few weeks ago visiting my family, I made a point of taking advantage of the grill at my mom's place there. I wasn't on vacation, though, and had a fair amount of work to do, so I had to find ways to use the grill that didn't involve too much prep work. This easy dish of grilled lamb chops with lentil salad was one of my solutions.

My secret no-work flavor weapon: berbere, a fiery Ethiopian spice blend. Max has written about it in more depth here, but in short, it's loaded with hot chile powder, along with spices like cardamom, clove, and fenugreek. Every berbere blend is different, so it's important to taste it before adding it to food. Some are so hot you'll want to be very sparing, unless you really, really like to set your mouth on fire.

For the chops, I rubbed them lightly with the berbere, then grilled them using Josh Bousel's reverse-searing method.

Because berbere is often added to lentils in Ethiopian cooking, I decided to borrow that idea by adding a bit of it to a lentil salad. The salad has refreshing ingredients like mint and cucumber, so the berbere helps to add a warm base layer of flavor to it.

The lentils take a little time to cook, and we recommend salting the meat about 45 minutes before grilling for best results, but the actual hands-on cooking is fairly minimal.

August 2014

Recipe Details

Grilled Berbere-Spiced Lamb Chops With Cucumber-Lentil Salad Recipe

Prep 5 mins
Cook 65 mins
Active 30 mins
Dry-Brining Time 45 mins
Total 115 mins
Serves 4 servings
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • 3/4 pound green lentils

  • 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and halved

  • 2 medium cloves garlic, peeled

  • 1 medium carrot, peeled

  • 1 sprig rosemary (optional)

  • Water

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 large cucumber, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

  • 1/2 teaspoon berbere spice blend, plus more for rubbing lamb chops (see note)

  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice from 2 lemons

  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

  • 8 bone-in lamb rib or loin chops, cut 1 1/4- to 1 1/2-inches thick

  • 1/2 cup packed mint leaves, torn

Directions

  1. Add lentils, onion, garlic, carrot, and rosemary, if using, and cover with at least 2 inches of water. Season with salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower heat and simmer until lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. Let cool slightly, then drain lentils, discarding aromatics, and let cool. Season with salt and pepper.

  2. In a large bowl, toss lentils with cucumber, 1/2 teaspoon berbere spice, lemon juice, and olive oil.

  3. Salt lamb on both sides and let sit at room temperature for 45 minutes while preparing grill.

  4. Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange the coals on one side of the charcoal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Alternatively, set half the burners on a gas grill to high. Cover and preheat for 10 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Rub a light dusting of berbere spice onto lamb chops. Place lamb chops on cool side of grill. Cover with an aluminum pan and let cook until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chops registers 110°F (44°C) for rare or 120°F (49°C) for medium-rare.

  5. Move lamb to hot side of grill and cook until browned on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chops registers 120°F (49°C) for rare or 130°F (54°C) for medium-rare. Transfer to a platter and let rest for 10 minutes.

  6. Toss mint into lentil salad and serve with lamb chops.

Notes

Berbere, a fiery Ethiopian spice blend, is available at many well-stocked supermarkets, specialty food stores, and online at Amazon and Penzeys. Because different berbere blends can have different heat levels, taste a small amount before rubbing it into the lamb: If it's incredibly hot, be more sparing with its application.

Special Equipment

Grill, chimney starter (optional), instant-read thermometer, large disposable aluminum pan

Make-Ahead and Storage

This recipe makes a generous amount of lentil salad. Leftover salad can be kept refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
686Calories
50gFat
22gCarbs
39gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories686
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 50g65%
Saturated Fat 15g77%
Cholesterol 98mg33%
Sodium 580mg25%
Total Carbohydrate 22g8%
Dietary Fiber 7g27%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 39g
Vitamin C 10mg51%
Calcium 52mg4%
Iron 6mg34%
Potassium 776mg17%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

More Serious Eats Recipes