Seared Lamb Chops With Anchovies, Capers and Sage

Seared Lamb Chops With Anchovies, Capers and Sage
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
35 minutes
Rating
5(1,036)
Notes
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The dish comes together in minutes but tastes as if you’d spent hours over the stove fussing and fine-tuning. And because the salted fish and olive oil meld into a smooth sauce, you can serve the dish to people who think they don’t like anchovies, then tell them when only the lamb bones remain.

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Ingredients

Yield:2 servings
  • 6baby lamb chops (1¼ pounds)
  • Salt
  • pepper
  • 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3anchovy fillets
  • 3tablespoons drained capers
  • 15sage leaves
  • teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 2garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • Lemon wedges, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)

921 calories; 82 grams fat; 30 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 40 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 40 grams protein; 785 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Rinse the lamb chops and pat them dry. Season them with salt and pepper, and let rest for 15 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Over medium-high heat, warm a skillet large enough to hold all the chops in one layer. Add the oil and when it shimmers, add the anchovies and capers. Cook, stirring, until the anchovies break down, about 3 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Arrange the lamb chops in the skillet and fry, without moving them, until brown, about 3 minutes. Turn them over, and toss the sage leaves and pepper flakes into the pan. Cook until lamb reaches the desired doneness, about 2 minutes for medium-rare.

  4. Step 4

    Arrange the chops on serving plates. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 1 minute, then spoon the sauce over the lamb. Serve with the lemon wedges.

Ratings

5 out of 5
1,036 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Very good, as almost everyone agrees. Go light on salting the chops in step 1, although I didn't find the end result overly salty. The biggest change I would make is in the final step. Adding the garlic to the hot oil will burn it in seconds. Instead, empty the pan, including the oil, then pour in a good splash of white wine along with the garlic. You'll deglaze all those yummy drippings and cook the garlic more gently. When the wine reduces to a syrup, pour it over the chops.

I wish I could upload audio of my boyfriend and I moaning for 20 minutes straight while we ate this. I'd file this recipe under "Holy Experiences," right next to Brittany Howard and psilocybin.

Come for the lamb—stay for the fried capers.

You don't need to rinse. Just wipe them dry. Sometimes lamb chops have tiny shards of bone where they have been split, but a good wiping with a paper towel should take care of them.

first ingredient: rinsed lamb chops. i wanted to know why i should do this, and a quick internet search suggested i shouldn't do so. why should i? if i can gain something by doing so, i will, but the first ten articles suggested i STOP rinsing my proteins. does anybody know otherwise?

Nice idea, but way too salty. The anchovies and capers stuck to the pan and needed a deglazing liquid, which a squirt of lemon juice took care of. I seasoned the chops with scant sprinkle of salt and used only 2 anchovy fillets, but still too salty. Fried sage leaves were a brilliant addition. Great flavor from the anchovies. Here in Calif., we have the first green garlic of a too short season. Worked well in this dish.

My husband just cooked this and it was a hit! It has a deep roast lamb flavour with only ten minutes cooking time. He altered it slightly by using 4 chops, 1.5 tbs capers, 1.5 anchovies and salting just one side of each chop. Wasn't too salty. He deglazed the pan with some white wine and lemon juice. I will be requesting this one again!

This has become our go-to lamb chop recipe. The one change I made was to add vermouth to the pan at the point where the recipe calls for removing the lamb, which I left in the pan. I also lowered the heat. Then I added the garlic, letting it cook in the bubbling wine. The lamb was perfectly cooked, the garlic didn’t burn, and there was a bit of sauce in the end. Mmmmmm.......

I made this last night with the pork sirloin I had on hand. Because it was pork, I cooked it a little longer. Instead of the olive oil, I used the oil that the anchovies were canned in. It was extraordinarily good, not at all too salty. I was glad that I still had a little fresh sage in my garden. It added an interesting texture.

Love this every time I make it. Thicker loin chops take more time than indicated for medium rare. I deglazed with a bit of wine and lemon after chops were cooked and sage was crisped. Didn't use salt as I doubled up on the anchovies and capers. Serve with potatoes au gratin.

Sensational recipe. However, capers burn very easily. Had to toss the 1st batch. Watched 2nd batch like a hawk and was too scared to sear them with the lamb. Instead, sautéed until anchovies melted, strained the mixture and set aside, then returned oil to the pan & used it for the lamb. Added anchovies / capers towards the end and deglazed with white wine as suggested by other reviewers. Skipped sage leaves - didn’t feel like paying $4 for them. Extremely happy w recipie & guests were blown away

made with boned leg of lamb in large pieces, marinated then seared in an iron skillet and finished 8-10 minutes @475. Had lots of capers to use up so left out anchovies. --good either way. Deglazed the skillet w lemon juice. Served w pomegranate and orange and fennel salad.

Juice of 1 lemon into the pan to deglaze imparted the perfect acidic note to an otherwise unctuous dish.

Made these last night. They were fabulous! Any recipe with anchovies catches my eye! I didn't rinse these beauties, the butcher cut them fresh for me and I agree on not rinsing a protein like this. My only change was to deglaze the pan with a whole lemon. I'm not sure how they thought you would have much sauce without a deglazing liquid. The lemon was perfect!

Forget the rinse, next they will say use a conditioner! Do pat dry though...it seals the sear whereas if they are wet they will steam first and toughen the outside.

Absolutely agree with the others about deglazing the pan with fresh lemon juice. I also used one of the cups that separate the juices from the oil so I could discard most of the oil before putting "sauce" over the meat on the plate. Next time I will also reduce the amount of oil. I used bone-in lamb chops and added just 2 minutes to cooking time. This is quite rich so a simple salad and fresh veggie is all that is needed for sides.

Loved this. Next time I'll cut the anchovies amount in half so that the meal is less salty.

I made this exactly as written and boy was it good!! I did deglaze the pan after taking the garlic out. I saved that sauce for the polenta I had made to go with them - delicious! But the lamb chops didn't need it at all - they were perfect as is! The fried capers and anchovies totally made the dish! My chops were a little on the thick side, so it took longer to cook - I just kept flipping them. still more rare than medium rare, but just delicious! This is a keeper!

Less oil to crisp the outside. White wine deglazing with garlic after removing the lamb chops. Cook no more than 2 minutes each side.

Absolutely necessary to deglaze pan in last step, or there won't be much sauce, and you'll miss scraping lose all that tasty stuff in the pan. I mostly use red wine, but white also great.

I love lamb and I should of cut the rack I had into eight pieces, instead of four. I really wanted to keep the temperature right. so I cooked a pair of chops instead individual ones. Because I did this, some of the components in the pan over cooked. The fried capers are tasty!

Followed recipe up to anchovies. I add capers after I turned the chop because I always burn then in a bad way. When the chop was done I set aside to rest. Pulled the pan aside to cool a few moments. Added capers, garlic and sage put back on heat. Added white wine per the advice of a commenter and let that reduce by half. Added a few cubes of feta. Served on rice pilaf with sauce on top. Added a squeeze of lemon. Arugula salad with pomegranate seeds, walnuts, feta and aged balsamic. Fantastic!

Outstanding. As others have said, make this now. Used the suggestion to deglaze pan with white wine and lemon juice and sauteed garlic with that.

I used rosemary instead of sage as that's what I had, as well as more of the capers/anchovies/garlic. I cooked them separately and then added to the lamb pan near the end of cooking as others did. Curious to see how it would go with sage, will try it next time but very nice with classic pairing of rosemary.

I add a tiny bit of red wine to deglaze and them pour it over the chops.

Wow, delicious. Followed reader recommendations and deglazed the pan with white wine at the end to increase sauce volume, didn't add salt in the beginning to the lamb. So quick and easy with complex flavors. My go to for lamb chops.

I’m a novice meat cooker. I would cook the sauce ingredients in a separate pan. All I ended up with were burnt capers and sage leaves. Meat still tasted good but there wasn’t any usable sauce.

I found this recipe when looking for something with a springy feel to use my garden sage with. It was excellent! I agree that it tastes like it took hours but comes together so fast. I wish I read the comments before trying because I would have deglazed the pan with lemon or white wine after removing the lamb, but it was still great.

I made this recipe with a couple of changes. First, I sous vide’d the lamb chops at 131 F for 2 1/2 hours then rested the chops for 20 minutes. I then pan seared the chops in a very hot pan for 1 minute on each side and also 30 seconds on each edge. Finally, I made the sauce in the pan which I deglazed with white wine. IMO, the lamb chops turned out very well, tender and delicious.

Cooked on 3-ring wok which was clearly too hot as capers burned up. Need lower temp and watch the anchovies and capers like a hawk so they do not frizzle.

I used loin chops cause they're cheaper and usually thicker. Seared them on a cast iron on high heat to get a nice crust with a red inside. A lot of the stuff was stuck to the pan after that high heat. I had a bottle of red open so I deglazed with just enough to get all the scrapings off and sauteed the garlic in that resulting paste/sauce/mixture. Turned out amazing. Will do it the same way next time. Can probably use any liquid for deglaze if you only use a bit. Maillard in full effect

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