For The Hands-Down Best Lamb Chops, Ask Your Butcher For This

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Lamb is one of the most underrated and underused proteins available today. While it was never as big as beef or pork in the United States, consumption has decreased considerably over the years. According to the USDA, per capita lamb consumption was about five pounds in the 1960s and is only about one pound today. By comparison, Americans eat more than 100 pounds of chicken per year, according to Statista. If you enjoy lamb, or you're interested in trying it, you want to make sure you're getting the best cuts you can. Ask your butcher for a double-rib lamb chop.

Tasting Table talked to Brad Baych, aka the Butcher Wizard — a professional butcher and the author of "Primal Cuts: A Butcher's Guide to Selecting, Preparing, and Perfecting Beef." We asked him what a double-rib lamb chop is and why it's worth trying.

"A double-rib lamb chop is just a cut with two bones. It comes from the lamb rack. To cut it you just move down the rack and cut a section with two bones," Baych explained. Once it's cut, the best way to season lamb chops involves marinating, so make sure you don't skip it.

There's a practical reason why you should try double-rib chops instead of single ribs. "It does protect the meat better than a single because the actual piece of meat is thicker. A single lamb chop is very thin to begin with, and will overcook quickly," Baych said. "Lamb is leaner than beef, so it will overcook and become dry."

Single rib lamb chops are often less than one inch thick, down to three-quarters of an inch. The closest beef equivalent is probably a bone-in ribeye, which is typically cut to one-and-a-half inches thick or more. Lamb fat is distributed differently from fat in beef, so a lamb chop and a steak can't be treated exactly the same. This, combined with the smaller size, means lamb chops are easy to overcook.

While both beef fat and lamb fat start to render around the same temperature, the difference in marbling and the thickness of the cut affects the cook. You could potentially lose much of the fat and flavor in a single rib chop by the time it's cooked through. If you pull it early, not all of the fat will have rendered, and you might end up with a chewy, unappetizing chop.

A double-rib chop gives you more than a meatier bite. The size allows you to get a sear on the outside without drying out the meat. You can build flavor instead of losing it. We have some tips for the perfect sear here. Lamb is cooked to medium rare at about 130 degrees Fahrenheit. That happens very fast for a three-quarter-inch thick chop, in as little as two minutes per side. Double-rib chops take more time, so you can get a tasty crust on the outside without sacrificing any of the juiciness and flavor inside that you want to preserve. The best lamb chops are cooked on the grill, and using a double-rib chop ensures you can actually enjoy them.