Lamb Chops & Mint Sauce

February 15, 2025By American Vinegar Works

Mint sauce in bowl with lamb chops in background

AVW Lamb Chops & Mint Sauce

Name: Lamb Chops & Mint Sauce
Ingredients: 8 single lamb chops, ideally Frenched; 3 tablespoons of Hot Apple Cider Vinegar (or Chardonnay Vinegar as alternative); ½ teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon paprika; 1/8 teaspoon of crushed red pepper; 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary (1 for marinade and 1 for frying pan); 6 garlic gloves, peeled (3 for marinade and 3 for frying pan); 4 tablespoons of AVW California Olive Oil; 1 bunch of fresh mint leaves, finely chopped (about 1 cup); 3 tablespoons of boiling water; 1.5 tablespoon of sugar; ¼ teaspoon of salt; 3 tablespoons of IPA Beer Malt Vinegar

Lamb and mint sauce are an English classic pairing that is surprisingly easy to make at home. It also benefits from minimal active cooking time which makes it both fancy-looking and easily pulled together for a fast weeknight meal (with some advanced planning for marinading).

The mint sauce should not be confused with mint jams or jellies which are thicker and have much more sugar. Mint sauce is liquid with abundant fresh chopped mint that creates a fresher sour and sweet dressing to balance the fatty richness of lamb, with much less sugar.

If you choose to serve the lamb without the mint sauce you may need to add more salt to the marinade or on your plate—the sweet/sour of mint sauce covers for the lower salt content of the lamb itself.

The mint sauce recipe features our IPA Malt Vinegar (and thoughts on why not the Porter). The lamb features our California EVOO and our Hot ACV.

Lamb Chops & Mint Sauce

Ingredients

Pan Fried Lamb Chops

8 single lamb chops, ideally Frenched
3 tablespoons of Hot Apple Cider Vinegar (or Chardonnay Vinegar as alternative)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary (1 for marinade and 1 for frying pan)
6 garlic gloves, peeled (3 for marinade and 3 for frying pan)
4 tablespoons of AVW California Olive Oil

Mint Sauce

1 bunch of fresh mint leaves, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
3 tablespoons of boiling water
1.5 tablespoon of sugar
¼ teaspoon of salt
3 tablespoons of IPA Beer Malt Vinegar

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Directions

Lamb Marinade

Create marinade by mixing Hot ACV, salt and paprika
Cut or smash 3 garlic cloves and break one rosemary spring in half
Put half of the garlic and half of the prepared rosemary in the marinade, set lamb chops in marinade in a single layer and place remaining marinade garlic and rosemary on top of lamb. Cover with clear wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and ideally overnight—flip lamb halfway if possible.

Pan Fried Lamb Chop

Use a thick bottomed frying pan large enough not to crowd lamb on medium heat
Add olive oil, rosemary spring, red pepper and crushed garlic to the pan and cook herbs in oil for about 4 minutes. Stir to prevent burning—you are infusing the oil with the herb flavors
Add lamb (discard marinade and marinade herbs) to the pan in a single, uncrowded layer
Cook lamb about 2 to 3 minutes per side for a medium cook. Be mindful that single lamb chops are very thin and will cook quickly

Mint Sauce

Pluck mint leaves and thinly chop them (discard stems) and add to a small bowl
Add sugar and salt to bowl
Add boiling water and mix until well until salt and sugar are fully dissolved
Add vinegar and mix well
Let mint sauce stand/seep for about an hour
Serve by spooning liquid and mint over plated lamb chops or simply serve on table and allow diners to spoon as they would like.

Recipe Note

Note on Vinegar: Malt is the traditional vinegar in mint sauce. We experimented with both our Porter and IPA malt vinegars in this recipe. Both tasted great on their own and you might even argue that the Porter tasted better because it had a richer flavor. We found, however, that the IPA version paired better with the lamb and, because it is lighter, also allowed the mint flavor to shine a bit more. Feel free to experiment and see which you prefer.

Lamb Chops & Mint Sauce

AVW Lamb Chops & Mint Sauce

Lamb Chops & Mint Sauce

Ingredients

Pan Fried Lamb Chops

Mint Sauce

Directions

Lamb Marinade

Pan Fried Lamb Chop

Mint Sauce

Recipe Note

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