Pit Boss Smoked Lamb Chops with a Chimichurri Sauce

Learn how to smoke and reverse sear lamb chops on a Pit Boss pellet grill and finish them with our delicious homemade chimichurri sauce!

First we'll show you how we season and prepare the mab chops for smoking, then how we finish them with a hot sear to get a perfect crust.

Next, we'll show you how you can make an amazing homemade chimichurri sauce to perfectly complement the smoked lamb chops!

Jump to:

• Types of Lamb Chops
• Untrimmed vs. Frenched
• Preparing your Lamb Chops for Smoking
• Seasonings and Marinades
• Choosing Wood Pellets
• Start the Pit Boss
• Smoking Temperature
• Cooking Time
• Reverse Searing
• Internal Temperature
• Serving Suggestions
• 📖 Recipe

Lamb Chops are one of the quickest and easiest proteins you can make on your Pit Boss when you dont want to spend a lot of time cooking.

We've shown you how to prepare a boneless leg of lamb and a smoked rack of lamb if you want to do a longer, more involved cook.

We equate lamb chops to pork chops, or steaks, only smaller. They are taken from the prized loin meat on the back of the animal.

They are tender and lean, and don't take long to cook, so paying close attention is essential.

Types of Lamb Chops

There are two types of lamb chops to be aware of:

• The rib chops which look kind of like a tiny tomahawk ribeye, and sometimes referred to as a lamb "lollipop."
• The loin chops which are like tiny lamb T-bone steaks where the bone is in the middle of the chop.

Rib chops with the long bone still attached are usually a big show stopper due to their classic and elegant appearance.

These are our favorite kind of lamb chops to buy and what we recommend you look for as well. 

Untrimmed vs. Frenched

Bone-on Lamb Rib Chops come in three varieties:

Untrimmed: The entire fat cap is still in place covering the bones.

Semi-frenched: Some of the fat is removed, ad some of the boe is visible

Fully Frenched: Most of the fat is removed from the boes and they are almost entirely exposed.

Preparing your Lamb Chops for Smoking

Your lamb chops may have come as one big rack, or they may already be cut individually. 

For our recipe below, we are going to be smoking them individually in order to get a good sear on all sides.

Some people also choose to cut their rack into "double chops" with two bones in each chop for a thicker, more decadent meaty treat.

If you bought a full rack, trim some fat from both the fatt cap side and then from the bones by laying your knife flat against the bones of the rack and pushing it away from you.

Always use a good boning knife when frenching lamb and trimming fat from other meats.  It will make life so much easier.

Seasonings and Marinades

If you are looking for a classic pairing with Lamb, then you can never go wrong with garlic and rosemary for seasoning.

Mix the fresh chopped rosemary and garlic with olive or avocado oil, kosher salt, and fresh cracked black pepper.

Marinate the chops for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight, wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator, and you are in business!

Alternatively, being that lamb is such an international dish, you can use more exotic flavors such as Middle Eastern, Greek, or Turkish spices depending on the occasion.

Lastly, there is nothing wrong with a good old fashioned salt and pepper.

If you are going to serve your lamb chops with a sauce like we show in the recipe below, keep the seasoning on the lamb chops themselves simple.

Choosing Wood Pellets

Lamb is a very versatile protein that pairs well with a variety of flavors.

We think lamb tastes best when smoked with milder fruitwoods such as apple and cherry, but can also hold up to stronger flavors like mesquite and hickory.

Many times we like using a combination of cherry and hickory in our Pit Boss when smoking lamb.

Start the Pit Boss

We have previously covered how to season a Pit Boss, how to start a Pit Boss, as well as how to troubleshoot the smoke level of your pellet grill.

So if you need a good overview on how to use your Pit Boss for the first time, check those articles out first!

Smoking Temperature

Set the temperature to the "Smoke" Setting, and let the Pit Boss come up to temperature.

Thsi will put the grill at about 180°F

Our method is to start very low in order to add smoke flavor before we sear the lamb chops to finish them off.

Cooking Time

Relative to something like pork ribs, lamb chops are fairly lean and delicate.

Let the lamb chops smoke for about 30-45 minutes in order to get a little color and absorb some smoke flavor.

Don't cook for too long at this stage ir else you risk drying out the meat too much. 

Reverse Searing

"Reverse Searing" is just a fancy term for searing your meat at the very end, in order to get a nice crispy exterior crust that you just can't get from low and slow smoking alone.

This works great for smaller, thick cuts of meat like filet mignon steaks that benefit from a good outside sear.

With larger cuts of meat like hams and pork butts, they will develop a nice exterior crust naturally just due to the long length of time they spend in the smoker.

Much like our smoked pellet grill steak, we like to smoke and then reverse sear our lamb chops for the best possibe flavor and texture.

On most Pit Boss pellet grills, simply turn the heat up to HIGH and open the flambroiler grate for direct heat form the firepot.

Leave the lid open and set the smoked lamb chops to the side while the fire heats up for about 5 minutes.

Then move the lamb chops over te fire with a good pair of BBQ tongs and flip frenquently so that no sides of the lamb chops burn.

If you cooking a LOT of lamb chops , we would recommend picking up a set of Grill Grates.

These make life a lot easier by spreading out the direct heat from the fire pot over a larger surface area so you can sear more food at the same time.

Internal Temperature

We like to sear the lamb chops until they reach and internal temperature of 135°F before removing from the Pit Boss.

They will rise about 5°F more while resting which will bring them up to a perfect medium doneness.

If you prefer medium rare, remove them at about 128°F. If you prefer medium well, remove them at 140°F.

Always use a good instant read thermometer like our favorite from ThermoPro to monitor your internal temperatures.

Serving Suggestions

Lamb chops only need to rest for about 3-4 minutes before serving because they are so small.

You can serve your smoked lamb chops with a simple jus, a red wine or balsamic reduction, or use our recipe for a delicious chimichurri sauce below!

Smoked Mashed Potatoes, Smoked Baked Potatoes and Smoked Twice Baked Potatoes go well on the side, and also help to soak up all those delicious juices. Add some Smoked Asparagus or Smoked Broccoli for a full meal.

For drinks, I would go with a complex red wine like a malbec or chianti, and if serving beer, choose a strong flavored ale or dark porter or stout.

📖 Recipe