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Juicy Grilled Double-Cut Lamb Chops (Step-by-Step Guide)

Nothing beats the deep, savory crust and tender medium-rare center of grilled double-cut lamb chops. Buying a whole rack of lamb and fabricating your own thick-cut rib chops at home gives you total control over the fat cap, better temperature control on the grill, and extra meat scraps for future recipes.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to trim, french, and grill double-bone lamb chops over high heat, served alongside roasted spring vegetables and fluffy couscous.

Grilled lamb chops rest on a bed of spring vegetables and couscous.

Ingredients & Equipment

What You'll Need:

  • Rack of Lamb: One 8-bone rack yields four double-cut chops. (Or ask your butcher for 4 frenched double-rib chops).
  • Seasoning: Kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper, olive oil, minced garlic, and fresh rosemary/thyme.
  • Spring Vegetables: Fingerling potatoes, carrots, radishes, asparagus, and sugar snap peas.
  • Side: 1 cup couscous + 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock.

Key Tools:

  • Boning or Paring Knife: Essential for clean butchery and trimming silver skin.
  • Instant-Read Digital Thermometer: Non-negotiable for hitting target internal temps.
  • Grill: Setup for direct medium-high heat (400°F–450°F).

How to Fabricate a Rack of Lamb

Shortcut: If you bought pre-trimmed, frenched double chops from your butcher, skip straight to the seasoning and grilling instructions below!

Most store-bought racks come with the heavy fat cap attached. Trimming it down prevents massive flare-ups on the grill and yields a cleaner presentation.

Whole Rack of Lamb resting on a cutting board.
Beautiful untrimmed rack of lamb
Whole rack of lamb resting on a cutting board.
The underside of the rack.

Step 1: Remove the Fat Cap

  1. Work your boning knife into the natural seam between the fat cap and the loin muscle starting at the bone tips.
  2. Peel back the cap with your off-hand while gently slicing through connective tissue to release it in one piece.
  3. Trim off any attached pieces of shoulder blade bone.
  4. Pro Tip: Save the fat cap and belly trim in a freezer bag! It's fantastic to grind down or save for stews later.
Cap removal on lamb rack with a boning knife.
I started in the lower corner and used my knife to help me separate and peel back the cap.
removal of cap and shoulder blade on a rack of lamb.
You can see a small piece of the shoulder blade that will also need to be removed. Your rack may or may not have this.
Lamb rack with the cap removed resting on a cutting board with a boning knife.
Left: Our rack now has the cap removed. Right: Don't throw this awesome piece of meat away. Save it along with the belly meat we will remove. This will make an excellent ingredient for a later recipe.

Step 2: Trim the Silver Skin

Silver skin is a tough membrane that won't break down during grilling.

  1. Insert your knife blade just underneath the silver skin at one end of the loin.
  2. Angle the blade slightly upward, create a small flap, and grip it.
  3. Glide the knife down the length of the loin to lift the silver skin away cleanly without gouging the meat.
removing the silver skin with a boning knife.
slide your knife just barely under the surface and cut toward you carefully.
removing silver skin with a boning knife.
You should now have a flap of silver skin that should make going down the length of the rack easier to navigate and remove.
Fresh rack of lamb resting on a wooden cutting board.
You can see we now have to the whole loin exposed.
hand holds up a lamb Loin
These chops are going to be incredible.

Step 3: French the Bones

  1. Score a horizontal line across the rack 4–5 inches down from the rib tips.
  2. Slice down between each bone, then scrape perpendicular against the bare bones with your knife to remove remaining bits of muscle and membrane.
Frenching a rack of lamb with a victorinox boning knife.
I use the line I created as a guide so I can keep the depth consistent the length of the rack
Frenched rack of lamb with extra scrap meat and boning knife.
Finished! The pile of the right is the little bits of sinew and silver skin that were removed. The pile on the right is the awesome belly meat we will freeze for the later recipe. Pro Tip: Don't throw this fat cap and belly trim away! Pop it in a freezer bag to grind down later—it has the perfect fat-to-lean ratio for making juicy Lamb Burgers
bare bones cleaned of their meat sitting on a cutting board.
Bones are nice and clean.

Step 4: Cut into Double Chops

Slice down between every second bone. Single-bone chops overcook in seconds; double-bone chops give you the thick profile needed to achieve an incredible outer sear while maintaining a juicy medium-rare center.

Double bone lamb chops sitting on a wooden cutting board.
We've now got four separate two bone chops instead of rack.
Double bone lamb chops seasoned with salt and pepper.
Seasoned up with a little kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper.

How to Grill Double-Cut Lamb Chops

  1. Preheat Grill: Set your grill up for direct cooking over medium-high heat (around 400°F–450°F).
  2. Season: Rub the chops with olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper, minced garlic, and chopped fresh herbs.
  3. Sear: Place chops directly over hot coals or burners. Grill for 1.5 minutes per side, flipping frequently to build an even brown crust and render the fat on the edges. Total cook time is roughly 6 to 8 minutes.
  4. Check Internal Temp: Use a digital probe in the thickest part of the chop. Pull off heat at 125°F (52°C) for medium-rare.
  5. Rest: Transfer to a warm plate or cutting board for 5 minutes. Carryover heat will bring the final temp to 130°F while allowing the juices to redistribute.
Double cut lamb chops being grilled on a Big Green Egg.
Getting a nice color. Looking for more ways to fire up the pit? If you want classic barbecue flavors instead of fresh herbs, give my pulled Lamb BBQ Recipe a try next time!

Lamb Temperature & Doneness Guide

Always pull lamb off the heat source 5°F lower than your final target temperature, as carryover cooking will finish the job while resting.

Doneness TargetPull Off GrillFinal Temp (After Rest)Center Appearance
Rare115°F (46°C)120°F (49°C)Cool red center
Medium-Rare (Recommended)125°F (52°C)130°F (54°C)Warm, rosy pink throughout
Medium135°F (57°C)140°F (60°C)Light pink center
Well-Done150°F+ (65°C+)155°F+ (68°C+)Fully brown, minimal juice

Garlic-Herb Finish (or Wild Ramp Pesto)

During the final minute of grilling, brush the chops with a simple mix of olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and finely chopped rosemary.

Seasonal Upgrade: If you are cooking in early spring and have access to wild ramps, swap the garlic-herb oil for a heavy brush of homemade Wild Ramp Pesto right before pulling the chops off the fire!

A basting brush applies wild ramp pesto to a grilled lamb chop.
Brushing on some of that wonderful ramp pesto. If you love wood-fired cooking as much as I do, check out my step-by-step guide on How to Smoke a Whole Lamb for your next big backyard gathering.

Roasted Spring Vegetables & Couscous

Roasted Veggies:

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
  2. Chop carrots, radishes, fingerling potatoes, and asparagus into a uniform medium dice.
  3. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then spread across a parchment-lined baking sheet.
  4. Roast for 20–30 minutes. (If using delicate greens like whole ramp bulbs or snap peas, toss them in during the final 7 minutes).
Fresh spring vegetables sitting on a cutting board.
Asparagus, Radishes, Carrots, Sugar Snap Peas, Fingerling potatoes, and a small handful of ramp bulbs.
Diced Spring vegetables in a stainless steel bowl
Cut up into a rough medium dice.
a bottle pours extra virgin olive oil over diced spring vegetables.
Give the veggies a healthy splash of extra virgin olive oil.
A hand mixes diced spring vegetables and olive oil in a bowl.
Add a couple good pinches of salt and some fresh ground black pepper and give them a mix.
Diced Spring vegetables spread across a baking sheet.
Spread them out of a lined baking sheet for easier cleanup.

5-Minute Fluffy Couscous:

Bring 1 cup of salted chicken or vegetable stock to a boil. Pour in 1 cup of couscous, remove from heat, cover with a lid, and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

A fork fluffs couscous in a pot.
Fluffing that couscous. Stuff is so good they named it twice.

Plating & Serving Suggestions

Layer a scoop of fluffy couscous onto the center of the plate, rim with roasted spring veggies, and nestle the rested double-cut lamb chops right on top. Spoon additional garlic-herb butter or ramp pesto over the glistening fat cap right before serving.

A large chef knife slices double cut lamb chops
Time to find out how well we cooked them.
perfect cooked lamb chops leaking juices on a cutting board.
Mmmm perfect.
Golden brown fat of a lamb chop is covered with pesto.
Golden brown and delicious.
Grilled Lamb Chops resting on a bed of couscous and roasted spring vegetables.
Plated up on a bed of couscous and roasted spring vegetables.

Storage & Reheating Tips

  • Storage: Keep leftover lamb chops and roasted vegetables in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
  • Reheating without Drying Out: Avoid the microwave! Reheat chops in a 250°F (120°C) oven or toaster oven on a wire rack until the internal temperature reaches 120°F (about 10–12 minutes). Give them a 30-second hot sear in a skillet with a splash of butter to crisp the fat back up.

Did you try fabricating your own rack of lamb, or did you opt for pre-cut double chops? Let me know in the comments below, or tag @ilovemeatdotcom on Instagram and Facebook!

Cheers!

Grilled lamb chops rest on a bed of spring vegetables and couscous.
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Grilled Double-Cut Lamb Chops with spring vegetables and couscous

Learn how to trim, french, and grill perfectly juicy double-cut lamb chops over high heat. Paired with roasted spring vegetables and 5-minute couscous.
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 Double Lamb Rib Chops
  • ½ pound Asparagus
  • ⅓ pound Radishes
  • ½ pound Carrots
  • ½ pound fingerling potatoes
  • ⅓ pound sugar snap peas
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 2 TBS salt
  • 2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 cup couscous
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 1 Handful wild ramp bulbs (optional)
  • ¼ cup Wild Ramp Pesto (optional)

Instructions

  • Light your grill and bring it up to a medium-high heat.
  • Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Season lamb chops with salt and pepper and set aside
  • Give all your vegetables except the sugar snap peas a rough medium dice
  • Add your olive oil to the veggies.
  • Season with salt and pepper and give them a quick toss
  • Spread your vegetables out evenly on a lined baking sheet.
  • Cook vegetables at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes until tender but not mushy
  • Place your lamb chops on the grill for 1.5 minutes each side.
  • After 3 minutes brush on your optional Wild Ramp Pesto.
  • Once your lamb chops hit 125 degrees remove and rest for 5-6 minutes
  • In a medium-size saucepan bring your chicken stock to a boil.
  • Add a pinch of salt and your couscous
  • Remove from heat and add your lid to the saucepan for 5 minutes
  • After 5 minutes fluffy couscous with a fork
  • Slice your lamb and plate on a bed of couscous and roasted spring vegetables
  • Tag @ilovemeatdotcom on social media with a pic. 🙂

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