The yogurt keeps the surface of the lamb from drying out and — if you let the lamb sit for a while after you've smeared it with the marinade (and you should) — it permeates the meat a bit with the flavors of the marinade.
Besides enhancing flavor, the yogurt marinade helps tenderize the meat, and vacuum sealing the meat should help the marinade penetrate more deeply.
Beyond adding tenderness and flavor, yogurt has other pretty unique superpowers, too. “It infiltrates the meat and builds this beautiful crust,” says Anissa Helou, a London-based cookbook author, about how yogurt-marinated meat, when cooked, can build a layer of caramelization.
I first cooked lamb in yogurt without marinating it and on average it took me about one and a half hours to get a tender texture with meat that was almost falling apart. When I repeated the same recipe but marinated the lamb with yogurt overnight, it took around 40 minutes to get the same texture.
Take your container, place it in the fridge and let it marinade for a few hours, ideally overnight. The process works best when the yogurt has plenty of time to do its job. That's why I like prepping these the night before and having it ready for the next day.
Do you rinse off yogurt marinade? No, do not rinse off the yogurt marinade, as it will create a delicious crust on the outside of the chicken. Simply scrape off any excess marinade then cook the chicken directly.
Plain, unstrained yogurt is best (You definitely do not want any vanilla in there.). You can use Greek yogurt, but since it contains less moisture, you'll need to loosen it with a little lemon juice or vinegar to properly coat your protein.
Lamb Chop Temperature
Temperature is by far the most critical aspect of cooking lamb chops. Undercooking even tender lamb chops can render them unpleasantly chewy, while overcooking will lead to tough, dried-out meat. Rib chops should be cooked to about 130°F, while loin chops are better at 135°F or even 140°F.
Use aromatic spices: Using spices such as cumin, coriander, paprika, and cinnamon can help to add depth of flavor and mask the gamey taste of lamb.
Baking soda (bi-carb) and cornflour / cornstarch are used to tenderise the lamb as Chinese restaurants do so it's soft and tender, whether using a pricy cut like backstrap OR economical slow cooking cut like shoulder. More on this below; Lamb – the best cut is backstrap followed by mid loin chops then shoulder.
If you use Greek or Skyr for a marinade, you will need to dilute it with a little liquid such as lemon juice, water or milk. If you have regular plain yogurt, just add your marinade seasoning to it as is.
Which yogurt is best? Through my recipe testing, I have found that plain, whole milk yogurt works best as a marinade. You can use Greek yogurt if that's what you have on hand.
Marinating the lamb for too long won't do it any good; you'll have successfully imparted as much flavor as you possibly can in this time frame. Once you purchase fresh meat from the grocery store, it should be cooked within three to five days (again, depending on the size of the cut).
Soak lamb chops in lemon water for 30 minutes. Drain chops and pat dry with paper towels to discard any bone fragments or wastes. Season with salt, black pepper, fresh rosemary, thyme, garlic, and parsley mixed with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Make sure the marinade is spread on both sides of the chops.
Remove Marinade Before Cooking: To prevent flare-ups on the grill and ensure properly browned meat when sautéing or stir-frying, wipe off most of the excess marinade before cooking. Keep just a little marinade on the meat surface to maximize flavor.
According to Livestrong, leaving lamb to marinate in milk for a few hours, or even overnight, is an effective method to mellow out that gamey smell. After soaking, you can just pull the meat right out of the marinade and then rinse it before cooking.
Lamb chops or cutlets are the most expensive cuts of lamb, but are incredibly delicious and tender. They are taken from the ribs of the lamb and cooked individually, normally over a grill or a barbecue. When a number of them are left together and cooked as a whole, they're called a rack of lamb.
That “gamey” taste, for lack of a better term, lies in the meat's fat, and is a result of the animal's diet. What it all comes down to is a particular type of fatty acid that lambs have and beef and chicken don't. It's called branched-chain fatty acid. This is something that humans can detect at really low levels.
One of the most common ways to cook a rack of lamb is in the oven using dry heat. This method allows the meat to cook evenly and retain its natural juices, resulting in a flavorful and tender dish. Before cooking, the rack of lamb should be seasoned with salt, pepper, and any other desired seasonings.
Slow-roasting is so easy the lamb practically cooks itself! The prize for a little waiting is meltingly tender lamb that literally falls off the bone. It doesn't get any better than this.
Slow cooking in liquid transforms tougher cuts of lamb into fork-tender meat. Neck, shoulder and belly, either diced or as whole joints, are the best cuts for slow cooking and need to be cooked for at least 2 hrs at 150°C to soften the meat.
Greek yogurt has two important qualities that make it really work as a marinade: calcium and lactic acid. Together they break down the protein in meat and poultry, leaving it super tender and moist.
The Marinade
The lemon juice provides a touch of acid to help tenderise the chicken while the coconut milk/cream keeps the chicken moist. Dairy free coconut yogurt can also be used here.
Adding oil to the marinade also helps the meat hold onto moisture and prevents it from sticking to the pan or grill while cooking. Greek Yogurt has active bacteria and lactic acid which slowly break down the protein, making the chicken moist and tender. Substitute with plain full-fat yogurt, buttermilk, or sour cream.