Deep fried breaded lamb chops

"Lamb is delicious; breaded and deep fried stuff is scrumptious; and guess what? Deep fried breaded lamb chops are simply amazing. I don't know how, but they just melt in your mouth. The only problem? They are never enough..." 

 

Ingredients

• 6/8 small lamb chops - 3 per person is a reasonable amount
• breadcrumbs - I keep old bread and ground it with a food processor, cheap and natural!
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper
• 250ml of sunflower oil

Tools

• food processor - unless you bought ready-made breadcrumbs
• small bowl 
• mixing bowl
• frying pan or wok or deep frier
• good kitchen knife and chopping board
• a fork
• 2 plates
• 2/3 kitchen roll sheets

Preparation

• Lamb chops come with a stripe of fat on the side which joins the meat on the bone with another small amount of meat. Strip off the fat but keep the small piece of meat on the other end, it's lovely too
• Once all the fat has been removed you will be left with 6/8 chops and 6/8 small pieces of meat, but don't be obsessed with it, a little fat won't kill you. If it's hard to take it all off, just leave it
• Break the egg in the small bowl, add salt and pepper and beat it with a fork
• Open the breadcrumbs or make them with the food processor and pour them into the mixing bowl
• Pour about 250ml of sunflower oil in the frying pan or wok - I use a wok so you need less oil to have a deep oily pond
• Take 2 plates and put 2 or 3 kitchen roll sheets on one of the two plates - it will absorb the extra oil when you take the meat off the pan

Cooking

• Put the pan/wok on high heat
• Whilst the oil heats up you can start the process of dipping the lamb in the egg and coat it with breadcrumbs - I start with the small pieces first, then I do 2 chops at the time
• Make sure you coat them evenly with egg and then let the egg drip down whilst you hold them with the fork before putting them in the mixing bowl with the breadcrumbs
• Rotate or shake gently the mixing bowl with your hand to make the lamb coat itself with breadcrumbs and then use your finger knuckles to gently press and flatten the meat to make the coating stick to it- touch the lamb only when already coated so that your hands will stay clean
• Once the lamb is well coated, place it on the empty plate, unless the oil is ready
• At this point it's chain production time! When you think the oil is hot enough, place one small piece of lamb into it and see if it sizzles nicely. If it does, then add a couple more pieces but don't overcrowd it
• Whilst the first round is cooking, you can coat another 2 chops with breadcrumbs
• After 2 minutes, turn the lamb chops so they cook on both sides - the small pieces usually don't need to be turned as they are fully covered in oil
• Each piece cooks in about 5 minutes in total - small pieces in 3. Cooking them for too long will make the meat harder and burn the bread coating
• Use the fork to lift the meat off the pan and place it on the plate covered in kitchen roll sheets
• Continue the process until all the meat has been fried

Serving

• You can put squeezed lemon and salt on the plate, however I put salt only in the egg and enjoy the pure taste of the lamb and crunchy coating with no extra salt, nor sauces - mustard or mayo maybe, but ketchup would be a waste
• It goes very well with roasted potatoes or a simple salad

Tips

Well... first of all, go to your local butcher and buy fresh lamb chops. Small lamb chops are incredibly tender and particularly well suited for this dish. If you buy good bread on a regular basis, keep the pieces you don't eat in a paper bag and make your own breadcrumbs. I buy often seeded bread which makes amazing breadcrumbs. If you don't feel too confident in frying whilst still preparing the chops, coat them all first and put the on a plate, then fry them all. You can always prepare the salad whilst you fry the meat. I like saving time by doing the three all together, but I understand it takes some time to master chain production. Oh, another thing, please eat with your hands! Hold the chops from the bone and bite the meat off it, using fork and knife takes away half of the pleasure!