Lamb tjops with lemon & origanum
A great lamb tjop needs almost nothing — which means every step matters. Room-temperature meat, coarse salt, real coals, and the discipline to render that fat edge properly.
A great lamb tjop needs almost nothing — which means every step matters. Room-temperature meat, coarse salt, real coals, and the discipline to render that fat edge properly.
Ingredients
- 8 lamb loin or rib tjops, cut thick
- Olive oil
- Coarse salt and black pepper
- 1 tbsp dried origanum
- 1 lemon
Method
- Take the tjops out of the fridge 30–45 minutes before braaiing. Cold meat and hot coals don't negotiate well.
- Rub lightly with oil, then season with salt, pepper and origanum just before they go on.
- Braai over hot-medium coals, 3–4 minutes a side for pink. Stand them fat-edge down on the grid for a minute or two until the fat is golden and crisp.
- Rest for 5 minutes, squeeze lemon over, and serve. Anyone who asks for well-done gets the tjop nearest the edge.
Engineer's view
Read left to right: ingredients merge into steps, steps merge into supper.
| Ingredient | Process → | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Olive oil | Mix into a rub | Rub on just before the fire | Hot-medium coals · 3–4 min a side · fat edge down 1–2 min · rest 5 min · lemon over |
| Salt, pepper & origanum 1 tbsp origanum | |||
| Lamb tjops 8, cut thick | Out of the fridge 30–45 min ahead | ||
| Lemon 1 | Cut into wedges | ||
Which fire, and which day? Hot-medium coals, the 6-second hand test. Hold your palm at grid height and count: 4 seconds is hot, 6 is hot-medium, 8 is medium, 10 or more is gentle. The full reading is the hand test, and the wood that makes those coals is in the wood guide. Buying notes: lamb cuts. Thursday 24 September is National Braai Day.
Questions the fire actually gets
What heat for lamb tjops?
Hot-medium coals, the 6-second hand test. Three to four minutes a side for pink, then stand them fat-edge down for a minute or two until the fat is golden. Rest five minutes and squeeze lemon over.
Should lamb tjops come to room temperature?
Yes. Take them out of the fridge 30–45 minutes before they hit the grid. Cold meat and hot coals do not negotiate.
Loin tjops or rib tjops?
Either, cut thick. Loin is the tender one; rib is the one with the crisp fat edge. A butcher who will cut them thick is the whole trick — see the lamb notes on The Cuts.