These Beer Braised Lamb Chops are cooked in a beer and caramelized onion gravy that makes the your house smell amazing as it’s cooking. Braised until fork tender, serve these lamb chops over mashed potatoes, smothered with the gravy.
Why You’re Going To Love These Beer Braised Lamb Chops
When we want comfort food, we often turn to recipes like Beer Braised Lamb Chops. It’s a low and slow cooked recipe that makes your house smell amazing. We can promise you, you’re mouth is going to be watering while you’re waiting for these lamb chops to be served.
What makes this lamb chop recipe so tender is the delicious Guinness beer gravy that they simmer in for about two hours. Caramelized onions and a splash of cream at the end finish off the gravy, which must be spooned over a pile of creamy mashed potatoes.
What Goes Well With These Lamb Chops?
Like we mentioned above, we love serving something like mashed potatoes to soak up all the beer-infused gravy, but we do have other options:
- Creamy Mashed Potatoes
- Colcannon (mashed potatoes with caramelized cabbage and onions)
- Fried Cabbage with Bacon
- Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
- Green Beans with Bacon
- Asparagus Casserole
- Brussels Sprouts Casserole
- Cabbage Steaks
How Do You Make Fork Tender Lamb Chops?
These are braised lamb chops are going to cook low and slow in the oven, after a quick sear in a dutch oven. You want to get a nice brown crust on the outside of the lamb, that’s going to help hold in the juices and also create a ton of flavor.
When you cook a protein like lamb, that can be famously tough if not cooked properly, you really want to think about two methods. One is a nice long braise in the oven like we’re doing with these loin lamb chops, which are a larger, thicker type of lamb chop.
If you’re cooking baby lamb chops (sometimes called lollipop chops) you’re going to want to stick with a quick pan sear, usually about 2 or 3 minutes a side and serve them rare or medium rare.
Do I Have To Use Beer?
As they say…the alcohol will cook off. Mostly, anyway, and then just leave behind the delicious, dark stout flavor. We think that using beer in these beer braised lamb chops really adds to the flavor of the gravy, so if you can use it, definitely do try to do so.
But if you can’t have alcohol, you can use a non-alcoholic beer, or just use all beef broth. A tablespoon of apple cider vinegar will help add some depth of flavor if using all beef broth. And, especially if using all broth, make sure to get one with a good flavor, something like a bone broth would be perfect.
What If The Gravy Isn’t Thick Enough?
If you want the gravy thicker when the lamb chops come out of the oven, remove the chops to a plate and cover to keep warm. Place the pot over a burner and bring the liquid to a boil.
Mix a tablespoon of cornstarch with a tablespoon of water and whisk until smooth. Whisk the cornstarch slurry into the gravy and then bring the gravy back to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes until thickened. Also, we love to finish the gravy off with a couple of tablespoons of butter for flavor and creamy, smooth texture.
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Beer Braised Lamb Chops
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
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Pin RecipeBeer Braised Lamb Chops are so tender you can cut them with a fork. Braised in a Guinness beer gravy with caramelized onions. Perfect for spooning over mashed potatoes!
Ingredients
- 6 lamb loin chops (about 1 1/2 inch thick chops, if you have thicker chops the cooking time will be longer)
- Kosher salt, black pepper and garlic powder for seasoning the lamb chops
- Olive oil for searing the lamb chops
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups sliced onions
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 (12 ounce can) dark beer (whatever kind you like, we use a dark stout but you can use whatever beer you prefer)
- 1 cup beef broth (might need more or less depending on how thick you lamb chops are)
- 2 bay leaves
- 5–7 sprigs of fresh thyme (tied together with butcher’s twine, see note)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- Chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Season the lamb chops generously with the salt, pepper and garlic powder.
- Add the oil to a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the lamb chops and sear for 4-5 minutes on each side until browned. Remove the lamb chops to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
- Turn the heat down to medium-low, then add the butter to the skillet and let melt. Add the onions along with the 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper. Stir often and cook for 10 minutes until the onions have softened and caramelized.
- Pour in the beer and simmer for 2-3 minutes to reduce, then add the beef broth, bay leaves and thyme.
- Place the lamb chops back into the skillet, turning to coat in the broth and beer. You want the liquid to come up only about 2/3 of the way up the chops otherwise they’ll boil instead of braising. Add more or less beef broth, depending on the thickness of you lamb chops. Cover and place in the oven for 1 1/2 hours until tender. Test with a fork to see if the lamb is tender, this will depend on how big and thick the chops are, if not fork tender, return to the over for another 30 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the oven, take the chops out and place on a serving platter, cover with foil to keep warm.
- Stir the cream into the sauce and place the dutch oven over a burner on medium heat. Bring the gravy to a boil and let thicken and reduce for 5 minutes. You can add a cornstarch slurry (see note) to thicken the gravy more if you like, even a couple of tablespoons of butter, which we personally love.
- Remove the bay leaves and thyme stems from the gravy. Pour the gravy over the lamb chops and garnish with chopped parsley if desired.
Recipe Notes
If you want to thicken the gravy more, whisk together 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water. Whisk into the gravy and bring to a boil to thicken.
Store: Store the lamb chops in an air tight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Reheat: Reheat the lamb chops in a 350 degree over, covered, until warmed through. For a faster reheat, the microwave works fine, too.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven / Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
