A T-shaped bone sandwiched between a lovely tender fillet and loin, just begging to be tossed onto the braai and grilled to perfection.

Cooked medium rare with a hint of herbs and spices, a Karoo Lamb chop has all that lovely natural veld infusion to give it that unique flavour and taste that is only found in lamb from this region.

Also known as a loin chop, this little T-bone is perfectly suited to the addition of a little herb butter and that thin layer of crispy fat on the edge takes it to another dimension. Be warned, though, no other lamb will ever taste as good.

This recipe is from Gordon Wright’s book, Veld to Fork. There are more venison recipes in that book and in his recent best-seller, Karoo Food. Photo by Sean Calitz.

8 thick-cut lamb T-bones
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary
zest of 1 lemon
85g soft butter

Ask your butcher to cut you the number of lamb T-bones you need.

Add garlic, rosemary and lemon zest to the soft butter and mix well.

Remember to take the lamb out of the fridge in time for it to come up to room temp. Pat lamb dry and season with salt, pepper.

Take two skewers and stick them through all the T-bones so they can stand in a row, fat side down. Place, like that, onto a hot grid and sear the fat for 1 minute, then remove the skewers and cook the T-bones for 3 minutes on one side. Turn over and dab some of the butter mix onto the cooked side, sear 2 minutes more for medium-rare and turn and baste again quickly, flip back over again and sear for 1 minute more, until a nice brown crust develops.

Transfer lamb to a plate and allow 5 minutes to rest, with a dollop of the butter on top.

Serve with roasted potatoes and grilled vegetables, such as asparagus or zucchini. DM

This recipe is from Gordon Wright’s book, Veld to Fork.