Sous Vide Lamb Chops

August 18, 2025

Sous Vide Lamb Chops

Sous vide takes lamb chops – usually one of the easiest cuts to overcook – and makes medium-rare a foregone conclusion. Bone-in loin or rib chops go into a sealed bag with garlic and herbs, spend a few hours in a water bath held at one exact temperature, and come out the same rosy pink from edge to edge, with none of the grey overcooked band that a hot pan alone tends to leave just under the crust.

The bath does the precision work; the pan afterward supplies everything sous vide can’t. Held at 131°F (55°C), the water can’t push the lamb past medium-rare no matter how long the bag sits there – the chops just come to temperature and wait. Pulled out, patted bone-dry, and dropped into a screaming-hot skillet with butter, garlic, and the leftover herb sprigs, they pick up a hard, deeply browned crust in under two minutes without any risk of overcooking the inside in the process.

This isn’t a regional dish with a history to trace – it’s a technique applied to a cut that rewards it. Lamb loin and rib chops are naturally tender and lean, which is exactly why they’re so easy to ruin: there’s very little fat to buy forgiveness if the pan runs a minute too long. Sous vide removes that risk entirely, which is why the method has become close to standard for anyone cooking chops at home with an immersion circulator on hand.

It’s precise enough for a dinner party – the timing is forgiving and the result is consistent – but easy enough for an ordinary weeknight, since the bath does the waiting and the sear takes minutes. Serve the chops simply, two to a plate, with something to soak up the garlicky pan butter – mashed potatoes, a loaf of good bread, or just a pile of roasted vegetables. A squeeze of the reserved lemon, if you used it in the bag, brightens the richness of the sear without needing anything else on the plate.

Ingredients

Serves 4

8 bone-in lamb loin (or rib chops), about 2.5 cm thick (roughly 1 kg total)
1½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, for the bag
2 garlic cloves, smashed, for searing
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme (or rosemary or oregano)
optional: 1 lemon, peeled into strips
2 tbsp neutral oil (or olive oil), for searing
2 tbsp unsalted butter, for searing
flaky sea salt, to finish

Directions

Season the lamb chops on both sides with the kosher salt and pepper. Place them in a vacuum bag, or a zip-top bag using the water-displacement method, along with the sliced garlic, the herb sprigs, and the lemon peel, if using. Seal.

Preheat the water bath to 131°F (55°C) for a medium-rare result. If you’re cooking individual thin chops rather than a whole rack, set the bath 3-5°F (2-3°C) lower than that and let the sear carry the interior the rest of the way – a hard sear adds real carryover heat to a thin cut, and the lower setting insures against ending up more done than you wanted. For medium instead, use 140°F (60°C).

Submerge the bag fully in the bath, keeping it clear of the circulator’s intake, and cook for 3 hours. Up to 4 hours is fine, but don’t push much past that – lamb chops are a lean, tender cut, and a long sous vide hold starts to soften the texture past where you want it.

Take the bag out of the bath, remove the chops, and pat them completely dry with paper towels. Any moisture left on the surface will steam instead of brown once the pan is hot enough to sear.

Heat a cast-iron or other heavy skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add the oil and the butter, followed by the smashed garlic and the remaining herb sprig. Sear the chops for 45 seconds to 2 minutes per side, basting with the foaming butter as they cook, until deeply browned on both faces. If there’s a fat cap on the chops, stand them on that edge for a few seconds to render and crisp it.

Rest for 5 minutes – sous vide meat is already evenly cooked all the way through, so it doesn’t need the long rest a pan- or oven-cooked chop would. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and serve immediately.

Notes

Medium-rare is the target here, but the exact set-point varies a little across sources – anywhere from 130°F to 132°F (54-56°C) is common, with 131°F (55°C) as the tightest consensus number. For rare, aim for 125°F (52°C); for medium, go up to 140°F (60°C) instead, holding the same 3-hour window.

Loin chops (the small T-bone shape) and rib chops (single-rib “lollipops”) both work here and cook identically in the bath. Rib chops tend to sear a little faster on their flat sides, since there’s less bone mass to slow the browning.

Whole or half racks of lamb can use the same water temperature but don’t need the undershoot trick above – they’re thick enough that a hard sear barely affects the internal temperature, unlike an individual chop.

If the chops are starting from frozen, add about an hour to the sous vide time. They can also be seasoned and bagged up to 24 hours ahead and kept refrigerated until you’re ready to cook.