Abbacchio a Scottadito
Roman-style Grilled Lamb Chops
PRINT PDF Abbacchio a Scottadito is a popular dish of lamb rib chops marinated in olive oil, lemon juice
and garlic and grilled outdoors. Scotaddito means "burnt fingers" in reference as to how you can't help picking up the chops as soon as they are done cooking, and the bones are so hot that you'll burn your fingers. Lamb
scotaddito is particularly popular in spring and Easter, in particular. The marinade (and sometimes cooking) ingredients for this recipe are ubiquitous in the Mediterranean and you can find versions of this recipe in
Greece as well. It doesn't make it less delicious, however. The dish is usually made with lamb rib chops, those with long bones that are part of a rack of lamb. Lamb rib chops are impossibly expensive in America,
particularly now that Trump is president, so I had given up on making this recipe until my local supermarket messed up and sent me lamb loin chops instead of the lamb shoulder chops I'd ordered (to make Leonese caldereta de cordero, stay tuned). I decided to use them for this recipe - I have a lemon tree and a rosemary bush at home, so those ingredients are always available to me. While
using loin chops meant I couldn't pick them up by a long bone and thus I didn't burn my fingers, the recipe worked very well. I marinaded the chops overnight, and the olive-oil/lemon juice combination tenderized them to the
point that they were melt-in-your-mouth when I ate them. The marinade gave it a subtle flavor that enhanced the lamb rather than compete with it, which I also appreciated. In all, this was a very successful dish.
Roman-style Grilled Lamb Chops
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
- 1 sprig of rosemary
- 8-12 lamb rib or loin chops
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 lemon, quartered
Directions
In a large bowl, whisk together the oil and lemon juice until it emulsifies. Add the garlic cloves and rosemary. Add to the bowl with the marinade, making sure all surfaces are covered. Cover the bowl and marinade in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Remove and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Season lamb chops with salt and pepper to taste.
Heat the grill or place a heavy skillet or cast iron pan on the stove over high heat. Sear lamb chops for one minute on each side. Turn heat to medium-high and cook 3-4 more minutes per side if using rib chops and 5 more minutes per side if using loin chops. Serve with lemon quarters.
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Adapted from several recipes.
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