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AUSTRALIA DAY LAMB CHOP RECIPES...

It has always been traditional to have a BBQ on Australia Day (January 26) with friends and family, and over the years, it has become something of a tradition to serve up Lamb. So here are a couple of nice Lamb Chop recipes for you to try! Happy Australia Day!

Charleville Chops

Chef: Lyn Battle
Sweers Island

This is a great recipe for Australia Day, when you can marinate the lamb chops in advance, and take them to your mates’ place to barbeque. The recipe was given to me by Ham Radio mate Ian Sutton VK4ZT, of Townsville, who got it from the Charleville School of Distance Education Cookbook (No. 3). It really is delicious, even if you only marinate it for a short time. For more delicious recipes where this came from, visit www.charlevisde.eq.edu.au

Degree of difficulty: Low

You need:
12 lamb chops
3 tablespoons honey (try some from your local farmers’ market! We used Col Nicholson's delicious 'Black Stump' Macadamia honey, available at the Townsville Flinders' Mall Markets.)
4 cloves finely chopped garlic
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
¼ cup lemon juice
½ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

Method:
Mix all the ingredients together and marinate the chops for 4 hours or overnight in the dridge.

Pre-heat your BBQ plate and lift the chops on with tongs, no need to oil the plate as there will be plenty clinging to the chops. Cook for a few minutes each side.

Serving Suggestion: Serve with a green salad or veggies.

Australia Day Nutty Lamb Cutlets

Chef: Lyn Battle
Sweers Island

This is another great recipe for Australia Day, when we can all get outside and cook a BBQ with friends. The crusty nut coating uses Macadamia nuts – the original Queensland Nut – and helps to keep the meat nice and moist. If you use lamb cutlets, you can pick them up by the bone so they are ideal ‘finger food’. This recipe was given to me by Tanya, wife of another Ham Radio mate, Chris Megaw VK4FR, also of Townsville. Tanya makes up the mixture with finely chopped roasted hazlenuts, producing a delicious Egyptian Dukkah spice mix, which she serves up with crusty bread and lemon-flavoured oil - another excellent side dish for your Australia Day BBQ!

Degree of difficulty: Low

You need:
12 lamb cutlets or chops
1 cup macadamia nuts
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon flaked sea salt

Method:
Pre-heat your BBQ plate.

Chop the macadamia nuts finely, process them or pound them in a mortar & pestle.

Place the coriander and cumin seeds on the BBQ plate, and stir them around til fragrant and beginning to ‘pop’. Add them to the mortar & pestle and crush them with the macadamia nuts, pepper and salt. If you crush the macadamia nuts to a paste, that will help the mixture to stick to the meat.

Press this coating onto both sides of the lamb cutlets. Oil the BBQ plate and fry the cutlets for a few minutes on each side, til cooked through and crusty coating is golden.

Serving Suggestion: Serve with salad and a nice Australian wine!

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Sweers Island Resort. Mail: PMB 1 Karumba QLD 4891 Phone: 07 4748 5544 Fax: 07 4748 5644 Email: info@sweers.com.au