Soy Apricot Lamb Chops - Recipe

I used to have a huge aversion to lamb...the gamey flavor was difficult for me to appreciate. But, I was intrigued how a few of my foodie friends would always order lamb chops and eat it with this immense joy and satisfaction. They would rave at how tender and juicy the lamb tasted. I wondered to myself, what am i missing here? So, I slowly tried to train my palate to appreciate lamb and now, amazingly, I love lamb (although sometimes, if its really gamey, i do not enjoy it). I started myself off with eating gyro meat (which has some lamb). Then moved onto high quality lamb kabobs at lebanese restaurants. Then moved onto lamb lollipops/rack of lamb... 

For my wedding, I chose lamb lollipops in a soy apricot glaze as an appetizer to be served by the New York Food Company. I loved it on the day when we were sampling the food and on the day of the wedding too. Although I don't know how they made it, I figured I would give it a whirl at home with no recipe. All I knew was that it had SOY and APRICOT. 

Here is a picture of the lamb lollipops I made, along with a side of broccolinis

Here is what I purchased:

1. Small Rack of lamb - I purchased it from Whole Foods (expensive yes, but I figured, how often am I going to make lamb? small in size since it was only for me and my hubster)

2. Can of apricot jelly

3. Soy sauce

4. Salt and pepper

Instructions: (all approximations since I made this several months ago)

1. Turn on the oven to broil (ideally i would grill it but i didn't have a grill at the time)

2. I sliced the rack of lamb into little lollipops

3. Generously seasoned both sides of the lollipops with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4. Placed the lollipops into an oven pan that had sides (so I can pour the sauce without it spilling over the sides before it goes into the oven)

5. Took out a little sauce pan

6. Filled little sauce pan with about a little more than 1/2 the jar of apricot jelly and about 1/4 cup of soy sauce (can vary it based on how sweet or salty you want it)

7. Reduced the sauce until thick

8. Poured the sauce over the lamb lollipops

9. Placed oven pan into the oven (on broil) 

10. Remove it depending on how rare you like your lamb -- it broils reaally quickly!! I'm talking about a few minutes each side and it is medium well in my oven....I felt like I overcooked mine.. So next time, I know I'm going to keep a VERY close eye to have it more on the medium rare to medium side... 

And Voila! Tasted pretty darn close to the lamb lollipops at the wedding.

Here's what I purchased for the Broccolini side dish

- Broccolini (can be purchased at Trader Joe's)

- Olive Oil

- Salt/Pepper

- Garlic

Broccolini Recipe - (this is generally how I make my veggies courtesy of Momma)

1. Saute Garlic in Olive Oil

2. Add Broccolinis to pan

3. Add a little bit of water to cover the bottom of the pan...basically only a little bit of the broccolini's should be in the water...(but not enough to boil the broccolini's)

4. Season with kosher salt 

5. Cover the pan 

6. Stir occasionally

7. Remove broccolini when desired crispiness is achieved (i like my veggies extra crispy so I usually take it out after several minutes)

Let me know if you end up trying the recipe...and if you like it.