Tuesday, January 30, 2007

What Would Jesus Eat?


WWJE? That's an easy question to answer. In a word, lamb.

I don't intend to get too deeply into the theology here, but trust me, dispensationalism does not apply to sheep. Oddly, to many people today, lamb seems a strange, exotic culinary choice. I have spoken to many people, Christian and heathen alike, who have never even tried it. In the olden days, be assured, folks ate lamb and lots of it. And only an idiot would think that Jesus was a vegetarian, as I've heard some crackpots assert. Or a vegan. That's all crazy talk. Which reminds me, that word is just stupid...a Vegan is someone from the planet Vega. Duh.


Jesus is definitely not from Vega, no matter what L. Ron Hubbard says. I think I stand on solid doctrinal ground when I say without reservation, Jesus liked Him some good grilled lamb. I think He would might even smile approvingly on my recipe below.

This is what we had for supper this evening:


Lamb Chops w/Garlic Sauce and Herb Butter
Herb Butter
¼ Cup Butter
1 tsp Rosemary
½ tsp Marjoram (or Thyme, for a different twang)
1 tsp parsley
pinch of salt


Combine ingredients, mixing thoroughly in a bowl. Dump the clump onto a piece of plastic wrap and mold it into a log. Wrap the plastic around it and return it to the refrigerator.



4 Lamb Chops
Cooking oil
1 Garlic clove, maybe two, chopped
¼ Cup dry white wine
¼ Cup chicken broth


Saute garlic for 1 minute on medium heat. You can use a light olive oil, if you like, and I often do for other recipes, but for this one, I prefer just a good, plain, flavorless cooking oil. Bump the heat up a mite and add the chops, cooking 3 minutes per side for medium rare, of 4 minutes per side for medium. They should brown a bit on each side. Remove the chops to a warm oven.


Pour off most of the oil from pan, retaining garlic bits and any other nuggets of goodness that you find there. Reduce heat. Add cooking wine to skillet, cook and stir for approx. 3 minutes. Add chicken broth. Cook and stir until volume is reduced by about half. Drizzle over chops. Slice pats off of herb butter log and place them on the chops. Serve.


This is really an easy recipe. Tonight we had fresh Amish wheat bread, some homegrown Indiana sweet corn from the freezer, and chocolate pudding pie for dessert.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't eat lamb. But a lot of people around here don't. Big ranching industry.

Barry Pike said...

That is an interesting observation, Heather, because often preferences are influenced by geography. One of the things we noticed when we moved from Texas to Indiana was a de-emphasis on beef and a lot more pork. And the pork that we have up here is much, much better quality than is found in the typical meat counter in Texas. Fresher, less fat, better flavor, and a greater variety of cuts, too.

FYI, most of the lamb we eat in America is imported from Australia, actually.

Nestor Family said...

Thanks a lot! I just drooled on my keyboard! Sounds yummy!