Lamb Cutlets with Swede & Caper Brown Butter
Eight dry-aged cutlets rendered until the fat is crisp and golden, set on buttery crushed swede and finished with a nutty brown butter sharpened with capers, parsley and lemon. On the table in 35 minutes.
Lamb cutlets are the quickest route to a supper that feels properly special. Each one is a small, sweet, tender chop with its own cap of fat, and in the time it takes to boil a pan of swede they are crisp, burnished and ready. As the nights draw in we pair them with the most British of autumn roots, mashed roughly with butter and a grating of nutmeg, and spoon over a hot brown butter loud with capers, parsley and lemon. It is a dish for a Monday that needs cheering up, and it asks for one pan, one pot and about half an hour.
The cutlet is cut from the rack of lamb, the row of ribs that runs along the top of the animal behind the shoulder. Take a whole rack, slice between each bone, and every slice is a cutlet: a small, round eye of loin muscle on a single frenched or lightly trimmed rib bone, edged with a strip of creamy fat. It is the same meat as a rack of lamb, which is why it is so tender, but cut into individual portions it cooks in minutes and suits a frying pan far better than an oven.
When you buy, look for a pale rose-pink eye of meat with a fine grain and a firm, white, waxy cap of fat. Yellowing or greasy fat points to an older animal or poor storage. The eye should be plump and round, not flat, and the bone should be pinkish-white. Ours are grass-fed British lamb, dry-aged on the bone, which relaxes the muscle and gives a deeper, almost nutty sweetness than lamb cooked straight from the abattoir.
Count on two cutlets a head as a main course, three if appetites are large. The fat cap is not something to trim away: rendered slowly in the pan it becomes crisp and savoury and bastes the meat as it cooks. Buy cutlets of an even thickness, ideally 2.5 to 3cm, so every one finishes at the same moment.
- 8 Grass-Fed Dry-Aged Lamb Cutlets (about 1kg)
- 1 tbsp light olive oil
- 1 tsp flaky sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 2 garlic cloves, bashed
- 900g swede, peeled and cut into 3cm chunks
- 50g butter
- Fresh nutmeg, for grating
- 2 tbsp double cream
- Flaky sea salt and black pepper
- 60g butter
- 2 tbsp capers in brine, drained and patted dry
- 1 small shallot, finely diced
- Small handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- Finely grated zest and juice of ½ lemon
- 200g cavolo nero or curly kale, stalks removed
- 15g butter
- Flaky sea salt
- Temper the lamb. Take the cutlets out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking and pat them very dry with kitchen paper. Season both sides generously with the flaky salt and black pepper, pressing the salt into the fat cap. A dry, room-temperature cutlet sears rather than steams.
- Start the swede. Put the swede in a large pan, cover with cold water, add a good pinch of salt and bring to the boil. Simmer for 18 to 20 minutes until a knife slides through the chunks with no resistance. Swede holds a lot of water, so do not be tempted to rush it.
- Render the fat. Heat a large, heavy frying pan over a medium-high heat with the olive oil. Hold the cutlets upright with tongs, fat-side down, in the pan for 3 to 4 minutes until the fat cap is deep golden and has released a good puddle of fat. You may need to do this in two batches, so keep the first batch to one side.
- Sear the cutlets. Lay the cutlets flat in the pan and cook for 2 minutes undisturbed until a dark crust forms. Turn and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the rosemary and garlic, tilt the pan and spoon the hot fat over the meat for 30 seconds.
- Check the temperature. For medium-rare, a probe in the centre of the eye should read 52 to 54°C; it will rise 3 to 4°C as it rests. For medium, take it to 58°C. Move the cutlets to a warm plate and rest them, loosely covered, for 5 minutes.
- Drain and mash the swede. Drain the swede well, return it to the hot pan for a minute over a low heat to steam off any remaining water, then add the 50g butter, a generous grating of nutmeg, salt and pepper. Crush roughly with a masher, leaving some texture, then beat in the cream.
- Wilt the greens. Tear the cavolo nero into bite-size pieces and drop into boiling salted water for 3 minutes. Drain well, return to the pan with the 15g butter and a pinch of salt and toss over the heat for a minute.
- Fry the capers. Pour away all but 1 tbsp of fat from the lamb pan, wipe out any burnt rosemary and garlic, and set over a medium heat. Add the 60g butter and let it foam. Add the capers and fry for 1 minute until they split and crisp slightly.
- Brown the butter. Add the shallot and cook for 1 minute. Keep swirling the pan as the butter turns from golden to hazelnut brown and smells nutty, about 2 to 3 minutes. Take off the heat immediately, as brown can become burnt in seconds.
- Finish the sauce. Stir in the parsley, lemon zest and a good squeeze of juice. It will spit and hiss and then settle. Tip in any juices from the resting plate and taste for salt.
- Plate up. Spoon the swede onto warm plates, lean the cutlets against it with the bones upright and spoon over the brown butter, capers and all. Serve with the cavolo nero straight away.
Starting the cutlets fat-side down is the key move. The strip of fat needs a few minutes of steady heat to melt and crisp, and rendering it first gives you hot, flavoured fat to cook the eye in. Cook the lean side first and you will overshoot the meat long before the fat is anywhere near golden.
Cutlets are small and cook quickly, so the margin for error is narrow. A hard sear for two minutes a side builds a crust through the Maillard reaction, while the bone and fat cap insulate the centre. A short five-minute rest then lets the fibres relax and the juices settle, so the meat is tender and pink rather than leaking onto the plate.
Brown butter works because the milk solids toast in the fat, creating nutty, toffee-like compounds. Capers add salt and a floral acidity, and the lemon cuts through the richness of both lamb and butter. Swede, with its gentle sweetness and faint peppery edge, is a natural partner for lamb, and the nutmeg picks up the warmth of the browned butter.
Cutlets not to hand? Lamb chump chops or Barnsley chops both work: allow 4 to 5 minutes a side for the thicker cuts. A rack of lamb, cut into cutlets after roasting for 20 minutes at 200°C (180°C fan), makes a good showpiece.
Swede can be replaced with celeriac, parsnip or a mix of potato and carrot. For a lighter plate, use buttered new potatoes or a pile of braised white beans. If you prefer herbs to capers, chopped mint, thyme or oregano all suit lamb; add them to the butter at the end.
Cavolo nero can be swapped for spring greens, Savoy cabbage or tenderstem broccoli. Vegetarian guests can have the crushed swede with a fried egg and the brown butter. For a dairy-free version, use olive oil in place of the butter in the sauce and swede, and leave out the cream.
The swede can be boiled, mashed and chilled up to two days ahead. Reheat in a pan over a low heat with a splash of cream, stirring until hot. The brown butter is best made fresh, but you can fry the capers and shallot ahead and finish with the browning and herbs at the last minute.
Cooked cutlets keep for two days in the fridge and are excellent cold with a sharp salad. To reheat, warm briefly in a hot oven at 180°C (160°C fan) for 5 minutes rather than a microwave. Raw cutlets freeze well for up to three months; defrost overnight in the fridge and pat dry before cooking.
- Crowding the pan. Cutlets crammed together steam instead of sear. Cook in two batches if your pan is not large enough and keep the first lot warm.
- Cooking only the lean side. Skip the fat-rendering step and you are left with soft, pale fat. Stand the cutlets on their fat caps first.
- Burning the butter. Brown butter turns bitter in seconds. Swirl constantly, watch the colour and pull the pan off the heat the moment it smells of hazelnuts.
Ask us to French-trim the bones if you want a tidy plate. Keep the trimmings: fry them in the pan with the cutlets as a cook's treat, as the crisp little bits of fat are the best part.
Wine: a medium-bodied red such as a Rioja Crianza or a Chianti Classico, with enough acidity to cut through the butter. Beer: a malty best bitter or an amber ale. Non-alcoholic: a cold apple and rosemary spritz, or a good alcohol-free red.
Crushed swede and wilted cavolo nero are the backbone of the plate, but a spoonful of redcurrant jelly or mint sauce on the side is a classic for good reason. Crusty bread is useful for mopping up the brown butter, and a bowl of buttered carrots or roasted beetroot adds colour. Follow with a baked apple or a wedge of Lancashire cheese with oatcakes.
How long do you cook lamb cutlets?
Cook lamb cutlets for 3 to 4 minutes on the fat side, then 2 minutes per side, which gives a pink, medium-rare centre. Thicker cutlets may need an extra minute a side. A probe should read 52 to 54°C before resting.
Should lamb cutlets be cooked from room temperature?
Yes. Take them out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking so the centre is not cold. This helps the meat cook evenly and develop a better crust.
How many lamb cutlets per person?
Allow two or three cutlets per person as a main course. For a starter, one or two is plenty. Our 1kg pack of eight cutlets comfortably serves four.
What is the difference between lamb cutlets and lamb chops?
Cutlets come from the rack and are small and tender, with a single rib bone. Chops, such as loin or chump chops, are larger cuts from further back along the animal. Cutlets cook faster and suit quick pan-frying.
What do you serve with lamb cutlets?
Classic accompaniments include mash, roasted root vegetables, green vegetables and a sharp sauce such as mint, salsa verde or caper brown butter, as here.
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