This past week of snow and below freezing temperatures has pretty much put paid to the herb garden this year 🙁   However, the sage and rosemary are still fighting the good fight and I admire them for it, but they’re going down 😀  Winter has just begun and it looks like it’s not playing around.

I found 2 lamb chops in the freezer labeled generically, “U.S.A.”  Vague and questionable provenance I call it.  Because I haven’t s-hooked anything in a long time, I thought it would be a challenge to try this with the chops in an overnight char sui marinade.  Would they “char” without overcooking and drying out?  Of course I didn’t expect pink, but hoped for maybe only 1 step above that.

S-hooking is such a cool method of hanging pieces of meat from the oven racks.  My husband invented it 🙂

I wavered between a high broil or a very hot oven and finally went with the broil.  Good choice.  The meat did char, the fat was crisp and the meat was still juicy though not pink.

I briefly wished for Japanese hakurei turnips but the variety I found was local, not too big and just fine for my purpose.  This was a good opportunity for me to use the leftover 1/2 bell pepper and saran wrapped packages of partially chopped onion.

I adore turnips prepared like this but I also adore onions, garlic and bell pepper 🙂

Lesson learned?  You can probably s-hook anything 😀

Char Sui Lamb Chops

Lamb chops

Char sui sauce in a jar

Thickly slather the chops with the sauce, place in a zip lock bag, add 2-3 tbsp water and squish around.  Refrigerate overnight.  Reserve the marinade sauce.

S- hook the chops, on the top rack in the oven with a pan on the bottom rack to catch the fat and juices.  Broil on high for 15 minutes, basting half way with the reserved marinade.

Sauteed Turnips

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

4 medium sized turnips, peeled and cubed

Salt and pepper

1/4-1/2 red or green bell pepper, diced

1/2 medium onion, chopped

Dab of butter

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tbsp rice vinegar

2 tbsp chicken broth

2 bay leaves

Heat the oil and butter in a skillet, add the turnip cubes, salt and pepper and lightly brown.  Remove the turnips and set aside.  Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic to the pan with a dab of butter and saute until the vegetables are soft.  Stir in the turnips, rice vinegar, chicken broth and bay leaves.  Bring to a boil, cover and steam for 5 minutes.