Lamb Chops in Red Wine Sauce

Lamb Chops In Red Wine Sauce Are A Delicious Way to Use Up Your Manischewitz Wine.

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Lamb Chops in Red Wine Sauce

Lamb Chops in Red Wine Sauce came about because my son came home from visiting a friend and reported that they had dined on Lamb Chops in Manischewitz wine.  This immediately piqued my interest. There are certain things that are absolutely required at the seder table:   shank bone , egg , bitter herbs, vegetable and  haroset.  And matzah of course.  In my mind though, there are two additional items that are non-negotiable.  They are the jellied candy that looks like fruit slices and Manischewitz wine.  There are many wonderful kosher for passover wines available that would please the palate of the most discriminating wine lover.  I always have one of these bottles available but I always drink the Manischewitz.  I enjoy my one glass of this sticky, sweet wine and to me it is not a seder without it.  (I know you are supposed to drink four glasses of wine during the seder. That is fine for those who are reclining on pillows and have a high tolerance for alcohol, but if I did that, the festive meal would never get to the table.)

You may be wondering why I am bringing up Passover, which is a spring holiday, in the middle of summer.  Well, the age-old question is:  What to do with the rest of the bottle of Manischewitz?  It is really too sweet to drink on a regular basis for most people.  Like matzoh, which is delicious on the night of the first seder, by the end of the holiday you are ready for something different. If you read my previous post about  Aunt Ruthie’s Rugelach Cookies , you remember that the bottle can’t even be used as a rolling pin.  So, there is a limit to how much Manischewitz wine you actually need on hand.  You can use up last year’s bottle by making Lamb Chops in Red Wine Sauce and get a fresh new bottle for the next seder.  (Manischewitz is the perfect candidate for those airline-size bottles but I have never seen any.)

Wouldn’t it be faster to reduce the wine using high heat?

When I was simmering the wine to reduce it, I noticed that if the heat was too high, the wine would boil up and the fumes would catch on fire.  Fortunately, they went out as soon as I turned down the heat, but I recommend using a low heat for this step.

How will I know when my wine is reduced enough?

Reducing wine is a fancy term for cooking it so that some of the water evaporates and it becomes thicker.  The easiest way to tell if your wine is thick enough is to dip a spoon into it and lift it back out.  When the wine coats the back of the spoon it is ready.

How will I know when the lamb chops are done?

The best and safest way is to use a meat thermometer.  The lowest safe temperature for cooked lamb is 145 degrees.  This is rare to medium.  If you prefer your meat more done, cook until the chops are at 170 degrees.

Tools used in making this recipe:
Smucker’s Concord Grape Jelly, 12 oz (340 g)
Cuisinart CIL30-20HRN Castlite Non-Stick Cast Iron Square Grill Pan with Helper, 11″, Red
GDEALER Waterproof Digital Meat Thermometer Super Fast Instant Read Thermometer BBQ Thermometer with Calibration and Backlit Function Cooking Thermometer for Food, Candy, Milk, Tea, BBQ, Grill Smokers