You grill lamb chops with nothing but oregano, lemon, and a fierce heat. The fat renders, the edges char, the bone is there to be picked up. That first bite of pink meat, oregano toasting in the fat, lemon squeezed at the table — a village salad is the only company they need.
Paidakia are the taverna order, the plate that arrives with oregano still dusting the meat. They belong to the same fire as souvlaki and the same lemon as everything else on the Greek grill.
The grill should be almost smoking. Rest the chops five minutes, then squeeze over the second lemon and dust with a little more oregano. Eat with the fingers. A glass of whatever red is open.
Method
- 01
Rub the chops on both sides with the olive oil, the juice of one lemon, the crushed garlic, the oregano, salt, and pepper. Use your hands and be thorough; every surface should glisten and smell of lemon and herb. Rest them 30 minutes at room temperature so the meat loses its fridge chill and the marinade can cling. This is not a long marinade but a seasoning — the grill will do the rest.
- 02
Heat a grill or a grill pan until it is almost smoking — you want a fierce, even heat, the kind that makes you pull your hand back. If you can hold your palm over it comfortably, it is not ready. A timid grill gives gray lamb; a fierce one gives you the charred edges and rendered fat that paidakia are about. Have the chops beside you: from here, things go quickly.
- 03
Lay the chops on the grill and leave them 2 to 3 minutes a side for pink — longer if you must, though pink is what you want. They should take a deep char, the fat rendering and flaring, the edges crisping. Don't press them or move them about; let the grill lay down its marks. You'll smell oregano toasting in the fat, and that is your cue to flip, not the clock.
- 04
Rest the chops 5 minutes on a warm plate so the juices settle. Squeeze over the second lemon, dust with a little more oregano, and eat with the fingers — the bone is there to be picked up. A village salad is the only company they need, and a glass of whatever red is open. That is the taverna order, and it needs no improvement.
