Lamb Loin Chop Marinade, Old South African

Total Time: 35 mins Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 cup dried apricot, loosely thrown in, not pressed into the cup
• 3 large onions or 4 small onions, sliced into thin rings
• 2 cups vinegar, which can be 1 cup wine and 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 12 well-bruised lemon leaves or 6 slices lemon peel
• 1 tablespoon fresh mild curry powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 tablespoon spices, such as cardamom, cumin, anise and peppercorns or 1 tablespoon genuine fresh masala

Recipe

• 1 boil the apricots in water until soft. enough water should be in the pot to allow you to pureé the apricots in a blender when soft.
• 2 at the same time, boil the onions in the vinegar until tender.
• 3 in the meantime, crush and mix together the spices mentioned, plus the sugar. exact spices or quantities are not that important.
• 4 the apricots cook quickly. mash or pureé them, add to the boiling onion mixture, then add the spice-sugar mixture.
• 5 cool mixture to room temperature. do not worry about the extreme sourness of the mixture -- you are not going to eat it!
• 6 this is enough to marinate 8 - 12 loin chops, depending on size and thickness. i prefer fairly thick chops.
• 7 use a glass, ceramic or porcelain dish, and ladle some of the mixture into the bottom and spread it all over. if your mixture is very thick, add a little water, but it must be fairly thick and not watery!
• 8 pack in a layer of chops tightly together. layer over more marinade, and add the rest of the chops. top with the last of the marinade.
• 9 how you do it, will depend on the size of your container and number of chops. make sure all chops are in contact with the marinade.
• 10 cover with plastic film and keep in the fridge. it's a good idea to turn and re-pack them once, to make sure every bit is marinated.
• 11 you can safely marinate them for at least 3 days and up to 7, 8 days in the fridge. they only get better!
• 12 to use: scrape off the marinade with a spatula, and discard. you don't have to scrape them frantically, just get rid of most of the marinade.
• 13 it's by far the best to grill them over coals or charcoal. don't overcook! only use salt after grilling.