Air-Fryer Lamb Chops with Herb Butter

Lamb chops are one of those dishes where the air fryer makes a really substantive difference to the home cook's experience. Pan-frying lamb chops splatters fat across the hob and produces a kitchen that smells like lamb for the next day. The air fryer contains the splatter inside the basket, cooks the chops evenly on all sides at once (meaning you don't need to flip every 30 seconds), and produces a finish that's actually closer to a proper restaurant sear than what most home cooks achieve on a stovetop.

Loin chops are the cut here — small, mostly tender, with the perfect ratio of meat to fat and bone. They cook in 6–8 minutes at 200°C for medium-rare (54°C internal). Get them out at 50°C and let them rest — carryover heat finishes them. The herb butter (made in 30 seconds while the chops cook) melts on contact and is the entire finishing sauce.

The photo shows two chops on a white plate: golden-brown crust, visible herb butter melting and pooling, pan juices and herb specks on the plate beneath. The kind of meal you eat with a knife and fork and nothing else on the plate.