Grill roasted leg of lamb is a great way to bring summer flavours to a wintery cut of meat. The Greeks know this. They have since about the beginning of time.
Whole lamb on a spit over a fire is a Greek party classic. This is just as good – just on a smaller scale. Smoke kissed lamb seasoned simply with garlic and rosemary with a lemon jus. Hard to beat. Grill roasted lamb.
There are a few things to consider here. Bone-in leg of lamb is impossible to cook evenly. Just look at a leg of lamb critically some time.
It’s huge at one end and tiny at the other. Makes cooking a turkey seem like a cakewalk. Use boneless leg of lamb and it’s way easier to get evenly cooked grill roasted lamb.
Dry brine for the best grill roasted lamb
Dry-brining works wonders with lamb. Seriously. Absolute magic. Plan on allowing 36-48 hours to season the meat through and through. It makes a difference.
As with any big hunk of meat, a lower cooking temperature helps a more even cooking process. Rotate it along the way to offset any hot spots on the grill.
Finally, this is about lamb and smoke. Charcoal smoke. I have no idea if this will work on a gas grill. I cook using charcoal. It might work if you add wood chips. I don’t know.
I kind of doubt it though. Unless you can find a way to get gentle smoke for an hour or so. You know your grill better than I do…
This is not a recipe that will make lamb haters into lamb lovers. But for those on the fence, grill roasted leg of lamb is a recipe to win them over.
grill roasted leg of lamb
Ingredients
- 1 leg of lamb - boneless. Try boning one out yourself sometime. It's a fun learning experience.
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt
- 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- 5 sprigs fresh rosemary in all
- coarse ground pepper
- juice of 1/2 lemon
Instructions
Dry brine the lamb
- Sprinkle the lamb with the salt. Wrap it in a plastic bag and put it on a cookie sheet. Stick it in the fridge for 36 hours, turning it over every 8-12 hours. Just let the magic happen.
Grill roast the lamb
- Set up your grill for indirect heat. You want to target 325F and stay there if you can. If there was ever a recipe that favours a kamodo, this is it. If you are using a different style grill, plan to add charcoal along the way.
- Remove the leaves from 2 sprigs of rosemary. Tuck them into the flap where the bone was along with the garlic slices.
- Season the lamb generously with coarse ground pepper. You don''t need any more salt.
- Place the lamb in a roasting pan and roast it until it reaches an internal temperature of 130F, about 70-90 minutes. Spin the roasting pan every 20-30 minutes to manage any hot spots on your grill.
- Remove the lamb from the pan and let rest, covered, for about 20 minutes.
- Strain the pan juices and spoon off any obvious fat. Return the juices to the pan along with the lemon juice. Bring to a simmer.
- Carve the lamb across the grain. Pour any accumulated board juices back into the pan with the lemon sauce.
- Serve the lamb with a drizzle of sauce.
Nutrition