This grilled leg of lamb gives you plenty of flavor, lots of delicious crust and crispy, garlicky bits. Easy to make, and enough to satisfy huge groups, this recipe will be a hit!
Just in time for Spring, this traditional cut of meat is more than enough to feed a crowd.
It’s marinated for a couple of hours in a garlic and herb paste, and butterflied to give you a boneless cut of lamb that will satisfy all meat lovers.
My big tip would be to take not of which of your guests prefer rare, and who prefers ell done. If the answer is more or less the same then you can cook it all in one go. If you have different preferences then I recommend cutting the lamb up into different chunks, and cooking each of them differently in line with who wants what.
If you want something that’s a little tougher or leaner then try swapping the lamb for goat.
Goat contains less fat content than lamb, which makes it tougher and chewier.
What temperature to grill leg of lamb
For the best results, set your grill at a medium heat of around 350°F to 450°F. Combine this with indirect grilling or 2-zone cooking, and you should be able to cook your lamb nicely to an ideal internal temperature of 130°F. At this point, it should be cooked medium rare and wonderfully juicy and tender.
Bone-in or boneless?
There’s no doubting that bone-in meat looks beautiful. To keep the meat intact while it cooks and is served is great to look at. The problem can come down to how difficult you find carving it. Carving around a cooked bone is no easy, and if time is a factor you might prefer to grill and serve boneless lamb.
Should I marinate lamb?
Lamb is such a naturally tender cut of meat that you don’t need to marinate it. In fact, because marinades can break down the fibers in meat, it could create problems by ruining the structure of the meat and making it difficult to chew.
I recommend marinating it for just a couple of hours before cooking it. In this recipe I’ve used a herb and light spice solution to inject a bit of flavor. Make sure that you don’t go overboard with it, and don’t leave it overnight.
Spiced Leg of Lamb with Herb Butter
Ingredients
Leg of Lamb
- 1 boneless leg of lamb butterflied and trimmed of excess fat
Herb Butter
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint leaves
- 2 large garlic cloves minced
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper freshly ground
Marinade
- ⅔ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup fresh Italian parsley leaves finely chopped
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- 1½ tbsp kosher salt
- 1½ tbsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp ground cardamom
- 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1½ tbsp ground cumin
- 1½ tbsp ground ginger
- 1½ tbsp ground turmeric
Instructions
- Combine the butter ingredients. Set aside.
- Whisk the marinade ingredients. Reserve and set aside one-half of the marinade to use for basting the lamb on the grill. Pour the remaining marinade into a large, resealable plastic bag.
- Place the lamb inside the bag, press the air out, and seal tightly. Turn the bag to distribute the marinade, place in a bowl, and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours, turning occasionally.
- Remove the lamb from the bag and discard the marinade. Allow the lamb to stand at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes before grilling.
- Prepare the grill for direct and indirect cooking over medium heat (350° to 450°F).
- Grill the lamb, fat side down, over direct medium heat, with the lid closed, until nicely marked, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Turn the lamb over and grill for 5 minutes more, basting the lamb with the reserved marinade.
- Then move the lamb over indirect medium heat and grill, fat side up, with the lid closed, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the lamb registers 125° to 130°F for medium rare, 20 to 30 minutes more, basting occasionally with the reserved marinade. Remove from the grill and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Cut the lamb across the grain into thin slices. Melt the herb butter, and then drizzle it over the lamb. Serve right away.
