Butterflied Leg Of Lamb Seared Then Slow For Perfect Doneness Recipes

GREEK BUTTERFLIED LAMB LEG

Steps:

• Mix marinade ingredients in a large ziplock bag.
• Add lamb, massage bag well to get the marinade into all the meat cracks and crevices.
• Seal bag and marinate for 24 hours (3 hours minimum).
• Remove lamb from the fridge 1 hour prior to cooking (to take fridge chill out for more even cooking).

BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB: SEARED, THEN SLOW, FOR PERFECT DONENESS

Steps:

• Preheat your grill and prepare it for two-zone cooking or, as in our case, have a deflector plate of some kind handy to provide indirect heat when the time comes.
• Butterfly the lamb leg by flopping it as wide open as you can and cutting parallel to the cutting board through the thicker muscles, just leaving them attached enough to stay a part of the whole. Again, you can have your butcher do it if you like.
• Prepare the seasoning rub by combining the mint leaves (plucked from the tough stems), parsley, coarsely chopped onion, vinegar, chili, black pepper, and olive oil in a blender and blending until you have a smooth paste. Add more oil if necessary to make a loose, smearable paste.
• Score the fat cap on the lamb if there is one, by cutting a cross-hatch into the fat, trying not to cut the meat underneath it.
• Season the lamb generously with kosher salt, then apply the mint rub and work it into all the creases and nooks.
• Move to the grill and cook the leg of lamb for about five minutes per side, until the exterior is nicely browned and there are some charred bits on it.
• Move the meat to the indirect-heat side of the grill or change your grill setup for indirect heat.
• If there is any herb rub left from before, smear it on now.
• Use the air probe from your Smoke X2 to monitor the heat, and try to maintain a temperature of about 250°F (121°C). If you're not using a gas-powered grill, Billows will help a lot!
• Insert the meat probe from the Smoke X2 into the lamb and set the high-temp alarm for 130-135°F (54-57°C) for medium-rare lamb.
• Close the lid and cook, about 60-70 minutes, until the alarm sounds. Verify the doneness with your Thermapen and remove the meat from heat to rest.
• Carve and serve to great admiration.

ROASTED BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a heavy-duty zipper storage bag, combine the onion, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, mustard, orange juice, thyme, and rosemary and mix well.
• Place the leg of lamb in the marinade, seal the bag, and turn to coat. Massage the meat through the bag for a bit to help the marinade penetrate and coat all the meat evenly. Put the storage bag into a large roasting pan and marinate for 24 hours in the refrigerator.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Remove the lamb from the marinade and place it in a shallow roasting pan. Season with salt and pepper.
• Roast the lamb, uncovered, for 50 to 70 minutes, basting it with the marinade several times during the process. Cook until an instant-read meat thermometer registers 145 F (for medium-rare) or 150 F (for medium) when inserted in the thickest part of the meat. For safety reasons, the lamb needs to be cooked to a minimum of 145 F.
• Remove the lamb from the oven, cover with foil, and let stand for 15 minutes before serving.
• Carve the lamb into slices against the grain. Plate, drizzle with the juices from the pan, and serve.

GRILLED BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice, vinegar, rosemary, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Place lamb in a large shallow dish with marinade, and turn to coat. Cover; marinate 1 hour at room temperature or up to overnight in refrigerator, turning occasionally. (Bring to room temperature before grilling.)
• Heat grill to medium-high. Thread several metal skewers through lamb in both directions to hold meat together during cooking.
• Grill lamb until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 140 degrees for medium rare, 10 to 15 minutes per side. Let the meat rest, covered, about 10 minutes. Remove the skewers. Slice the meat thinly, against the grain where possible.

BROILED AND SLOW-ROASTED BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB WITH CUMIN AND GARLIC

Steps:

• Mix oil, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin and oregano; spread paste on both sides of the lamb and let stand for an hour until meat comes to room temperature.
• Adjust oven rack to upper or upper-middle position (depending on lamb's thickness) and preheat broiler on high for at least 10 minutes.
• Place lamb, cut side up, on a large wire rack set over a foil-lined roasting pan. Broil, moving pan so entire surface browns evenly, about 8 minutes. Turn lamb over; continue to broil until well browned on the other side, about 8 minutes longer. Turn off broiler, remove lamb from oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Stick a meat thermometer into the thickest portion of the lamb; return it to the oven. Roast for a total of 50 minutes to 1 hour, until thermometer registers a rosy-pink 140 degrees. Check lamb several times after 30 minutes. If lamb gets done sooner, simply turn down oven to 170 degrees until ready to serve.
• As soon as lamb comes out of the oven, squeeze on lemon juice and sprinkle with fresh herbs. Carve, slicing across the grain when possible. Arrange on a platter, drizzle with accumulated juices, and serve.