Butterflied Leg Of Lamb Recipes

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.

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 - WITH ATTITUDE!

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 (or prepare grill if you prefer). Lay out butterflied leg of lamb - fat side down - on a pan with a rack.
• Mix remaining ingredients in a small bowl, and lightly coat both sides of the meat. Bake on center rack of oven for 50 minutes for rare, 1 hour for medium, or to your preference. Medium rare to medium for best taste.

PASTRAMI-STYLE BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Butterfly leg of lamb or have your butcher do it for you. In a nonreactive bowl or pan, cover meat with yogurt, turning to coat evenly. Marinate, covered and refrigerated, for at least 12 hours or overnight. Remove from marinade and pat dry with paper towels.
• On a cutting board cover garlic with salt. Mince and flatten with side of a heavy knife until garlic forms a paste. Scrape into a small bowl and mix well with remaining spices. Rub butterflied leg of lamb with spice mixture. Cover tightly and marinate, refrigerated, at least 8 hours or overnight.
• Heat a grill or broiler until very hot. Cook on grill or broiler rack, 10 to 15 minutes each side, for rare to medium-rare meat. Remove lamb to a carving board, cover loosely with foil and let sit 10 minutes before carving into thin slices.

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.

SPICE-RUBBED BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Combine first 13 ingredients in processor. Using on/off turns, process until coarse paste forms. Add oil and lemon juice and process until well blended.
• Place lamb in large resealable plastic bag. Pour spice mixture over lamb; seal bag. Turn bag several times and rub spice mixture into lamb. Refrigerate overnight, turning bag occasionally.
• Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Remove lamb from marinade; shake off excess. Grill lamb to desired doneness or until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of lamb registers 125°F to 130°F, for medium-rare about 15 minutes per side. Transfer lamb to cutting board. Cover with foil and let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Cut lamb into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Arrange on platter and serve.

GRILLED BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Prepare lamb and marinate Cover lamb with plastic wrap. Pound lamb with a meat mallet until it is slightly thicker than 1 inch all over. Reserve 1/2 cup marinade. Place lamb in a large resealable plastic bag and add remaining marinade, then force out air and seal. Massage the lamb a bit to coat it thoroughly. Set bag on a baking sheet (in case of leaks) in the refrigerator and marinate lamb 8 to 24 hours, turning bag occasionally.
• Grill Remove lamb from bag and wipe off and discard as much marinade as possible so surface is dry. Let lamb rest at room temperature 1 hour. Meanwhile, heat grill to medium-high (see Grill Temperature Guidelines, page 162). When it is hot, scrub with a grill brush and sweep lightly with oil. Season lamb on both sides with salt and pepper. Grill (press down with tongs initially to make sure the lamb is evenly in contact with grill) until charred in spots, 5 to 6 minutes, rotating the lamb 90 degrees halfway through. Flip the lamb, then brush with some reserved marinade and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 125°F, again rotating it 90 degrees halfway through. This will take 5 to 6 minutes more. Let lamb rest 5 minutes.
• Serve Slice lamb and serve with remaining reserved marinade on the side.

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.

BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB WITH LOTS OF GARLIC AND ROSEMARY

Steps:

• Trim any excess fat from the lamb and place it in a 9-by-13-inch nonreactive pan.
• Whisk together all the marinade ingredients in a bowl.
• Scoop out and reserve 1/4 cup of the marinade and pour the remainder over the lamb.
• Massage into meat.
• Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Remove the meat from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.
• Preheat grill to medium heat.
• Place the lamb on the grill rack and cook, turning once and basting frequently with the reserved 1/4 cup marinade, for 15 to 18 minutes on each side for medium-rare.
• My favorite!
• Transfer to a platter, season with salt and pepper, and tent with aluminum foil.
• Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing, then place on a cutting board and slice thinly.
• Serve immediately.

HERBED AND BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• With a mortar and pestle, lightly crush peppercorns and coriander seeds. Transfer to a small bowl, and add olive oil, salt and garlic. Finely grate lemon peel, and add to mixture. Cut lemon into quarters, and squeeze juice into mixture, then add leftover lemon as well.
• Place lamb skin side down in a shallow dish, and press whole rosemary sprigs into scored meat. Pour marinade over meat, pressing lemon pieces into meat. Cover dish with plastic wrap; refrigerate overnight.
• When ready to cook, remove lamb from refrigerator, and allow to sit at room temperature while oven heats to 425 degrees. Place lamb skin side up in a roasting pan, keeping lemon pieces and rosemary pressed into underside.
• Roast 35 to 40 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of lamb registers 145 degrees (for medium-well lamb), or adjust cooking time as desired. When cooked to taste, remove lamb from oven, and allow to rest in pan for 10 to 15 minutes before carving.

MARTHA'S BUTTERFLIED, ROLLED, AND ROASTED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Remove and discard seeds from preserved lemons. Coarsely chop 1 preserved lemon; transfer to a food processor. Add rosemary, mint, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Process until coarsely ground. With processor running, pour in oil in a slow, steady stream; process until a thick paste forms.
• Spread herb mixture all over lamb; transfer to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Cover; refrigerate 8 hours (or overnight).
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Season lamb with salt and pepper. Cut remaining preserved lemon into thin strips; arrange strips over one side of lamb. Starting from one narrow end, roll up lamb. Using kitchen twine, tie lamb crosswise at 1-inch intervals. Season with salt and pepper.
• Transfer lamb to a roasting pan fitted with a rack just large enough to hold it. Roast in middle of oven for 25 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water to pan; reduce heat to 400 degrees. Continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat registers 125 degrees to 130 degrees (for medium-rare), about 35 minutes.
• Tent with foil. Let rest 25 minutes (internal temperature will rise). Transfer to a cutting board; remove twine. Cut into thin slices. Serve with lemon wedges.

BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB WITH LEMON SALSA VERDE

Steps:

• Pat lamb dry with paper towels and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Season all over with salt and pepper.
• Set aside 1 teaspoon of the garlic. In a bowl, combine remaining garlic with thyme, oregano or marjoram, cumin, chile, lemon zest and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Drizzle in about 1 tablespoon oil, just enough to create a sandy paste. Rub mixture all over lamb. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate for at least 1 hour or, even better, overnight in the refrigerator.
• Prepare the salsa verde: In a small bowl, combine a pinch of salt, the remaining teaspoon garlic, remaining 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice, 3 tablespoons preserved lemon, parsley, cilantro, mint and scallion and stir well. Drizzle in remaining oil. Season with more preserved lemon, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Let the mixture sit for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld and mellow.
• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Roast lamb without turning for 22 to 35 minutes, until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 120 degrees for rare and 130 for medium. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving with the salsa verde.

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.