BBQ Marinated Butterflied Leg of Lamb
, Updated Jun 22, 2019
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This Butterflied Leg of Lamb cooks quickly on the BBQ or a griddle pan and is succulent and delicious. Serve sliced thinly with a big green salad.
You will also love… BBQ Boneless Leg of Lamb
I recently attended an event to celebrate the launch of the ‘Lamb. Tasty, easy, fun’ campaign which aims to raise the profile of lamb in the UK, Ireland and Europe. As I sat there, enjoying the delicious food prepared by Cyrus Todiwala at Café Spice Namasté, I realised he was preaching to the choir.
Going back through the blog archives I seem to have published many lamb recipes, from a chuck-it-all-in healthy stew to one-pot Greek Lamb and I realise that I actually pick lamb over chicken in my weekly grocery shopping. This is not the case with most consumers however, causing lamb farmers to give up on their flocks and rare breeds to fade away.
One very easy way of supporting them is to buy more lamb (well, duh!) and fully realise the potential of the various cuts, from easy, versatile mince, to shanks to, my favourite, butterflied leg of lamb.
I love this cut so much as it provides the most succulent meat and cooks in record time making it suitable for even quick weekday dinners. Here I have cooked it on the barbecue (before the demise of our BBQ – see also recent ribs recipe) but it can be made on the stovetop as well provided you have a cast iron griddle pan (Le Creuset do a fabulous one).
The recipe comes, with minor tweaks, from the Meat Cookbook and it is both O-M-G delicious and very easy. Do marinate the lamb overnight and if you are unsure about cooking times invest in a cheap meat thermometer – it really helps!
BBQ Marinated Butterflied Leg of Lamb
Ingredients
- 900 g | 2lb boneless leg of lamb butterflied
For the marinade
- 200 ml | 7fl oz red wine
- 3 tbsp orange marmalade
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 red onion very finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves mince
- 1 tsp fresh rosemary leaves very finely chopped
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Put the lamb and marinade in a ceramic dish, cover with foil and chill for at least a couple of hours or overnight.
- Pat the lamb dry with some kitchen towel and reserve the marinade. Place fat side down your barbecue and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.
- Turn over and brush with the marinade. Cook for another 10 minutes.
- Once again, turn the lamb over and brush with the marinade. Cook for a total of 40 minutes, basting with the marinade as you go.
- Remove from the heat and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Carve the lamb into slices and serve with chilli jam, sriracha or hot pepper jelly and a big green salad.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on quality of ingredients and serving sizes.
This is the BEST way to cook a lamb leg. I’ve made it several times! Just pulled a butterflied leg out to make this again for company tomorrow. Thank you.
what temp should it be taken off at?
If you mean internal temperature checked with meat thermometer these are readings I stick by. Butterflied lamb tends to be fairly flat and cooks quickly and evenly
Medium-rare:
• 130-140 °F (54-60 °C) Internal appearance lighter red; very moist with warm juices. Approximate cooking and resting time: 25-30 min./lb.. plus 8-10 min. resting
Medium (with a touch of pink):
• 140-150 °F (60-66 °C) Internal appearance pink red color; moist with clear pink juice. Approximate cooking and resting time: 30-35 min./lb. plus 8-10 min. resting
Well-done:
• 150-165 °F (66-74 °C) Internal appearance no pink or red, slightly moist with clear juices
OMG that looks fabulous!! We have done bone-in leg of lamb on the kettle bbq a few times but never butterflied. Definitely added to the to do list!
OK firstly I love butterflied leg of lamb. I actually butterflied my own leg for a dinner party a few months ago and used a similar rub. It was amazing.
Secondly, Cyrus Todiwala! I'm so jealous, how do you find out about all of these amazing things. I love that guy and I really want to go to Cafe Namaste, do you rate it?
This looks incredible! I shall definitely be trying this at our next BBQ!x
This looks so good. It's one of my dad's signature dishes (though with cider rather than red wine), and gets gobbled up every time!
Rosie xx