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Grilled Butterlifed Leg of Lamb with a Mint Chimichurri Sauce

Leg of Lamb, marinated with herbs, garlic and mustard, and grilled over charcoal is almost guaranteed to please even those who say they don't like lamb. I know this, because it converted two of my guests who swore that they didn't like lamb! Chimichurri sauce is an uncooked sauce, and for this version I've added mint to the traditional garlic and it was a perfect accompanied to the grilled lamb.
Course main
Keyword Braised Leg of Lamb, Grilled Leg of Lamb
Prep Time 5 hours
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 5 hours 45 minutes
Servings 12
Author Debby - www.AFeastfortheEyes.net

Ingredients

  • 1/2 onion roughly cut
  • 4 cloves garlic peeled
  • 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves or 1 tablespoon dried
  • 1 lemon zested, reserve zest
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 5-6 pound leg of lamb butterflied

For the Mint Chimichurri sauce:

  • 2 cloves garlic peeled
  • 1 cup fresh mint leaves (spearmint)
  • 1 cup fresh Italian parsley
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice optional
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

For the marinade:

  • combine the onion, garlic, rosemary, lemon zest, apple cider vinegar, mustard and olive oil into a food processor and pulse to combine.
    NOTE: I used my Vitamix blender, or you can simply finely chop the onion, garlic and rosemary and combine with the remaining liquids.

Marinate the lamb:

  • Generously season the lamb with salt and pepper**.  To marinate, if using a 1-gallon zip-loc bag, place the lamb and the marinade in the bag and "smoosh" to make sure that the lamb is evenly coated. Otherwise, pour about half the marinade into a large rimmed pan (I used a 9x13 glass dish), place the lamb in and pour the remaining marinade on top.  Make sure that the lamb is evenly coated. Refrigerate a minimum of 4 hours (or overnight).
    NOTE: If there is a lot of fat on the lamb, I recommend trimming the excess fat as there will definitely be a LOT of flareups!

Prepare the charcoal grill:

  • Layer the coals on one side of the grill, double-layered and then one sparsley layer of charcoals on the other side of the grill.

For a gas grill:

  • Heat the grill on high on all burners to start. (After the initial searing you will reduce the heat.)

Preparing the lamb for grilling:

  • Remove the lamb from refrigerator and remove from the bag or dish and let come to room temperature; (about 30 minutes) covered with plastic wrap.
  • NOTE: You can skewer the lamb to make it easier to flip over. In hindsight, though we did this, our lamb wasn't evenly butterflied. I recommend, that you can cut the leg of lamb in thirds-- so that thicker pieces can grill a bit longer, while any thinner chunks can be set off-heat so it won't overcook.

Searing the lamb:

  • Place the lamb, fat side down, on the grill on the hot side (double layer charcoals).  NOTE: Unless you've trimmed off the excess fat, I can guarantee that you will have a lot of flare-ups, so definitely have a squirt bottle of water at the ready.
  • Sear one side for 4 minutes, then flip the lamb over to sear the other side for another 4 minutes.

Cooking on a charcoal grill:

  • Move the lamb to the cooler side of charcoal grill and finish cooking

Cooking on a gas grill:

  •  If you are using a gas grill, lower the heat to low. You will want to maintain a temperature of 300-350°F.
  • Cover the grill and let cook for an additional 35-45 minutes (depending on how thick, and how many pounds the roast is), until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the roast registers 130°F (for medium rare) or 145F for medium (how we prefer it).
  • Let rest before cutting: Transfer to a cutting board with a well to catch the juices. Cover with aluminum foil and let rest for 5-10 minutes. Remove the skewers if you are using any.
  • Cut across the grain, 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick slices.

For the mint chimicchurri:

  • Place the garlic, mint and parsley leaves into a food processor and pulse several times until finely chopped.

  • Add the vinegar, lemon juice,  salt, red pepper flakes and olive oil and pulse a few more times until combined.

Notes

Recipe source adapted from: Simply Recipes:
NOTE: The Chimichurri sauce was so popular, that you might want to consider doubling the amount that you make!