Leg of lamb on grill

[Desdenova10]

Well i just got a leg of lamb the other day, and i would like to cook this on my grill outside...I need some suggestions on how to make the marinade so that it will give it a little bit of taste.

I like the Turkish style lamb a lot, as i've had it many times before. But this time i'm taking this thing to the grill. I have a charcoal grill or gas. I like charcoal for any type if grilling but anyone have any suggestions? I want moslty the lamb taste but may be a TWIST of garlic? onion?

let me know some of your suggestions on cutting it, cooking time, marinade, etc for the grilling of the leg. BTW this is my first post

 

[Desdenova10]

also what is the BEST type of lamb to cook on a grill ?

 

[kitchenelf]

Welcome to the site!

A friend of mine marinated a lamb leg overnight in soy sauce and garlic. It was pretty darn good! Another option would be red wine and garlic. Another option would be fresh rosemary, lemon, garlic, and olive oil (a nice fruity extra virgin olive oil).

There will be some more that come by with their favorites - just stick around!

 

[Yakuta]

My personal preference with lamb is a yogurt based marinade. Most middle eastern and indian recipes use yogurt to tenderize the lamb. It helps keep the lamb moist while grilling. Here is a marinade I use everytime I make lamb (in the oven or otherwise).

Plain yogurt - 1 cup
salt
Minced garlic - (6 cloves or so)
Minced ginger - (1/2 stick)
1 cup of freshly chopped mint
1 cup of freshly chopped cilantro
juice of 1 lemon
red chilli powder (if you like is spicy or leave it out)
1 tsp of freshly roasted and ground cumin
1 tbsp of olive or canola oil

Marinate the lamb for atleast 2-4 hours in this mixture

Grill or roast in the oven. We like to serve it with more lemon wedges and sliced sweet onions (vidalias would be great).

 

[FryBoy]

I'm a big fan of butterflied leg of lamb on the grill. The leg bone is removed and the result is like a thick steak, and it can be cooked like a steak over direct heat (it's not of even thickness, so you either have to cook some pieces more than others). It's a lot easier to marinate than a bone-in leg.

I stick slivers of garlic all over the outside of the lamb, and then marinate it in a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, minced rosemary, and freshly ground black pepper for a few hours before grilling.

In any case, be sure not to overcook it -- medium or medium-rare is best, although a lot of people freak if their lamb is anything less than well done, dried out, tough and tasteless.

As for the best type of lamb to grill, I like just about anything -- rib chops are great, cooked very quickly over a very hot fire, seasoned with just olive oil, coarsely ground black pepper, and salt. Any form of grilled lamb is the perfect accompaniment to good red wine.

 

[Ellen]

I am with Fryboy, butterflied is best, I like a rosemary, mint, soy marinade, and the fact is the uneven thickness gives people a choice of more, or less cooked meat. I like mine fairly pink. You can use chops, filet, whatever you care for.

 

[Gretchen]

I butterfly and marinate in something that usually has oil, red wine, garlic, rosemary, worcestershire sauce, etc. And looking just above, I see that others have said the same thing, right down to the unevenness of the cut when laid out allowing everyone to have the kind of doneness they want.

 

[FryBoy]

the fact is the uneven thickness gives people a choice of more, or less cooked meat.

That's a good point. If you have several people to serve and a variety of preferences, the varying thickness of the butterflied leg will give you a full range from rare to well-done.

It's usually just my wife and me, however, so I tend to cut the butterflied leg into sections and start the thickest pieces first. I like to cook it over a hot fire to char the outside while leaving the middle medium-rare to medium.

 

[Desdenova10]

My personal preference with lamb is a yogurt based marinade. Most middle eastern and indian recipes use yogurt to tenderize the lamb. It helps keep the lamb moist while grilling. Here is a marinade I use everytime I make lamb (in the oven or otherwise).

Plain yogurt - 1 cup
salt
Minced garlic - (6 cloves or so)
Minced ginger - (1/2 stick)
1 cup of freshly chopped mint
1 cup of freshly chopped cilantro
juice of 1 lemon
red chilli powder (if you like is spicy or leave it out)
1 tsp of freshly roasted and ground cumin
1 tbsp of olive or canola oil

Marinate the lamb for atleast 2-4 hours in this mixture

Grill or roast in the oven. We like to serve it with more lemon wedges and sliced sweet onions (vidalias would be great).

Yakut, is this the one for sis kebabs? I remember the yogurt base with vinegar i think it was....so in this case should the lemon do the job instead of the vinegar?

 

[Yakuta]

Hi Desdenova,

The marinade is versatile to use on sheesh kabobs made with beef or chicken and great for leg of lamb.

Indian food or Middle eastern for that reason don't use vinegar in marinades (atleast not that I am aware of) but to answer your question the lemon is a substitute to vinegar and adds the acidic element to the marinade which helps break down the tough proteins.

The yogurt preserves the juiciness and acts as a tenderizer as well. I am one of the individuals that Fryboy mentioned who likes my lamb well done and the yogurt prevents it from drying it while I cook it to my desired doneless level.

 

[ChefJune]

I enjoy cooking a butterflied leg on the grill because it doesn't take nearly so long. I don't marinate it, but put a "poultice" of good Dijon mustard on the cut side, then a mixture of chopped garlic and Provencal herbs (sea salt and fg blackpepper are in the mix, too). I let that rest in the fridge for a couple of hours, then bring the meat to room temp before grilling for 45 minutes over rosy red coals to an internal temperature of 130 degrees (Residual heat will cook it the rest of the way.)

I've never had any leftovers...... and it is SO easy to do.

 

[Desdenova10]

Yup, i grilled it tonight...Here is what i did with the leg of lamb.

First i cut all the meat off the bone. I have seperated the different locations of the leg for Lamburgers (which i read somewhere here), for shish kebabs and for my grilling today on the charcoal grill i bought yesterday.

I marinated them last night, with balsamic vinegar, garlic, yogurt, basil, black pepper, paprika, and olive oil....I couldn't use lemon which is what i wanted to do because the stores were closed...

Anyhow, today i grilled them and i have to say, probably the best lamb i ate!!! Came out EXCELLENT and all the people that ate were REALLY happy. I also like my lamb well done as everyone who ate it also.

So my first try of the leg of lamb grilling has been a 100% success!!!

Also another thing i tried was to grill some tomatos and green peppers next to it, which came out excellent too. When i was in Turkey we used to grill a lot of vegies next to meat and i think they compliment each other greatly. Next to it we had some bread and for drinks some hard liquir Raki from Turkey. After the meal we had watermelon that was very sweet finish to the meal.

This was also my first attempt to cook on charchoal, so i have to say its been excellent. I've been grilling on propane for long time and now its been a good change.

I am highly considering getting another lamb and try the lemon taste and see how that goes!

 

[Robo410]

grilled lamb is great. a traditional Greek marinade for the meat is sliced onions sauteed in olive oil, fresh or dried rosemary (crushed a bit) fresh lemmon juice, crushed and chopped garlic. saute for several minutes. let cool and rub the lamb with it and let it all marinate overnight. when you'r eready to grill, let it hang on the meat if it is (onions etc.) and baste with it.

very delicious

serve with tzadikhi (traditional yoghurt sauce.

 

[prada]

salt and pepper will normally do, but you can also rub it with minced garlic and leave it overnight.

charcoal grill taste better imo

 

[lyndalou]

I also use a butterflied leg of lamb on the grill. I can't find my recipe, but it is from Wolfgang Puck and is a hit whenever I serve it. It uses a rub of garlic and other seasonings and is browned well over high heat and then cooked over indirect heat until of desired doneness. I love it. When I can find it, I'll send it along.

Lyndalou

 

[lyndalou]

Found Wolfgang's recipe of Foodtv.com.Give it a try sometime.

 

[Billdolfski]

Herbes de Provence are a great herb rub for lamb, IMO.

Can't help with the marinade though.