So…I like lamb. And I think you know this, because I’ve made it once or twice before. When I lived in Australia, spring was the time to hit up the Central Market for some new season leg of lamb at dirt cheap prices. The lambs were mostly raised in the local wine regions, the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and such, and they were delicious, grass-fed meat. My husband figured out how to charcoal smoke a leg of lamb on a basic kettle grill using his smarts and this website. The lamb always came out juicy, slighty smokey, and just about the most addictive piece of meat you ever will see. Now that it is spring in Chicago, lambs are a bit harder to come by. Call me crazy, but I think it is mid-spring frost. But every now and then, we splurge at the local butcher to get some delicious, although sadly corn-fed Midwestern lamb. It is delicious—don’t get me wrong. It just isn’t as good for us as it was in Australia. Either way, Easter was the perfect excuse to bust out some lamb on the grill. In all fairness, my husband usually handles smoking the lamb on the grill, but not because he is secretly dying to be a chef. He just has WAY more patience than I do. I constantly want to do things like peek under the lid of the grill and lick the communal leg of lamb. It is really best for all parties involved that he handle this, although I do know how to do it myself. For instance, I know you need to start with one of these bad boys.
I also know that you need to utilize indirect grilling for this recipe, which means charcoal on one side of the grill, lamb on the other. First, the charcoal gets lit and burns on one side of the grill until the coals turn ashy and white. A drip pan goes on the other side of the grill with just a bit of water (or beer or wine if you’re feeling frisky). You can also throw a few soaked wood chips on top of the ashy coals if you really really love smoke, and god, do I ever!
I know that you need a big-ass leg of lamb, butterflied open and trimmed, as well as some delicious seasonings like the fresh minced garlic, rosemary and olive oil I schmeared all over this bad boy.
The leg goes on the grill away from the coals, and if you like, you can throw in a few potatoes around the lamb (but they will have to come out before the lamb or they will DIE and shrivel into tiny mounds of blackened potato sadness.Foil over the charcoal helps.
Then you top it off with a lid and let it go! For a 6 1/2 pound leg of lamb, we cooked this for around two hours. This is what we ended up with:
The lamb was beautifully browned, caramelized in all the right places. The fat gets all crisp and crunchy, almost like lamb bacon, and I make sure to slice off a few burned bits just for myself.
The potatoes get all crispy since they get basted with lamb fat, and topping a slice of juicy lamb leg off with some crispy potatoes and a spoonful of garlicky pesto makes this the perfect spring time meal. Say it with me now, people. I LOVE LAMB!
~LTG!
