Grilled Butterflied Lamb Leg

Here’s another butterflied leg of lamb recipe. The previous version, Grilled Mesquite-Smoked Garlic Rosemary Lamb, used different spices and two grilling methods to prepare the dish. This version uses an Asian based marinade and direct heat to grill the dish. The amount of chili garlic sauce can be varied according to taste – use more if you like spicy, less if you don’t. If done correctly, the outer layer of the lamb will be crusty and the inner meat medium-rare.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

2-4 lb.	1-2 kg.	Butterflied leg of lamb
1 in.	2.5 cm.	Knob of ginger (goeng1, 薑), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (syun3, 蒜), crushed in a garlic press
2-4 Tbs.	30-60 ml.	Chili garlic sauce (syun3 jung4 laat6 ziu1 zoeng3, 蒜蓉辣椒酱)
½ cup	125 ml.	Soy sauce (si6 jau4, 豉油)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Hoisin sauce (hoi2 sin1 zoeng3, 海鮮醬)
½ cup	125 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (siu6 hing1 zau2, 紹興酒) or dry sherry
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Ground white pepper (baak6 wu4 ziu1, 白胡椒)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Sesame oil (maa4 jau4, 麻油)

 

Equipment

22.5 in.	57 cm.	Covered charcoal or gas grill (or larger)

 

Preparation Instructions

1. Debone and butterfly the leg of lamb, if not already done so. Remove any excess fat and sinew from the leg of lamb. Marinate the butterflied lamb leg for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with the ginger and garlic crushed in a garlic press, chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If marinating the lamb overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
2. Prepare the charcoal or gas grill for direct cooking following the manufacturer’s instructions. Light the charcoal or preheat the gas grill accordingly. Soak the wood (oak, mesquite, pecan …) for smoking for one hour if desired. I do not soak my wood in water and use dry wood.

Cooking Instructions

1. If using a charcoal grill, place the coals on one half of the grill (hot side), leaving one-half of the grill without any coals (cold side). Putting all the coals into one-half of the grill helps to concentrate the heat to brown and cook the lamb quickly. For a gas grill, follow the manufacturer’s instructions as to which burners to leave on for direct cooking. Put the smoking wood onto the coals or as per the instructions for the gas grill.
2. Put the lamb on the hot side of the grill to brown over direct heat for 5-7 minutes covered. Turn the lamb over and brown the other side over direct heat for another 5-7 minutes covered for medium-rare. The amount of time to cook the lamb will depend upon the thickness of the butterflied lamb leg, your grill’s heat, and previous experience. Remove the lamb from the grill and let the lamb rest for 10 minutes before slicing.