Butterflied Leg of Lamb

Now that we can meet up outside, it’s time to work on your BBQ skills in order to make the most of new-found social activity.

The trick is to invest in some decent charcoal, as this holds its heat for much longer and isn’t doused in chemicals.  Then find a way to control the heat, either by adjusting the level of the grill, or by stacking the charcoal to one side, so you have a hot area, and a cooler area.  There are a whole range of incredible BBQ’s available, and we work with the Big Green Egg which can cook almost any dish, as it controls the heat precisely.

Then seasonal food is delicious on the BBQ, especially fresh, local asparagus which you drizzle with olive oil and sea salt and gently cook over the coals until it is lightly caramelized on the outside and soft throughout.

If you have a lid on your BBQ, then you should be able to moderate the heat and cook a traditional leg of lamb, but if it’s an open BBQ, you can ask your butcher to butterfly the leg so that it becomes like a large steak.  It’s worth marinading the day before, either with traditional garlic and rosemary, or spicy harissa.

Feeds 8-10, but you can half the recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2 onion
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 butterflied leg of lamb, 2kg

Method

1. Make the marinade: Put onion, garlic, rosemary, lemon zest, apple cider vinegar, and olive oil into a food processor and pulse to a paste.
2. Marinate the lamb: Sprinkle a generous amount of salt and pepper over the lamb. Place marinade and lamb into vac pac bag and rub all over, marinading for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight. Then remove from fridge 30 mins before cooking

3. Light the BBQ, and once coals are hot, have a single layer of coals on one side, double layer on the other side to give two cooking temps.
4. Place lamb on hot side of grill, fat side down and sear for 4 minutes each side.
5. Move the lamb to cooler side of grill and cook for 10-15 minutes on each side or until internal temperature gets to 120-130°F
6. Then take off the grill, cover with foil and rest for at least 10 minutes.
7. Meanwhile you can grill vegetables on the other side of the grill. Slice the lamb across the grain of the meat and serve.

The ideal accompaniment is salsa verde, which you can make with any green herbs, but is wonderful with foraged wild garlic.