With its succulent flavor and melt-in-your-mouth texture, grilled butterflied leg of lamb stands as a culinary masterpiece. Prepare to tantalize your taste buds with this esteemed dish that can be elevated to new heights with a vibrant pesto sauce. Embark on this culinary journey as we explore the art of creating a grilled butterflied leg of lamb with pesto, promising an unforgettable gastronomic experience.
Here are our top 8 tried and tested recipes!
GRILLED BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB
A butterflied leg of lamb, which cooks quickly and evenly on the grill, has been split down the center, then unfolded and spread open to resemble a butterfly.
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Ingredients Meat & Poultry Lamb Recipes
Time 2h
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice, vinegar, rosemary, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Place lamb in a large shallow dish with marinade, and turn to coat. Cover; marinate 1 hour at room temperature or up to overnight in refrigerator, turning occasionally. (Bring to room temperature before grilling.)
- Heat grill to medium-high. Thread several metal skewers through lamb in both directions to hold meat together during cooking.
- Grill lamb until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 140 degrees for medium rare, 10 to 15 minutes per side. Let the meat rest, covered, about 10 minutes. Remove the skewers. Slice the meat thinly, against the grain where possible.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 271 g, Fat 13 g, Protein 35 g
GRILLED LEG OF LAMB
Provided by Ina Garten
Categories main-dish
Time 1h27m
Yield 8 to 12 servings
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Combine the yogurt, olive oil, lemon zest and juice, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a large non-reactive bowl. Add the lamb, making sure it is covered with marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator, covered, overnight or for up to 3 days.
- Bring the lamb to room temperature. Prepare a charcoal grill with hot coals. Scrape the marinade off the lamb, wipe the meat with paper towels, and season it generously with salt and pepper. Brush the grill with oil to keep the lamb from sticking, and grill on both sides until the internal temperature is 120 to 125 degrees for rare. This will take 40 minutes to 1 hour, depending on how hot the grill is.
- Remove the lamb to a cutting board, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 20 minutes. Then slice and serve.
GRILLED BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB WITH LEMON, HERBS, AND GARLIC
Categories Garlic Lamb Marinate Kid-Friendly Backyard BBQ Dinner Summer Grill Grill/Barbecue Thyme Gourmet Small Plates
Yield Serves 8
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Make herb rub:
- Finely chop garlic and in a small bowl stir together with remaining herb-rub ingredients.
- Put lamb in a large dish and with tip of a sharp small knife held at a 45-degree angle cut 1/2-inch-deep slits all over lamb, rubbing herb mixture into slits and all over lamb. Marinate lamb at room temperature 1 hour.
- Prepare grill.
- Lightly pat lamb dry. On a lightly oiled rack set 5 to 6 inches over glowing coals grill lamb about 10 minutes on each side, or until an instant-read thermometer horizontally inserted into thickest part of meat registers 125°F for medium-rare. (Alternatively, roast lamb in a roasting pan in middle of a 425°F oven about 25 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer horizontally inserted into meat registers 125°F for medium-rare.) Transfer lamb to a cutting board. Halve and seed lemon. Squeeze juice over lamb and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 15 minutes.
- Cut lamb into slices and serve with any juices that have accumulated on cutting board.
GRILLED BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB
This is an excellent way to cook lamb. Even friends of ours who've never before liked lamb love this. When feeding children who turn their noses up at lamb we call this steak and they gobble it up. We do eventually tell them they really do like lamb because they just ate it! LOL, love doing that! The measurements are all approximate, use more olive oil if you wish, or more parsley, even sub out oregano for the rosemary. Double the paste recipe if using a large leg. Delicious with wild mushroom risotto and a Greek salad.
Provided by Penny Stettinius
Categories Lamb/Sheep
Time 1h15m
Yield 4-6 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 9
Steps:
- Make sure your lamb has been butterflied evenly so when it cooks evenly.
- Place all ingredients except olive oil into blender or food processor.
- Blend into course goop while slowly adding olive oil until mixture forms a moderately wet paste, somewhat like pesto.
- Spread paste on lamb, cover and refrigerate. Take lamb out of refrigerator two hours prior to grilling.
- On a very hot grill sear lamb then cook covered at medium careful not to scorch.
- Cook until thermometer registers rare.
- Take off grill and cover with aluminum foil, letting the meat rest about 10-25 minutes before carving.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 969, Fat 73.2, SaturatedFat 23.5, Cholesterol 227.9, Sodium 203.6, Carbohydrate 11, Fiber 1.4, Sugar 0.9, Protein 65.1
GRILLED BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB WITH PESTO
Provided by Robert Farrar Capon
Categories dinner, main course
Time 40m
Yield 6 or more servings
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Place lamb in roasting pan. Mix olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper together and pour over lamb. Turn lamb in the pan several times to coat it with the mixture and allow it to marinate several hours at room temperature. Turn occasionally.
- Preheat broiler. Broil the lamb (in the same pan) 10 minutes on one side and 10 minutes on the other, adding a little water to the pan from time to time to keep the bottom from scorching. Remove the pan from the broiler and brush the lamb on both sides with pesto.
- Before returning the pan to the broiler, insert a meat thermometer. Continue broiling until the thermometer reads 140 degrees.
- When lamb is done, remove the pan from the broiler. Brush the serving platter with a little pesto, place the lamb on it and sprinkle the lamb with lemon juice and salt to taste. Let rest in a warm place 5 minutes, slice thin and serve with some of the juices in the platter.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 1224, UnsaturatedFat 45 grams, Carbohydrate 3 grams, Fat 88 grams, Fiber 1 gram, Protein 98 grams, SaturatedFat 35 grams, Sodium 1290 milligrams, Sugar 0 grams
SUE MILLAR PERRY'S GRILLED BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB
Provided by Kathleen Beckett-Young
Categories dinner, main course
Time 6h30m
Yield Eight servings
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- Combine the wine, soy sauce, oil, garlic and herbs and pour over the lamb in a shallow glass or enamel pan (aluminum will react with acidity in the wine and affect the taste). Refrigerate, covered, for 6 hours, turning the lamb occasionally.
- Prepare coals for grilling. Drain the lamb and reserve the marinade. Place the lamb on the grill 4 inches above the coals. Grill 15 minutes per side for rare, or 20 for medium, basting frequently with the marinade. Slice thinly and arrange on a large platter garnished with sprigs of fresh rosemary.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 582, UnsaturatedFat 25 grams, Carbohydrate 4 grams, Fat 42 grams, Fiber 0 grams, Protein 40 grams, SaturatedFat 14 grams, Sodium 1262 milligrams, Sugar 0 grams
GRILLED BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB
Butterflying a leg of lamb produces a more uniform thickness, furthered by pounding, so the meat cooks evenly from end to end. It also creates more surface area for grilling, so that more of the meat takes on a charred taste. In this recipe, the lamb is marinated to infuse it with herbal flavors, but you could simply season it with no more than salt and pepper before grilling.
Yield Serves 6 to 8
Number Of Ingredients 4
Steps:
- Prepare lamb and marinate Cover lamb with plastic wrap. Pound lamb with a meat mallet until it is slightly thicker than 1 inch all over. Reserve 1/2 cup marinade. Place lamb in a large resealable plastic bag and add remaining marinade, then force out air and seal. Massage the lamb a bit to coat it thoroughly. Set bag on a baking sheet (in case of leaks) in the refrigerator and marinate lamb 8 to 24 hours, turning bag occasionally.
- Grill Remove lamb from bag and wipe off and discard as much marinade as possible so surface is dry. Let lamb rest at room temperature 1 hour. Meanwhile, heat grill to medium-high (see Grill Temperature Guidelines, page 162). When it is hot, scrub with a grill brush and sweep lightly with oil. Season lamb on both sides with salt and pepper. Grill (press down with tongs initially to make sure the lamb is evenly in contact with grill) until charred in spots, 5 to 6 minutes, rotating the lamb 90 degrees halfway through. Flip the lamb, then brush with some reserved marinade and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 125°F, again rotating it 90 degrees halfway through. This will take 5 to 6 minutes more. Let lamb rest 5 minutes.
- Serve Slice lamb and serve with remaining reserved marinade on the side.
GRILLED LEG OF LAMB WITH ZINFANDEL MARINADE AND MINT PESTO
This is my absolute favorite way to cook lamb. Adapted from "The Sutter Home Napa Valley Cookbook", the lamb is marinated in a combination of herbs, olive oil, brown sugar, dijon mustard, soy sauce and olive oil for 48 hours and then grilled. TO DIE FOR! And so easy. Great for company because you do this way ahead and then have time for your guests...but still have an impressive, restaurant-quality meal.
Provided by Epi Curious
Categories Lamb/Sheep
Time 1h10m
Yield 8 , 8 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 17
Steps:
- Quickly rinse the lamb under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Trim off any excess fat. With a small, sharp knife, make 1/2 inch deep slits every 2 inches around the entire surface of the meat and insert a garlic sliver into each slit. Transfer to a nonreactive container.
- For the marinade: In a bowl, combine the wine, sugar, mustard, soy sauce, shallots, rosemary and black pepper. Whisk in the olive oil. Pour the mixture over the lamb. Cover and refrigerate for 48 hours, turning the meat at least 3 times.
- About two hours before grilling, remove the lamb from the refrigerator.
- Prepare a covered grill for moderate indirect-heat cooking. Position a drip pan in the center of the fuel grate.
- Remove the lamb from the marinade and set aside. Pour the marinade into a saucepan; place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, then set alongside the grill.
- When the fire is ready, lightly brush the grill rack with vegetable oil. Place the lamb in the center of the rack, cover the grill and cook, turning and brushing with the marinade every 10 minutes, until done to preference when cut into with a small, sharp knife (35 to 40 minutes for medium-rare).
- For the mint pesto: In a medium bowl, combine the mint, peanuts, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar and garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl and set aside. (Pesto can also be prepared in a food processor or blender, which is what I prefer to do).
- Remove the lamb to a cutting surface, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.
- To serve, thinly slice the lamb on the diagonal across the grain. Arrange the slices on a warmed serving platter and place the mint pesto alongside.
Tips:
- Choose the right cut of lamb: A leg of lamb is a great choice for butterflying, as it is a large, flavorful cut of meat that can be easily butterflied and grilled.
- Butterfly the lamb leg properly: To butterfly the lamb leg, make a deep incision down the center of the leg, being careful not to cut all the way through. Open the leg up like a book and pound it flat with a meat mallet.
- Marinate the lamb leg: Marinating the lamb leg in a flavorful marinade will help to tenderize the meat and add flavor. A simple marinade can be made with olive oil, garlic, rosemary, and thyme.
- Grill the lamb leg over medium heat: Grilling the lamb leg over medium heat will help to prevent the meat from becoming dry or overcooked. Cook the lamb leg for about 15-20 minutes per side, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Let the lamb leg rest before serving: Once the lamb leg is cooked, let it rest for 10-15 minutes before serving. This will help the juices to redistribute throughout the meat.
Conclusion:
Grilled butterflied leg of lamb with pesto is a delicious and impressive dish that is perfect for a special occasion meal. By following these tips, you can ensure that your lamb leg is cooked to perfection and that your guests will enjoy a truly memorable meal.
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