Remember when I teased about the grilled leg of lamb and how to earn your grilling apron in my article about grilling? Well, I grilled another one last weekend and this time Iโd like to share the details of how to make a perfectly grilled leg of lamb.

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And if you subscribe to our weekly newsletter, Iโll even tell you the recipe for my killer marinade (just kidding, itโs included Iโm this article...but you should subscribe anyway).
The leg of lamb I bought weighed 6.8 pounds. Thatโs the weight before prepping it. And by prepping, I mean trimming it. Yup, most of the fat on the outside has to go. Leaving it on will not make the meat more tender. Tenderness and flavor in meats comes from the marbled fat within the cut, not from โabove.โ Also, if you leave this fat on, it will render and drip into the grill, creating unwanted flare-ups. In addition, the marinade that you rub on the outside fat will end up in the fire. What a shame. There goes your flavor.
๐ช How to trim a leg of lamb
First things first. Make sure you have a large enough chopping board and a sharp knife. I like to use my boning knife, but a chef's knife works too.
Next, make sure to pat dry the leg of lamb. This way it will be easier to hold on to, plus you have to dry it anyway before putting the marinade on.
Now letโs have some fun! First, cut off the meat around the bone, along the narrow end (see the photo below). Itโs mostly tendons and fatty meats that are best used in a stew or broth. I ended up cutting off about one pound. Plus, it makes the whole leg look sexier ๐
Next, remove the thick flap of fat on all sides. Underneath youโll see some blue skin. If you can, remove it. Some people claim it makes the meat taste gamey when left on, but I normally donโt bother with removing it.
After removing one pound of leg meat, I removed another 12 ounces or so of fat. So the 6.8 pound leg of lamb ended up weighing about 5 pounds (precooked).
With the hard work behind us, weโre ready for the next step.
๐ฟ Marinade
First of all, if youโre making a marinade with herbs, garlic, etc, Iโd recommend using a mortar and pestle. Itโs not just the meditative aspect of hand grinding your ingredients like itโs been done for thousands of years, but it will also incorporate all the aromas into an incredible paste that youโre tempted - donโt - to just eat out of the mortar. My go-to mortar and pestle is a heavy, unpolished granite piece and does a fabulous job grinding stuff.
Besides the โclassic lamb marinade ingredientsโ like garlic, rosemary, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, I add coriander seeds and lemon zest. Try it, itโs phenomenal.
First, grind all the dry ingredients before adding the lemon juice and olive oil.
Once your marinade is all mortared and pestled, itโs time to rub it in. Grab your leg of lamb and make a couple slits along the meat, about 3 inches long and ยฝ inch deep. Pour the marinade in your hands and rub it evenly all over. Make sure you also push some into the slits.
Put the leg of lamb in a large enough dish, cover, and marinate anywhere from 2 hours to overnight. The longer you let it marinate, the deeper the meat will absorb the flavor and the lemon juice will break down the meatโs fibers (making it more tender).
โจ๏ธ Grilling
Low and slow. Yes, you want to grill your leg of lamb over indirect heat on an open grill. Remember: small cuts - high heat, large cuts - low heat.
I started the fire about an hour before I planned to start cooking, using mostly oak and maple. Then, about halfway through cooking, I added some trimmings from our fig tree to add just a hint of sweetness. This will require some hands-on attention, so youโll have to put the beer down for a couple minutes.
Hereโs how itโs done: add the fig tree trimmings to the grill and wait for them to catch fire. Next, put your grill cover on to โextinguishโ the flames. This will create lots of smoke. Leave the cover on for a couple minutes. Remove the cover and let the fig tree trimmings re-catch their flames. Again, put the cover on to create smoke. Repeat about 3 to 5 times.
๐ก๏ธWhen is it perfectly cooked?
The moment your meat thermometer reads 125-130ยฐF (medium-rare), remove from heat and let it rest, loosely covered, for about 20 minutes before carving. Depending on the heat of your wood fire and the size of your leg of lamb, it can take anywhere from 60 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes to reach this internal temperature.
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Did you make this Grilled Leg of Lamb? Let us know in the comments below!
๐ Recipe
Grilled Marinated Leg of Lamb
Ingredients
- 1 bone-in leg of lamb, about 7 lbs before trimming
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons black peppercorns (tellicherry)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Start a wood or charcoal fire
- Dry and trim leg of lamb
- Cut a couple slits along the meat, about 3 inches long and ยฝ inch deep
- Add all dry ingredients in a mortar and grind by hand
- Add lemon juice and olive oil and stir
- Pour the marinade in your hands and rub it evenly all over. Make sure you also push some into the slits.
- Grill over indirect heat, turning every 15 minutes or so
- If you like, add some apple, fig, or olive wood and create some smoke (see article)
- When the meat thermometer reads 125-130ยฐF (medium rare), remove from heat and rest, loosely covered, for about 20 minutes. Depending on the heat of your wood fire and the size of your leg of lamb, it can take anywhere from 60 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes to reach this internal temperature.
- Carve and serve.
Notes
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Onya Ross says
Yup, best leg of lamb eva! Cooked over applewood until โI felt like it was doneโ it was perfect. I didnโt have coriander seed, so I used some ground. Cheers from New Zealand
maplewoodroad says
Fantastic! Thanks so much! We're so glad you enjoyed it. ๐
Chrissy says
I cooked with charcoal and the lid closed, it came out amazing. Thank you for the great recipe. I will make this again!
maplewoodroad says
Thank you so much! ๐
Jane S. says
You have my taste buds going crazy. I have not had grilled lamb, looks amazingly delicious!
maplewoodroad says
Haha, awesome! Enjoy! ๐