Grill/Barbecue

Butterflied Leg of Lamb à la Provençale

by:
May 30, 2018
4
2 Ratings
Butterflied Leg of Lamb à la Provençale
Photo by ChefJune
  • Prep time 3 hours
  • Cook time 45 minutes
  • Makes 8 generous servings
Author Notes

This is one of the most delicious and spectacular dishes you can cook on your grill. Your guests will be totally wowed by how fabulous it tastes, and how quickly it cooks.
My Niçoise Potato Salad (posted on Food52) is the perfect accompaniment.
Wash it down with several bottles of delicious Gigondas – perhaps the perfect accompaniment to a Provençal lamb dish.
One word of caution: unless you’re experienced at butterflying, ask your butcher to do this for you. That’s the only tricky part. If you do try it yourself, make sure that the meat is the same thickness across the surface so it will cook evenly. —ChefJune

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 Leg of Lamb trimmed and boned (approximately 5 pounds trimmed weight)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
  • 1 tablespoon fresh marjoram leaves
  • 3 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
  • 1 lemon, juice and zest
Directions
  1. Coarsely chop leaves and garlic. Add lemon zest and mix with oil and juice of the lemon. Rub lamb well, all over. Wrap in plastic, and marinate at least 1 hour. (You can let it sit up to three hours in the refrigerator.)
  2. Grill over rosy red coals, or an electric range top grill, for 45 minutes (to 130 degrees F. internal). Or, you may roast it in the oven–375 degrees F. for 20 to 25 minutes, then slide under the broiler 2 minutes (to 125 degrees F. internal) to achieve that crusty grilled look.
  3. Let sit at least 10 minutes before carving so you don’t lose any of the precious juices.
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  • ChefJune
    ChefJune
  • iacornejo
    iacornejo
  • Helen
    Helen
ChefJune
30+ years a chef, educator, writer, consultant, "winie," travel guide/coordinator

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3 Reviews

iacornejo
iacornejo July 30, 2020
I found this recipe fairly easy to make and full of flavor. The only thing I had trouble with was the rosy red coals, was not sure what temperature that meant in my green egg. Either way everyone in my family of 6 loved this recipe. I plan to be making it more often.
 
Helen
Helen May 25, 2020
This recipe has a few problems. We followed the recipe but the vinegar is not mentioned in the directions. I added it to the marinade. Also think it is weird that the recipe does not call for salt either in the marinade or on the lamb. So I salt and peppered the lamb before adding the marinade to the meat. The marinade is delicious. We cooked it on a gas grill using the indirect method. The timing (45 minutes) was way off. We checked after 23 mins and it was way overcooked. I suspect 10 - 15 mins indirect then searing it off over the heat would work better. This recipe has potential but needs improvement.
 
ChefJune
ChefJune May 26, 2020
Dear Helen: I am SO sorry! There is NO vinegar in this recipe, and I am surprised to see it in the ingredients! I have been making this dish, teaching it, and selling it for many years. I will go back into the recipe and edit the ingredients.
If you think it needs salt, then you should add it. I've always found the marinade to provide the flavoring the roast needs,