Grilled Lamb

This recipe is a labor of love. I am not a butcher or chef, so the processing of the lamb required one hour. The marinade and grilling procedure can be applied to virtually any cut of lamb, but after years of grilling lamb this is the best recipe I have found. To me it is worth the effort, but I only serve it to family or close friends that truly love lamb. I also prefer New Zealand lamb that is guaranteed to be one year old or less and is grass fed with no fattening. It is leaner and has more of a game flavor than US produced lamb.

1 boneless leg of New Zealand lamb

Olive oil for brushing

Creole Seasoned Salt to taste

Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Seam the leg. This is the meat cutters term for separating all of the muscles. I remove the silver skin and almost all of the fat leaving pure lean lamb. This yields three large muscles one smaller cylindrical piece, and a large thin piece. There is also a modest amount of scrap that contains some fat and silver skin. The latter is frozen and later ground for kofta, the Middle Eastern ground meat kabobs.

Prepare the Marinade (recipe follows) and place the 5 larger pieces of lamb and marinade in a zip-top plastic bag, zip the bag almost closed, expel as much air as possible, and zip the bag fully closed. Marinate the lamb refrigerated for 2 to 3 days, turning once a day. Remove the lamb from the plastic bag reserving the marinade. Light the grill for very hot direct cooking (600°F.). Brush the meat with oil and season with Creole Season Salt and a good quantity of fresh ground pepper.

Grill the three larger pieces of lamb directly over the fire, lid closed for 12 to 16 minutes until 125°F turning every 4 minutes. Remove them to a plate and cover with aluminum foil. Grill the three smaller pieces 4 minutes per side, lid closed. And remove the remaining pieces, slice all, and serve.

Marinade

3/4 cup olive oil

6 tablespoons red wine vinegar

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

Place the garlic and rosemary in a food processor and add enough oil to cover (approximately 1/2 cup). Process on high until the garlic and rosemary are further reduced in size. Add the remaining oil and the vinegar. Process on high until the mixture is well blended.