Rotisserie-Smoked Leg of Lamb

Leg of lamb is such a dramatic dish. And if you're going to cook one, slow-roasted on a rotisserie in a smoke-filled grill chamber is about as good as it gets. There's just something about the way the smoke of a grill coaxes out so much flavor from lamb...it's incredible. I wanted to create a leg of lamb recipe for any season, and my pellet grill and rotisserie spinner were up to the task.

Porcelain Oval Platter | Kitchen Towel

To start, I created a flavorful rub to infuse flavor. Rosemary, coriander, fennel seeds, duck fat (see recipe for everything included) - a perfect blend of seasonings, processed in my Ninja food processor (one of my favorite things for small-batch mixing) until it was a coarse paste.

Then I laid out the deboned leg of lamb (ask your butcher to debone it for you to speed up the process) and spread the paste on the inside. I wrapped the leg of lamb around the rotisserie spinner with butcher's twine — horizontally across the long side and vertically across the shorter sides. This helps to get the leg of lamb in uniform shape for more even cooking.

Next I added another layer of paste to the exterior in a thin coating. In goes the MEATER Plus wireless thermometer to the center of the leg of lamb, and I put the rotisserie spinner in the grill. A little tray underneath helps catch any juices, and the grill got fired up to 400 degrees.

While I waited on the lamb to cook, I made a quick herb salad with roughly chopped parsley, sliced red onion, lemon zest and juice, honey, olive oil, coarse ground black pepper and flaky sea salt. Sprinkle in some sumac if you have it on hand — it has a tangy lemon flavor that's just right for this dish.

Rotisserie Spinner | Tray

I pulled the lamb off the grill with heat-proof gloves once it reached 135 degrees since the carryover cooking takes it to 140 degrees. My kids like their lamb done a little more medium-well (that'll be the end slices), my wife takes the center pieces at medium and I go for the thicker side which ends at a good medium-rare. I let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving with the juices dripped overtop and the herb salad on the side.

Cutting Board | Knife | Tongs | Kitchen Towel

Stainless Steel Bowl | Porcelain Oval Platter | Knife | Tongs | Cutting Board | Kitchen Towel

This rotisserie leg of lamb dish is a feast for the eyes and most definitely a feast for your taste buds. If you don't have a rotisserie, you can butterfly the lamb out flat and grill it that way. There are also rotisserie kits like the ROTO-Q that can be added on to grills or ovens, though I haven't tried one of those.

Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think!

Rotisserie Leg of Lamb

Recipe by Chris Loves Julia

0.0 from 0 votes

Course: Dinner

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

45

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 3-5lb deboned leg of lamb

• For the Rub

• 1/2 cup fresh rosemary leaves

• 1 tsp coriander seed

• 1 tsp fennel seed

• 1/3 cup brown or dijon mustard

• 1/8 tsp celery seed

• 2 tsp coarse salt

• 1 tsp coarse black pepper

• 2 tbsp duck fat or olive oil

Directions

• Turn pellet grill to 400 degrees and let heat up.
• Combine all the rub ingredients in a food processor and blend until it forms a coarse paste. Butterfly open the leg of lamb and spread an even, thin layer of the rub. Wrap around the rotisserie spit, tie with butchers twine until tightly and evenly wrapped, then spread more of the rub over the outside.
• Place the spit spikes on to hold the meat in place while it spins, insert a MEATER plus probe thermometer into the center. Place on the rotisserie with a foil tray underneath and cook until the thermometer hits 135 degrees. Let rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving warm. Finish with a drizzle of fresh lemon juice over top if desired.