I’ve thought carefully on whether to post the recipes from this past Easter in clusters or individually. I’ve chosen the latter for the simple reason of keeping the clarity of recipes in the archives of the blog and to make them easier to search for.
You might get a flurry of posts from me in the coming days and I think all deserve your attention. These are some classics coming up…bookmark, print, save, share and ultimately…cook’em up!
First up is the rotisserie leg of lamb. I was very pleased with how this turned out because I didn’t have to worry about piercing the spit through the leg. The bone structure of the lamb leg makes this task a tricky one.
Instead, the boys over at Kostas Meat Market were kind enough to crack back the shank portion of the leg, fold it over to abut the thigh portion of the leg and then secure the two portions of the leg of lamb with butcher’s twine.
This method allows for more evening cooking, you now have a safe hole to pass your spit/rod through and the method is easily relayed to your butcher or completed by yourself.
To roast a leg of lamb you will need either a souvla or Greek-style spit rotisserie that’s usually reserved for whole lambs or your gas grill, equipped with an electric rotisserie.
When I bought my gas grill, I immediately also bought the accompanying rotisserie as I also like roasting numerous chickens or even a prime rib on the rotisserie.
However, today the focus is on the leg of lamb. It’s roasted in a very simple manner with few ingredients…salt, pepper, fresh garlic and a “ladolemono” which is a baste of olive oil, lemon juice and dried Greek oregano.
Keeping in mind that Greeks prefer their lamb well-done, this method satisfies those tastes so…if you prefer a rare or pink leg of lamb, I suggest roasting your lamb in the oven to desired doneness.
Rotisserie Leg of Lamb
1 long-cut (shank and whole thigh) bone-in leg of lamb
(I used a local Ontario lamb)
sea salt
ground black pepper
5-6 cloves of garlic, cut into slivers
Ladolemono
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp. dried Greek oregano
- Instruct your butcher(or do it yourself) to crack the joint of the lamb where the shank and thigh meet. Bend the shank portion back towards the thigh and secure the two leg parts tightly with butcher’s twine. Rinse and pat-dry your leg.
- Using a sharp kitchen knife, pierce a part of the lamb with it and while the knife is still in the meat, bend the knife to make a small opening and then quickly insert your sliver of garlic. Repeat until the entire area of your lamb has been studded with slivers of garlic.
- Generously season your lamb leg with salt and sprinkle some black pepper all over.
- Secure your leg of lamb onto the rotisserie rod and pre-heat your gas grill to 325-350F. If using a charcoal rotisserie, your spit should be set at a higher level and you should be able to place your hand over the coals and count to about 4 or 5 “steamboats”.
- Place your lamb on the rotisserie and if using a gas grill, a drip pan with some water in it will prevent any flare-ups. Have some extra water at hand to replenish the water when it evaporates.
- Slow roast your lamb for about 3 to 3 1/2 hours and when you start to see it develop a deep brown, gorgeous roasted colour, you may turn up the heat (lower the lamb if using a charcoal pit) and start basting the lamb (occasionally) with the “ladolemono”.
- Your leg of lamb will be done when dark brown, crispy on the outside but still moist, with parts of the leg bone exposed. Carefully remove your leg of lamb. I take the rotisserie off the gas grill, place on a large baking tray and allow to rest in the kitchen, tented for about 30 minutes.
- Carve your leg of lamb, squeze some lemon juice over the meat and sprinkle some dried Greek oregano over it. Serve.
If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at https://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.
© 2007-2009 Peter Minakis
38 Responses
Oh good I am so glad you are doing each recipe alone. I get to learn more! The lamb looks wonderful and you do have great patience in making it come out so perfectly. I had no idea about bending the leg back like that to fit the rotisserie, wouldn’t want it flopping around with each turn! My rotisserie is too small to handle that so I would have to do the oven method. Sigh.
This looks sinful Peter!!! Oh gosh, I don’t wanna learn to roast it… I want you to do it for me!!!! The meat is just perfect and that pink inside is delicious :D. A perfect cooking!
Wow, this could be the most succulent lamb I’ve ever seen! Beautiful!
Peter that looks amazing! That is some hardcore lamb cookery going on there! I feel silly with my little saddle now ;) For some reason, the word rotisserie always makes me laugh. I don’t know why. I am clearly weird.
That looks lip-smacking delish! Now you make me want to run out and get a rotisserie. Or can I come over for leftovers?
Mmmmmm! I love lamb and this one more recipe to add to my collection! I love the technique you’ve employed by using the whole leg on the souvla…amazing!
I think I might be spit roasting a lamb roast this weekend! Thanks!
wow! I bet that was a juicy one! And the smells of it roasting must have been crazy good.
I love those different array of photos in your food blog header.
This looks fabulous! The pics are so great, I feel as though I could pick off some of the crispy parts to taste!
This looks incredible !! WOW. So juicy and tender yest like Janet said lots of great crispies!!!
I like my meat be it steak or lamb to be well done too. And a little bit charred on the skin. Yum!
I can imagine how flavourfull andd soft the meat taste , looks so yumm.
I love your new header pic, with those octopus hanging like that.
Happy to see the posts are coming individual. I agree makes for way better referencing.
That char looks amazing on the leg and there is something about a rotisserie to bring a smile to anyone’s face.
Beautifully done and I love the simplicity of the flavors.
You now have inspired me to dust of the old rot and start spinning some lamb on the charcoal.
well done – you put a lot of work into this
The first and last pictures say it all! That’s a nice leg of lamb.
Ahh…the inserting of the garlic…my favorite part!
I have to tell you, there’s nothing I like more than slicing through perfectly roasted lamb or beef and discovering a warmed clove of garlic that has been strategically inserted. YUM!
This looks absolutely gorgeous!
I was definitely curious about the lamb because it look so damn good. Obviously I’d have to do mine in the oven. And yes, I’m trying lamb again!
Yes sir! And, I am glad to hear the Greeks like their lamb well-done. Now when I get the raised eyebrows, I can assure myself that I’m eating the Greek way. :)
We need to introduce my ham to your lamb – DAMN!!!!
your Easter feast sounds pretty amazing – a ton of work, but probabl a ton of fun.
Wow Peter that looks awesome! One day I really want to rotisserie a leg of lamb!
Peter, I can smell the lamb from here — the photos are just glorious!
Haha, you know, my dad usually eats the head… It used to be that his little bro would fight him for it, but we do Easter on my mom’s side now, so he gets it all to himself!
My uncle was also the one to run around chasing the kids w/ the eyeball on a fork. Ew!!!
Leg of lamb is one of my favs and yours looks gorgeous! Too bad we don’t live next door to each other…
nick and i adore lamb. this looks amazing!
OOOHH yum, It is so hard to find bone in lamb here much less a butcher to crack it. What day is easter next year, I might brave the Toronto cold.
Fantastic Peter. I hope to do a lamb on my new spit sometime this summer:D
oh, charred goodness. the rotisserie is one of the best pieces of equipment ever invented, and i guess we have the cavemen to thank for it. :)
That looks so good I am drooling. I adore lamb on the spit – pity we so seldom have it here in the UK. In South Africa it was a party staple! I am thinking I need to get myself a rotisserie…
We just bought a rotisserie last weekend & lamb is one of the things on the list to make
This looks mouth watering good. I really wish I had a rotisserie…you lucky man!
First of all…do you have the weight of that LOL, ’cause it looks awfully big!!!
Secondly – it is the juiciest piece of lamb that I have ever seen!!!
I am absolutely drooling looking at that photo. How completely delicious!
Hi Peter,great recipe,lamb and Easter go together for Italians and this year I will be cooking two legs at once on the rotisserie using your recipe,wish me luck,Tony.
I am curious how long you cook (and what internal temperature you would target) if cooking a butterflied and rolled leg of lamb on the rotisserie? I ask because your posts on the leg indicate that the Greeks like to cook this well done. My wife is Greek and her family would concur.
I’d like to try your recipe/process with a boneless leg sometime because I think it would be great to expose your marinade to more of the lamb. Thank for your great post and great site!