Sarah is an adventurous food photographer and writer who has…
Sarah Kenney presents a great idea for a fantastic way to prepare lamb for Labor Day weekend.
By Sarah Kenney
I had another great class at Williams Sonoma on Saturday. We ate some delicious bbq grilled steak and sausages. That definitely put me in the mood to cook any kind of meat dish. My brother and his family came for a visit recently. They were wonderful company and we all had a super time. My Sister-in-law is taking some cooking courses through Viking School in Mississippi so I wanted to make something special for all of us since they love cooking as well.
I turned to my trusty Curtis Stone’s program “Take Home Chef” and found just the right meat dish – Barbequed Leg of Lamb stuffed with Garlic.
After braising the lamb on the stove top, it is covered in a thick layer of honey. Messy indeed but fun! Garlic cloves are lightly bruised and stuffed on the inside. The lamb is laid on rosemary stems and rolled up with twine. Just preparing this was so aromatic I knew it was going to taste delicious. Honey, garlic, rosemary?? Wonderful scents already…
Lamb is so aromatic cooking on the grill. I think the entire neighborhood could smell this delicious scented roast from our backyard.
I will shamelessly highlight a new item that I purchased at that Williams Sonoma class! It is an instant read thermometer. It is magical with meats. I kept inserting it periodically into the leg of lamb. It instantly reads the temperature. I was able to pull that meat off at just the right time in order for it to rise a little more while cooling and resting.
I would definitely cook this again. It would make a wonderful BBQ for Labor Day weekend. The scents are divine, the cut of lamb is succulent and juicy. I scooped out the garlic and served it with the juices from the meat.
PrintLabor Day BBQ Lamb with Rosemary, Honey and Garlic
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- Author: Sarah Kenney, adapted from Curtis Stone
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 8-10 1x
Description
The succulent and juicy lamb is BBQ’d wrapped in rosemary and honey. In addition, roasted garlic rolled inside of the lamb add a flavor that is delicious. This is a wonderful BBQ for a holiday gathering.
Ingredients
- 20 large branches fresh long-stemmed rosemary
- Six 24-inch/60-cm long strands of kitchen twine
- One 6-pound/2.5-kg whole leg of lamb, large bone removed
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 garlic cloves, bruised (I used more because I love garlic)
- 1/4 cup/90 ml honey
Instructions
- Soak the rosemary branches and kitchen twine in cold water for 1 hour. This will help prevent the rosemary and twine from burning while they are on the grill.
- Prepare the barbecue for high heat.
- Sprinkle the leg of lamb generously with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Grill the leg of lamb for 5 minutes, or until brown on all sides on high heat.
- Transfer the lamb to a baking sheet.
- Rub the garlic over the outside of the lamb then place the garlic pieces inside the lamb. Lay the strands of kitchen twine horizontally across a work surface, spacing them evenly apart.
- Lay the rosemary branches perpendicularly atop the twine.
- Spread half of the honey over 1 side of the lamb and lay the lamb honey side down atop the rosemary.
- Spread the remaining honey over the top and sides of the lamb. The honey will help adhere the rosemary to the lamb.
- Tie the twine as tightly as possible around the lamb and rosemary, completely encasing the lamb with the rosemary. Decrease the heat of the barbecue to medium so that the temperature inside the barbecue is about 350°F/170°C (use an oven thermometer to help gauge the temperature inside the barbecue). Place the lamb on the grill. Cover the barbecue and grill the lamb about 1 hour and 30 minutes, turning the lamb on a regular basis, or until an instant-read meat thermometer registers 140°F/60°C when inserted into the thickest part of the lamb meat.
- Transfer the lamb to a carving board and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Remove the twine and rosemary from the lamb.
- Carve the lamb into slices and serve with any juices that accumulate on the carving board.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 mins
Sarah is an adventurous food photographer and writer who has moved six times with her family from the U.S. to Wales, Japan and back. They are affectionately known as "The Rolling Stones". She is a passionate chef who thinks that their experiences living in Louisiana, Michigan, New York, Missouri, Kansas, and now Texas culminate in shared meals and tales around the table as her family experiences each regions offerings of cuisine and culture. Texas is her current stop and good food and good times are a passion of this southern state. She writes about her foodie adventures in her blog "Snippets of Thyme".
What a great recipe, and photos too!
Thank you Tamara! This is definitely our all time favorite way of cooking lamb. The smells are so powerful!
Love your photos here! And wow, what a BBQ recipe…looks amazing :)
Thank you Alisha. This is certainly our favorite lamb recipe!