“Here’s one of my favorite recipes for smoked leg of lamb with a little Moroccan flair. It’s sure to be a crowd pleaser at your next gathering.”
-Alan Weene, General Manager & Certified EGGspert
When I’m entertaining family and friends, there’s nothing better than smoking or slow-roasting a big hunk of meat on the Big Green Egg. Very little preparation is required, and the “low and slow” cooking method allows you to spend plenty of quality time with your guests without having to run back and forth to the grill. With a little practice you’ll be dishing out the best BBQ in the neighborhood and you’ll be the envy of everyone’s epicurean eye.
Here’s one of my favorite recipes for smoked leg of lamb with a little Moroccan flair. It’s sure to be a crowd pleaser at your next gathering.
Ingredients:
- One bone-in leg of lamb, 4-6 lbs
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons coarse ground sea salt
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon allspice
Cooking Instructions:
- Start by selecting a fine quality piece of meat from a reputable butcher. I always order my lamb and any other special cuts of meat from Chester Meat Market. A 4-6 lb bone-in leg of lamb is what I’ve selected for this recipe, although boneless leg or loin is also a possibility. I find that bone-in tends to be the most flavorful.
- Remove your leg of lamb from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Do not trim any of the fat.
- Combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl to make your spice rub. Make sure to use coarse ground black pepper and coarse sea salt to ensure a nice thick bark on the exterior of the meat after it has been smoked. I get all of my sea salts and dried herbs from Saltopia in Hackettstown. They have the highest quality and purity salts, and it makes a noticeable difference in the way your food tastes. Try it, you won’t be disappointed.
- Apply a thin even coating of extra virgin olive oil on the lamb.
- Evenly distribute your spice rub all over the leg of lamb. You should do this no more than 30-45 minutes before placing it on the Big Green Egg.
- Time to fire up the Egg. Always use Big Green Egg 100% Natural Oak and Hickory Premium Lump Charcoal, and adding some smoking wood to the fire will give your roast a little extra flavor. For this recipe I used Apple chips soaked in water for 30 minutes. It gave the lamb a subtle but sweet and smoky flavor.
- Set your temperature for 250° F. Make sure the top vent is open just a little bit in order to keep all of that nice smoke inside the Egg. All of your temperature adjustments should be made from the draft gate at the bottom. Once you’ve reached the desired temperature, add your smoking chips to the hot coals and set your Egg for indirect cooking by placing the ConvEGGtor (legs up), drip pan, and the cooking grid on the Egg.
- Place your leg of lamb on the center of the cooking grid with the fatty side facing up.
- Optional: add a single layer of roasting vegetables to the drip pan, seasoned and drizzled with olive oil. I used sweet potatoes, carrots, garlic, brussels sprouts, beets, and whole baby bella mushrooms.
- Smoke for 2 – 2.5 hours until internal temperature reads 140° F (medium rare). Remove from grill and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.
