This is the most important lamb roast recipe on the internet. I think I came across it originally a NZ lamb website and later at a US website (webarchive) but both have disappeared over the years so I thought I better archive it here.
Butterflied Leg of Lamb Tejano Style
A marinated lamb dish that's cooked with charcoal/BBQ or oven.
Serves: 8-10
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 60 + minutesView Nutritional Facts
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3-4 1/2 pound leg boneless lamb, trimmed of most excess fat
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
2 tablespoons. ground cumin
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoons vanilla extract, pure
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
Marinade. Mix all of the marinade ingredients except the oil in a bowl. Briskly stir in the olive oil. Put the lamb, fat side down, in a shallow bowl or baking dish and pour the marinade over it. Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate and marinate for up to 2 days. Turn the lamb occasionally.
Build a medium-hot charcoal fire in a covered kettle barbecue or light a covered gas grill. Remove the lamb from the marinade and shake off any excess. Grill it directly over the coals, with the barbecue covered, turning it frequently. It should take a total of 30 to 35 minutes to get the lamb medium-rare. To be sure, test the lamb in a thick area with an instant-read meat thermometer that is it appropriately cooked through. This will give you medium-rare meat at the thickest parts and medium at the thinner areas. Let the meat rest for 10 to 15 minutes, loosely covered with foil, before slicing.
If you don't have a covered BBQ, I have used a large oval foil oven tray as a cover on an open grill BBQ.
I have had success cooking this in a steel tray with a wire rack lightly covered in foil (30 minutes covered and remove for the last 30 minutes) in the oven to lift and roast both sides of the lamb. If cooked this way on a rack/tray in the oven, the marinade and drippings make a good base for gravy.
