Grilled Leg of Lamb With Spicy Lime Yogurt Sauce

By Melissa Clark

Published September 10, 2013

Media 1 of 2
Total Time
45 minutes, plus at least 2 hours’ marinating
Rating
5(495)
Comments
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Leg of lamb is elegant, and one leg can feed a crowd. Marinate it with a garlicky herb paste, the longer the better. Overnight in the refrigerator is ideal, but even a few hours at room temperature will help. Just make sure to always pat your lamb dry after marinating; this helps eliminate flare-ups. Butterflied legs of lamb tend to be unevenly cut, giving you thicker and thinner parts. This is good if some of your guests like their lamb more well done than you do, but problematic if everyone likes it rare. If you want rare all around (or well done for that matter), consider cutting the lamb into pieces according to thickness so you can take the thinner ones off the grill first.

Featured in: Late Summer’s Grilling Sweet Spot

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Ingredients

Yield:12 to 15 servings

FOR THE LAMB

  • 1 (5- to 6-pound) boneless butterflied leg of lamb, well trimmed

  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

  • ¼ cup mixed chopped thyme and rosemary

  • Grated zest of 1 orange

  • 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

  • 8 garlic cloves, minced

  • 2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, more as needed

  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

FOR THE YOGURT SAUCE

  • 1 ½ cups plain Greek yogurt

  • ½ cup basil leaves

  • ¼ cup mint leaves

  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1 (1-inch-thick) slice of ginger, coarsely chopped

  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled

  • 1 small jalapeño, halved and seeded if desired

  • 1 large scallion, trimmed

  • Grated zest of 1 lime

  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, or to taste

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 to 15 servings)

4 grams carbs; 125 milligrams cholesterol; 481 calories; 16 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 13 grams saturated fat; 35 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 585 milligrams sodium; 36 grams protein; 2 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Pat lamb dry with paper towels and place it on a rimmed baking sheet. In a bowl, combine oil, herbs, orange zest and juice, the minced garlic cloves, salt and pepper. Rub mixture all over lamb. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate at room temperature for 2 hours, or overnight in the refrigerator.

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, prepare the sauce: Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and add more salt if you like.

  3. Step 3

    Heat the grill. Wipe lamb with paper towels, removing most of the rub, then grill until a digital thermometer reads 120 degrees for rare or 130 for medium (about 6 to 15 minutes per side, depending on how you like your meat and how thick the lamb is). If the meat starts to char before it’s done, move it to a cooler part of the grill to finish cooking. Let rest for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and serving with the yogurt sauce.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
495 user ratings
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Comments

Lynette

I have another recipe for butterflied marinated grilled lamb and it gives an alternate oven method. Place it on a broiling rack. Broil it for 35 minutes or until it reaches the temp you wish, turning once. Hope this helps.

Sierra

The yogurt sauce is AMAZING. It's both delicate and complex, with a nice combination of subtle heat from the jalapeno and cool from the mint.

We served this sauce on lamb shoulder steaks served on a bed of fresh pea shoot sprouts, which provided a nice texture and gave the dish a very 'Spring' look and feel. Drizzled yogurt sauce generously on both lamb and sprouts. Big hit.

This sauce is perfect for lamb, but I think it would be good with almost anything.

Kelly

If you want to cook it evenly, you can make slashes in the butterflied leg which will make the three sections level. And it helps the marinade penetrate the meats. Lots of how-to videos of this on You Tube.

Dee Anna

Made this for a dinner party and everyone really enjoyed the dish. Followed the recipe and thought the lamb was very good-4.5 stars for me. The yogurt sauce was the winner at a 5.5 stars. I can see myself making the sauce for many things-a dip for veg platter, other meats, and even a pasta salad!

Sleepygirl3000

The lamb was indeed amazing but the” sauce”was so thin…tasty but thin. I followed the recipe exactly so not sure. Also, the color of the sauce is strange. Next time will finish with the same chopped herbs and skip the yogurt.

Mariana

Have made this one two years in a row for Easter Sunday. Delicious and always a big hit.

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