Smoked Greek Lamb Leg

Russell Bird

I love lamb, it one of the most flavorful meats that you can get easily in most stores. In my local grocery store, all the lamb that they sell is frozen, and there is nothing wrong with that, but if you can find fresh lamb, that is where it’s at. I was lucky enough to find a deboned lamb leg at my local Costco, so I grabbed it up and planned an awesome cook around it for my Sunday while watching NFL football. Sometimes lamb is cooked low and slow and you take it up to high temperatures like 200 degrees and then pulled, but in my opinion the higher end cuts of lamb should be cooked to lower temperatures and then eaten medium or medium rare in the 140–145-degree range. Today we are going to teach you to make the best lamb leg ever in just 7 easy steps.

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 3

Course Main Course

Cuisine Greek, Lamb

Servings 8

Equipment

Butcher Twine
Hickory Wood Pellets
BBQ Tongs
Pellet Grill or Charcoal Smoker
Yonedas Okami Chef Knife
You Need a BBQ Cutting Board
Fireboard

Ingredients

1 whole Boneless Leg of Lamb
1/4 cup Spiceology Greek Freak Rub
1/4 cup Meat Church Gourmet Garlic and Herb Seasoning
1/4 cup Olive Oil

Instructions

Preparation

When you buy a deboned leg of lamb, it usually comes wrapped in butcher webbing, so the first step is to remove the packaging and the webbing. Next you want to trim off most of the fat. The fat on a lamb contains all the gamey flavor, so get rid of it. Once you have removed all the fat, you want to coat the lamb in olive oil. This will act as a binder to hold your seasonings. Sprinkle the lamb with the Meat Church Herb and Garlic rub and then cover that in a heavy coating of the Spiceology Greek Freak rub. This combination of flavors can sit on the meat for at least 40 minutes, but I left mine in the fridge covered overnight. Once you are done seasoning it you want to either put the webbing back onto the lamb if you didn’t cut it all up or use some butcher twine to shape the lamb leg to be round again.

Smoke the Lamb

Preheat your smoker to 275 degrees.
Let the lamb rest on the counter for around 30 minutes before throwing it on the smoker, you do not want to put it directly on the smoker from the fridge. If you did not have time to put it in the fridge then that is ok, just get it on there. Once the lamb is on the smoker, you do not really need to do anything else until it reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees. Using an instant read thermometer or a wireless one like a Fireboard or the one that comes in a Louisiana Grills Black label 1000 you will know exactly when you hit 140 degrees. Pull the lamb off the smoker and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Searing the Lamb Leg

After you are done resting, you want to crank your smoker up to 500 degrees or hotter and place the leg of lamb back onto the cooker to sear the outside for around 5 minutes. You just want to create a crust on the outside of the lamb. Once you have created a bit of a crust, take the lamb off the smoker. You have already rested the lamb, so you can start slicing it right away.

Slicing the Lamb

Remove the swine or webbing from the lamb and then slice the leg into pencil thick slices. Lamb can be very tender but slicing it thin helps to make it that much easier to eat. If you rested it properly, your cutting board would have a little bit of juice, but if the juices are running all over the place then you probably didn’t rest it long enough.

Step by Step

Remove the packaging and twine from the lamb leg.
Coat the lamb in olive oil and the Meat Church herb and garlic rub and then a coat of the Spiceology Greek Freak.
Let the lamb rest in the Fridge for 40 minutes or up to overnight.
Remove the lamb from the fridge and put it on the smoker at 275 degrees until it reaches 140 degrees F. internal temperature.
Remove the lamb from the smoker and let it rest for 15 minutes.
Sear the lamb at around 500 degrees F for 5 minutes to develop a crust.
Slice and Serve!

Notes

Where should I get my lamb?

I bought this lamb from Costco, but most grocery stores now carry some cuts of lamb. If you have to buy it frozen, that’s ok, just leave enough time to safely thaw the lamb in your refrigerator (2 days for a deboned leg of lamb). The lamb I got was Australian lamb, but there is nothing wrong with getting Canadian, USA, or New Zealand lamb (or others).

What is the difference between Lamb and Mutton?

When you buy lamb at the store, it is usually spring lamb or baby lamb. Baby lamb is slaughtered between 6-10 weeks old and spring lamb is typically between 5 and 6 months old. Mutton on the other hand has a much higher fat content and a brighter red color is usually over 1-2 years old. The younger the lamb, the milder the flavor, so I’d recommend starting with a spring lamb and go from there.

Is this recipe Gluten Free?

Yes! Lamb is gluten free and every seasoning we use in this recipe is also gluten free. So if you are celiac or on a gluten reduced diet, this is a great meal for you!

What is the best internal temperature for lamb?

I like to eat my lamb leg medium, so it is cooked to 140-145 degrees F. If you want to eat it medium rare then that would be 135-140 degrees F. If you want well done, then you should take the lamb up over 150 degrees F. To create pulled lamb, you should take the lamb up to 200 degrees F and then start probing for tenderness. It all comes down to personal preference, but lamb can be enjoyed at a variety of internal temperatures.

What do you do with lamb leftovers?

When I made this lamb, I made lamb chili. Lamb Chili is simple by just taking your favorite chili recipe and using diced lamb meat instead of the other meat like ground beef or pork that you would have used. I even put the lamb chili into lamb tacos as well. Lamb leftovers are super versatile, so don’t be intimidated by the size of a leg of lamb, because lamb leftovers are delicious.

Smoked Greek Lamb Leg