Lamb not Ham

Everyone in my family loves lamb. So for the last few Thanksgivings I've marinated a boneless leg of lamb and then grilled it for our Thanksgiving day meal. I love it because it is so easy and I don't have to worry about it needing precious oven time - I have a regular single oven kitchen. Everyone else loves it because it is so delicious. It makes a great compliment to the turkey.

I buy a 4-5 pound boneless leg of lamb. In an ideal world I would buy a 4-5 pound butterflied leg of lamb which would be a bit easier to grill since it is an even thickness throughout, but I can't ever seem to find a butterflied leg of lamb bigger than 1 or 2 pounds so I go with the boneless and make it work.

This year I picked up my lamb with my turkey on Tuesday. When I got it all home I mixed

1/2 cup of olive oil,
1/2 cup of crushed garlic,
1/2 cup of chopped fresh rosemary

into a paste and spread it over the inside and outside of the meat. The I ground sea salt and black pepper over both sides of the meat. After that, I put the whole thing into a gallon sized ziploc bag - squeezed out the extra air and put it in the fridge.

On Wednesday, I pulled out the bag with the lamb in it and added

1 cup of dry red wine

I resealed the bag and worked the wine and the lamb around with my hands to make sure the wine was getting into all the nooks and crannies. I put the lamb back in the fridge and turned it over once or twice during the day.

Thursday I'll take the lamb out of the fridge about one hour before I plan to grill it so that it can come to room temperature. If the weather co-operates I'll grill it outside. I'll make a fire on one side of my grill - sear the lamb on each side for 3 to 5 minutes and then move it to the cool side and cover until it is done. The lamb varies widely in thickness so some of it will be well done and some will be quite rare, but I actually find this to be an advantage since some family members like it charred and others prefer it very pink.

If it is wind blown rain tomorrow - as predicted - I'll cook it in the broiler and finish it in a hot oven. I'll be able to do this since the turkey will be sitting and resting and the lamb can be cooked in the last 1/2 hour before we sit down to eat.

I'll serve the lamb with lemon wedges - fresh squeezed lemon juice on grilled lamb. I can't wait!