Grilled Butterflied Leg Of Lamb

6-pound leg of lamb, boned

Marinade:

2/3 cup good quality olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup chopped flat parsley

1 tablespoon dried oregano

3 bay leaves crumbled

1 1/2 cups thinly sliced onions

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

Salt and coarse black pepper

Ask the butcher to bone and butterfly the leg of lamb. At home, place meat on a board fat side down. The meat should lie flat. Cut through and separate any pockets of meat and remove any clumps of fat. You may wish to remove the small piece of attached meat that tends to be full of gristle.

Marinade: Combine olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, parsley, oregano and crumbled bay leaves in a large pan or baking dish. Mix in onions and garlic. Season both sides of lamb with salt and pepper and place in pan with marinade, turning meat to coat both sides. Cover the meat with foil wrap and marinate in the refrigerator at least 12 and as long as 24 hours, removing to room temperature the last 2 hours. Turn meat every few hours or at least the last few hours at room temperature.

To grill meat: From start to finish and using a preheated hot grill, the leg of lamb should take approximately 25 to 30 minutes to cook. Make sure grill has been preheated at least 15 minutes. Remove meat from marinade and lay fat side down on hot grill, grids placed about 6 inches above heat. Cook meat 7 minutes, turn with a pair of tongs and moisten with a few tablespoons of marinade. Cook another 7 minutes, turn. Cook 5 minutes, turn and cook 5 minutes longer and finish with 2 more minutes of cooking. Ideally the meat should be pink rimmed with a dark brown crust and a suggestion of red in the center. Thinner areas will be quite well done. In other words, there will be something for everybody -- rare, pink, medium and well done.

Rest meat on a board, lightly covered with foil, for at least 15 minutes and up to 25 minutes before carving. Carve the leg against the grain into thin slices. Moisten meat with any juices on the board and serve on warmed plates.

Makes 12 servings.