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Marinated Butterflied Leg of Lamb
6 pounds leg of lamb, boned and butterflied -- (6 to 7)
1/4 cup corn oil
1/4 teaspoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary (1 tsp. dried)
Arrange the meat so it lies before you like a messy open book made
out of meat. Score the larger slabs 1/2" deep with a sharp knife so
they'll cook at the same rate as the thinner parts. Lay the lamb
flat in a large nonreactive dish. In a small owl, whisk together the
oil, soy sauce, lemon rind, lemon juice, garlic, parsley and
rosemary; pour them over the meat. Turn the lamb over a couple of
times to coat it with the marinade. Cover the dish with plastic wrap
and chill it for 24-48 hours, turning the lamb several times; this
gives the marinade time to penetrate the meat.
Bring the lamb to room temperature before cooking. (Except in the
dead of summer, this will take at least 2 hours.) It is helpful at
this point, though not essential, to skewer the meat from left to
right. One skewer should go through the top third and one through
the bottom third. This will keep the meat more tidy and compact.
INDOOR COOKING: Preheat the oven to 375�F, with a rack in the upper
third. Transfer the meat, boned side up, to a large shallow roasting
pan. Pour the marinade over it. Bake it for 20-25 minutes, without
turning. For rare lamb (the recommended doneness), a meat
thermometer inserted into the thickest lobe will read 120�F. Remove
the lamb from the oven and turn up the heat to broil. To make it
look more "grilled", put the lamb as close as possible to the
broiler element and broil it for 2 minutes, without turning.
Transfer it to a carving board and let it rest, covered with foil,
for 10 minutes before you carve it. Slice the meat against the
grain.
OUTDOOR COOKING: When your coals are at their hottest, transfer the
meat to an oiled, double-sided rack and barbecue it for 45 minutes
to 1 hour, turning the rack every 5 minutes and brushing the meat
with the marinade. For rare meat, cook until a meat thermometer
inserted into the thickest lobe registers 120�F. Put the meat onto a
carving board and let it rest, covered with foil, for 10 minutes
before carving against the grain.
Serves 6-8.
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