A beautiful leg of lamb is usually at the center of my mother’s Christmas table. Unfortunately, like this year, I am not always able to have Christmas dinner with her so I am going to have to get my lamb fix elsewhere… namely my rotisserie! Not my mom’s recipe (because no one roasts leg of lamb like her), this lamb is slathered with Dijon mustard, garlic, rosemary and thyme, then rolled up and rotisserie grilled to perfection. I roasted carrots and potatoes in the drip pan beneath the lamb to to put those dripping to good use. This recipe was inspired while recently revisiting Mastering The Art of French Cooking by Julia Child.

Rotisserie Leg of Lamb Provençal

serves eight to ten

One 4- to 5-pound boneless leg of lamb, butterflied
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

2-1/2 pounds waxy potatoes, cut into wedges (I used Yukon Gold and Purple Bliss)
1 pound small carrots, cut in half, if necessary
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Extras:
Butcher’s twine
Instant Read Thermometer

Grilling Method:
Indirect/rotisserie

Have your butcher butterfly your leg of lamb. If you don’t have a butcher, it’s really not that hard because half the job was done when they took the bone out. Remove lamb from the netting and turn it over to where the cuts have been made to remove the bone. Sometimes it isn’t cut all the way through, so finish the cut so the meat open up “flat”.

You just want to even it up a bit so that the entire piece is the same thickness – about 1 1/2 to 2 inches. Do this by holding the knife parallel to work surface and begin slicing inward, pulling back the meat with your free hand and unrolling the thicker pieces like a carpet.

Season the meat well on both sides with salt and pepper. Whisk together the mustard, olive oil, garlic, and herbs. With the “bone side” facing up liberally slather the meat with two-thirds of the mustard mixture making sure to get it in ll the nooks and crannies. Roll up the lamb from one of the shorter ends and secure with the butcher’s twine every one to two inches. Run the rotisserie spit through the roast and secure with the spit tines. Spread the remaining mustard mixture over the outside of the roast.

Set up the grill for indirect/rotisserie cooking with a drip pan and stabilize the heat at 325°F to 350°F. Toss the potatoes and carrots with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the vegetables in a drip pan and position the pan below where lamb will be on the rotisserie.

Fit the spit into the rotisserie attachment, turn on the motor, and close the grill cover. Roast for about 60 to 90 minutes, stirring the vegetables around the pan halfway through cooking. Continue cooking until the internal temperature of the lamb is 135°F (medium-rare) or 145°F (medium). Remove the rotisserie from the grill and transfer to a cutting board – leave the lamb on the rotisserie; cover with aluminum foil. Allow the lamb to rest for about 20 minutes. Test the vegetables to see if they are cooked through; if not (mine weren’t), turn up the heat on the grill and continue roasting the vegetables while the lamb rests.

Once rested, slide the lamb off of the rotisserie spit and cut the the strings off the roast. Slice the lamb into 1/2-inch pieces and serve with roasted vegetables.

Cheers and Happy Grilling!

~ Jeff