Smoked Leg of Lamb
Submitted by donnylau
Hickory-smoked leg of lamb rubbed with garlic, rosemary, vermouth, and olive oil. Low and slow on a water smoker for 4 to 6 hours until tender and smoky.
Smoking a whole leg of lamb transforms it into something you won’t find at any restaurant. Hickory chips and a water pan keep the meat moist over 4 to 6 hours of low, indirect heat, while a garlic-rosemary rub perfumes every inch of the surface.
Garlic slivers get tucked into small incisions cut across the lamb, so the flavor penetrates deep into the meat rather than just sitting on top. A quick rub of dry vermouth, olive oil, crumbled bay leaf, thyme, and rosemary builds an aromatic crust that intensifies as it smokes. This rub can go on up to 24 hours ahead, which lets the salt and herbs season the meat through.
The water pan is essential. Five quarts of water between the coals and the meat acts as a heat buffer, keeping temperatures low and steady while adding humidity that prevents the surface from drying out during the long smoke.
Chef Tips
- Bring the lamb to room temperature before smoking. Cold meat straight from the fridge extends cooking time and smokes unevenly.
- Soak the hickory chips for at least 30 minutes before adding to the coals. Dry chips burn fast and don’t produce enough smoke.
- Use an instant-read thermometer and pull at 150°F (65°C) for medium. The internal temp will rise another 5-10 degrees as the lamb rests.
- Let the lamb rest for 20 minutes before carving. Cutting too soon releases all the juices onto the cutting board.
Variations
- Use mesquite or apple wood chips instead of hickory for a different smoke flavor.
- Add a mint chimichurri on the side for a fresh, herbaceous contrast.
- Butterfly the leg (remove the bone) for faster, more even smoking.
Ingredients
Directions
Trim excess fat from lamb.
Cut ½-inch incisions 2 inches apart over surface of lamb; insert slivers of garlic into incisions.
Rub lamb with salt and pepper.
Combine vermouth, olive oil, bay leaf, thyme and rosemary in small bowl; work this mixture into lamb.
(Lamb can be refrigerated at this point, tightly wrapped in plastic, up to 24 hours.
Bring to room temperature before smoking.
) Set up smoker, using 8 pounds briquets and 2½ cups soaked and drained hickory chips.
Add 5 quarts water to water pan.
Place lamb on upper rack of smoker; smoke until instant- reading thermo- meter inserted into thickest part of meat away from bone registers 150F or medium or 160F for well done, 4 to 6 hours.
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