My family has a special holiday dish that is a boneless leg of lamb marinade. To be truthful, this was a special dish during my childhood years, since my family (aka parents) lamb. As I crossed over into adulthood, I would prepare this special dish and bring it to my married-family special holiday gatherings.
I came to understand that….
If you love the taste of lamb, you will love this easy recipe. If you do not love the taste of lamb, you may never become a lamb convert. It is my experience that many people who have tried lamb had it poorly prepared and are like, “No thank you, I don’t like lamb.” It’s a pity because I do believe this boneless leg of lamb marinade can change minds! It’s delicious!
So, for all you fellow lovers of prepared lamb, this one’s for you! (And I wish you much success in converting your non-lamb eaters!)
A quick Google search will tell you that 24-hours is a good rule-of-thumb with marinading a leg of lamb. I’ve easily gone two days before with complete confidence.
The more important question probably is, “Should I even marinate a lamb?” The correct answer is, “It depends.” By definition, lamb is very tender meat that doesn’t need a long amount of time to cook. You will find that most restaurants will cook it warm (aka pink because overcooked lamb gets chewy.
Since this recipe is for a leg of lamb, I recommend a boneless leg of lamb (I scored mine from Aldi’s, but your local butcher can hook you up) and then you are going to cut it up in small cubes. The important thing is to remove any silver skin from the meat. Those make chewing tough. I wrote a post about how to trim a rack of lamb, so you can simply follow those same instructions.
Why does lamb get chewy?
Another great question! The first thing is to make sure you remove any silver skins that may be on the meat. Then make sure you cut against the grain. Cutting with the grain basically means you are cutting long, tough proteins. Nobody wants to chew on that!
Another great thing about a marinade is that they usually have a high salt content. This allows the salt to tenderize from the inside-in. This is why you let it sit so long in the fridge.
This recipe calls for stovetop cooking.
Why? Because that is how my family always prepared it. It’s quick and easy and the smells from the garlic, herbs, and wine and dy-no-mite!
- Slow cook? Yes, you totally can cook this in a slow cooker on low for four hours or until internal temperature reads 135-145 degrees.
- Bake in ? Yes, by all means, bake it in the oven on 350 degrees until internal temperature reads 135-145 degrees.
- Have a bone-in leg of lamb? In case I didn’t mention it if you happen to have a bone-in leg of lamb, you absolutely can use this marinade. I do it all the time! Cook it in the oven and make sure you get the internal temperature to 135-145. You’ll be good to go!
Our family recipe originated from the Low Carbohydrates Dieter’s Cookbook by William Thorne, however I’ve adapted it over the years to reflect my personal taste. I hope that you bookmark or Pin this for whenever you get the desire to cook a leg of lamb.
Have you ever wanted to cook a leg of lamb and something held you back? May I help you take the first step?
Enjoy your lamb.
Eat well, my friends.
Lyndi
Boneless Leg of Lamb Marinade
Ingredients
- 3-4 pounds boneless leg of lamb
- 1.5 cups cabernet sauvignon wine
- 1.5 cups olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- 1 tsp ground onion powder
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 pinch dried chili flakes
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Trim lamb of any silver tendons and cut into bite-sized cubes. Place in gallon size plastic zip bag.
- Add remaining ingredients to bag and close. Refrigerator for 24-48 hours.
- Heat skillet on medium heat and saute entire content of bag until internal temperature of lamb is 135-145 degrees. If you prefer a more tender lamb, cook to 130-135 degrees.
- Remove from heat, serve, and enjoy!
