Preparation Time 8 minutes

Cooking Time 50 minutes

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1½ kg lamb leg, boned and butterflied

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp chopped capers
grated rind and juice one small lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
freshly ground pepper and salt
salad, to serve

Cooking Instructions:

1. Preheat the barbecue to 200ºC (the burners should be set at medium). Combine the parsley, capers, rind, juice and oil, then rub over the lamb. Then season with pepper and salt.
2. Place the lamb in the centre of the barbecue, skin side up. Turn the burners directly under the lamb off. The remaining burners are left on to conduct and circulate the heat around the lamb.
3. Close the lid and cook for 25 minutes per 500g for a medium result, see tips below. Test for doneness with tongs in the thickest part. Rare is soft when pressed, medium is springy and well done is very firm.
4. Remove lamb, cover loosely with foil, and rest lamb for 10-15 minutes before slicing. Serve the lamb with salad.

Recipe notes:

• Ask your butcher to bone and butterfly the leg of lamb for you. Check weight after bone is removed to determine cooking time. As a general guide cook at 200ºC 20 mins per 500g for rare, 25 mins per 500g for medium./li>
• You’ll find a butterflied lamb leg has an uneven thickness, so the thinner parts will cook faster than the thicker parts, which naturally means some will be cooked a little more, some a little less. A good thing if you guests like varying doneness. Cooking to no more than a medium doneness will keep all of the meat juicy and not overcooked.
• How to slow roast the lamb leg with parsley, capers and lemon:
  Preheat the oven to 160ºC (see tips above). Lightly score the inside of the thickest part of a 1.5kg butterflied lamb leg in a criss-cross fashion, giving the lamb a more overall thickness. Combine 2 tbsp each of chopped parsley and capers, the rind and juice of 1 lemon, and 1 tbsp olive oil, then rub over the lamb. Then season lamb with pepper and salt. Place in roasting dish, cover dish with baking paper and foil, roast for 2 hours, remove paper and foil and roast for a further 30 mins to brown lamb.
• You can lightly score the inside of the thickest part of the butterflied lamb leg in a criss-cross fashion giving the lamb a more overall thickness if you’d like to cook it a little more evenly.
• Cooking a lamb roast in a covered barbecue is just a little different to the way you’d cook it in your oven. You use ‘indirect cooking’ to roast the lamb. Indirect cooking simply means there is no heat directly under the meat as it cooks.
• A kettle barbecue is also a great way to barbecue lamb, cooking over coals adds amazing flavour. As a general rule heap about 25 heat beads in rails on each side of the barbecue. Once the beads have been lit it’s important to allow them to develop to a fine ash stage before adding the lamb. Cook as directed above.
• Slow roasting is another option, cook in the oven at 140ºC for around 4 hours or a little faster at 160ºC for 2-3 hours. Whatever way you choose, use a roasting dish similar to the size of your roast. Cover the dish with baking paper and foil for the first half of the cooking time and then remove it so your lamb browns well. When it’s done the meat will be meltingly tender and fall from the bone.