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    Home » Pit Boss Recipes

    Published: Mar 4, 2024 · Modified: May 31, 2024 by Mads Martigan · This post may contain affiliate links · 3 Comments

    Smoked Leg of Lamb on a Pit Boss Pellet Grill

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    A delicious Boneless Leg of Lamb smoked and seared on a Pit Boss pellet grill, then served with a simple Red Wine and Shallot Reduction.

    sliced leg of lamb roast on a white plate

    While ribs, pork butt, and beef brisket usually take center stage on the backyard smoker, sometimes it's fun to switch things up and go an unconventional route, especially for holidays and special occasions.

    We've already covered at length how to smoke a turkey, as well as some of delisous holiday hams, but today we are upping our game and smoking a whole leg of lamb!

    Lamb is a versatile protein, and can be looked to a high internal tempearure and pulled like a pork butt for gyros or lamb tacos.

    However for our recipe we are going to smoke and reverse sear it more like a beef roast to a medium temperature, then slice and serve it with an awesome Red Wine and Shallot Reduction Sauce.

    This makes for a great smoked holiday meal!

    Jump to:
    • Preparing and Seasoning
    • Video
    • Setting up the Pit Boss
    • Cooking Temperature
    • Cooking Time and Target Internal Temperature
    • Red Wine Shallot Reduction
    • Carving and Serving
    • Serving Suggestions
    • 📖 Recipe

    Preparing and Seasoning

    You may have the option of choosing a bone-in or boneless leg of lamb.

    For holiday roasts, we ,uch rpefer a boneless leg of lamb since it is much easier to slice.

    Bone-in legs take longer to cook and are better suited for pulled and shredded lamb.

    a raw leg of lamb with a net around it in an aluminum foil pan

    If your boneless leg of lamb has a netteing, remove it so that you can better season the entire roast.

    First sprinkle with a healthy amount of kosher salt and pepper.

    Next, whisk a marinade together consisting of the following ingredients:

    • ½ Cup Olive Oil
    • 1 tablespoon Minced Rosemary
    • 2 teaspoon Minced Thyme
    • 1 tablespoon Minced Garlic
    • 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
    • 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika

    Rub the lamb with the marinade on all sides.

    Then tie the roast back together with some butchers twine and place it on a wire rack over a foil lined baking sheet.

    This will help protect it from any excessive direct heat coming off the Pit Boss pellet grill, and make cleanup easier later.

    Video

    Rather Watch than Read? Check out this video from our YouTube Channel!

    Setting up the Pit Boss

    Starting up a Pit Boss Pellet Grill

    We have previously covered how to season a Pit Boss, how to start a Pit Boss, as well as how to troubleshoot the smoke level of your pellet grill.

    So if you need a good overview on how to use your Pit Boss for the first time, check those articles out first!

    We like to use fruitwood pellets on lamb such as apple or cherry, especially those from Bear Mountain, along with a pellet tube smoker for extra smoke flavor.

    You can learn all about how to light a pellet tube smoker HERE.

    Cooking Temperature

    Set the temperature initially to 270°F.

    This will give the leg of lamb plenty of time to smoke on the Pit Boss without drying out before we sear it.

    Cooking Time and Target Internal Temperature

    On lamb, we prefer a medium doneness compared to beef where we usually aim for medium rare.

    So this means a FINAL internal temperature of 140°F.

    Working backwards, this means we smoke the lamb until it reaches 135°F so that it rises to 140°F while its resting.

    You can smoke at 270°F all the way until the lamb reaches 135°F like this, OR, smoke until it reaches about 120°F, then turn up th heat on your pellet grill HIGH and finish it with a higer heat to sear the outside.

    Thsi will give the outside of the leg of lamb a darker color, better rendered fat, and nicer crust.

    Just turn up the heat at about 120°F and let it ride until it hits 135°F!

    a leg of lamb on a wire rack smoking in a pellet grill with an instant read thermometer reading 132.6 degrees

    Our boneless leg of lamb was 5 lbs and took 2 and ½ hours to reach 120°F, then another 20 minutes to reach 135°F after we turned up the heat.

    Red Wine Shallot Reduction

    Lamb pairs well with acidic flavors like red wine and citrus to help cut through the rich flavor of the meat.

    We made a simple Red Wine and Shallot Reduction while the lamb was smoking.

    Ingredients:

    • 2 tablespoon Butter
    • ¼ Cup Minced Shallot
    • 1 Bottle of Red Wine (about 4 Cups)
    • ¼ Cup Apricot Preserves
    • 1 tablespoon Freshly Grated Lemon Zest
    • Salt and pepper to taste

    Melt the butter in a saucepan and then sautee the shallots in the butter iver mdeium heat for about 5-10 minutes until they are soft and yellow.

    The pour in the wine, and add the apricot preserves and lemon zest.

    Simmer over medium heat, uncovered, for about 20-30 minuytes, or until the sauce has reduced by about half.

    Then add salt and pepper to taste.

    Keep warm over low heat until you are reday to serve the lamb.Just

    Carving and Serving

    slicing through a leg of lamb with a meat slicing knife

    After letting the lamb rest for 15-20 minutes, hold the lamb gently with one had while slicing in even, ¼ to ½ inch thick, slices using a good meat slicing knife.

    Slice using full, long, even strokes all the way to the cutting board letting each piece fall on the previous one.

    To maintain maximum juiciness in your lamb, only carve what you plan to serve immediately and leave the rest of the roast intact.

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    Serving Suggestions

    drizzling a red wine sauce over the slices of leg of lamb

    Drizzle the warm red wine reduction over the lamb and serve immediately.

    If you are eating your lamb in the spring, some grilled or smoked asparagus is a natural side.

    Add some smoked mashed potatoes for a classic holiday meal!

    📖 Recipe

    sliced leg of lamb roast on a white plate

    Pit Boss Smoked Leg of Lamb with Red Wine Reduction

    Mads Martigan
    A delicious Boneless Leg of Lamb smoked and seared on a Pit Boss pellet grill, then served with a simple Red Wine and Shallot Reduction.
    5 from 2 votes
    PRINT PIN SHARE SAVE Saved Recipe
    Prep Time 30 minutes mins
    Cook Time 3 hours hrs
    Total Time 3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine American, Australian, barbecue, BBQ, Christmas, Easter, Holiday, Smoked
    Servings 5 people
    Calories 641 kcal

    Equipment

    • Pit Boss Pellet Grill
    • Wire Rack
    • Baking Sheet
    • Butcher's Twine

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 5 lb Boneless Leg of Lamb
    • Kosher Salt
    • Fresh Black Pepper

    Garlic and Rosemary Marinade

    • ½ Cup Olive Oil
    • 1 tablespoon Minced Rosemary
    • 2 teaspoon Minced Thyme
    • 1 tablespoon Minced Garlic
    • 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
    • 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika

    Red Wine and Shallot Reduction

    • 2 tablespoon Butter
    • ¼ Cup Minced Shallot
    • 1 Bottle Red Wine
    • ¼ Cup Apricot Preserves
    • 1 tablespoon Lemon Zest freshly grated

    Instructions
     

    Prepare the Lamb

    • Remove the netting from around the leg of lamb and lay it out in a pan.
      1 5 lb Boneless Leg of Lamb
      a raw leg of lamb with a net around it in an aluminum foil pan
    • Sprinkle kosher salt and black pepper on all sides.
      Kosher Salt, Fresh Black Pepper
    • Whisk together the marinade ingredients in a bowl.
      ½ Cup Olive Oil, 1 tablespoon Minced Rosemary, 2 teaspoon Minced Thyme, 1 tablespoon Minced Garlic, 1 teaspoon Chili Powder, 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
    • Rub the lamb with the marinade on all sides.
    • Tie the roast back together with some butchers twine and place it on a wire rack over a foil lined baking sheet.

    Start the Smoker

    • Start the Pit Boss and set the temperature to 270°F
    • Once the grill is up to temperature, place the lamb, on the wire rack, in the pellet grill.

    Red Wine Shallot Reduction

    • While the lamb is smoking, prepare the red wine reduction. First melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.
      2 tablespoon Butter
    • Sautee the shallots in the melted butter for about 5-10 minutes, or until they are soft and yellow.
      ¼ Cup Minced Shallot
    • Add the red wine, aprocot preserves, and lemon zest.
      1 Bottle Red Wine, ¼ Cup Apricot Preserves, 1 tablespoon Lemon Zest
    • Whisk everything together and simmer over medium heat, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced by about half. Add salt and pepper to taste.
    • Reduce the temperature to low and keep warm until you are ready to serve the lamb.

    Sear and Serve the Lamb

    • Smoke the lamb until it reaches an internal temperature of 120°F, which may take about 2-3 hours.
    • Turn up the heat on the Pit Boss to HIGH and continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 135°F on an instant read thermometer for a medium doneness.
      a leg of lamb on a wire rack smoking in a pellet grill with an instant read thermometer reading 132.6 degrees
    • Remove the lamb from the smoker and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.
    • Remove the ties, slice the lamb, and serve with the Red Wine Reduction.
      drizzling a red wine sauce over the slices of leg of lamb

    Nutrition

    Calories: 641kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 59gFat: 39gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 22gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 195mgSodium: 227mgPotassium: 909mgFiber: 1gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 531IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 37mgIron: 6mg
    Keyword bbq lamb, boneless leg of lamb, Leg of Lamb, pellet grill lamb, Pit Boss, pit boss leg of lamb, Pit Boss pellet grill, smoked easter recipes, smoked holiday recipes, Smoked Lamb, smoked lamb roast, smoked leg of lamb
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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    About Mads Martigan

    Mads is the founder of Madbackyard.com and has been a BBQ and Grilling enthusiast for the past 15 years. He loves to write about and make videos on smoking and barbecuing all kinds of great food.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Bill says

      December 04, 2020 at 10:50 am

      5 stars
      Boneless is the only way to go with a leg of lamb unless you want a mess on your hands when slicing it. Guinness marinade is a nice touch.

    2. Pete says

      December 08, 2020 at 10:30 am

      5 stars
      We also did a boneless, skipped the guinness but was juicy enough on its own. Cherry wood was nice.

    3. Anonymous says

      November 03, 2024 at 6:12 pm

      sounds tasty man my goodness

    5 from 2 votes

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    Recipe Rating




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    Robert "Mads" Martigan, the founder of Mad Backyard

    Hi, I'm Mads, the founder of Mad Backyard and an avid outdoorsman, barbecue/smoker buff, and pellet grilling enthusiast who loves to share my passion for outdoor living and outdoor cooking with the world.

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