This Butterflied Leg of Lamb Stuffed with Mushrooms, Onions and Herbs is packed with flavor and will be an epic meal for any special occasion.
I love the spring time. Not only does it mean warmer weather is coming, like we freeze here in San Diego, but it also means that the days are getting longer – hooray! Spring also brings some of my flavors and foods.
For those of you celebrating Easter, Spring means a lamb dinner. We Persians absolutely adore lamb and I for one, scoop of leg of lamb every time I see it on sale at the grocery store. One of my favorite ways of preparing a boneless one is to stuff it!
Recipe highlights
- Simple: I realize that claiming that a stuffed leg of lamb is easy to make, but it really is!! You do not have to de-bone a lamb yourself because you can find boneless leg of lamb very easily at the grocery store. I break down all the steps to make it easy to follow.
- Elegant: When I first made this recipe, I kept it simple and stuffed it with onions and mushrooms. Oh yeah, it was heavenly. But over the years, I have modified this recipe and have added herbs to the mix. It definitely kicked up the flavor factor. Fresh herbs always make the difference! It might seem a lot of work, but you’ll see it is worth it when you take that first bite.
Ingredients you need
- Boneless leg of lamb: You can buy it already deboned or remove it from the bone yourself.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Oil adds moisture and flavor to the marinade so skimp on this thinking it is too fatty.
- Balsamic vinegar: Choose a balsamic vinegar that you love. You can use a plain balsamic or a flavored one.
- Mushrooms: You use white, button, cremini… any kind of mushrooms that you love for the stuffing.
- Fresh herbs: You can use any combination of fresh herbs you have available. I used what I had in the garden: mint, sage, thyme and chives.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic has the best flavor and is preferred over garlic powder.
- Onion: You can use regular or sweet vidalia onions.
- Salt and pepper
Step-by-step directions
- Trim the lamb. Place the lamb on a large work surface and open it up. Using a sharp knife, cut into the larger chunks of meat to create a flap and open it up. Continue doing this until the meat is one large flat piece, with relatively even thickness. Trim away any large pockets of fat, this reduces the gamey taste.
- Make the marinade. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and garlic cloves.
- Refrigerate. Place roast in a large shallow container and brush marinade all over it. Cover with foil and refrigerate roast for one hour. Remove the lamb from the refrigerator and let roast return to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
- Sauté vegetables. In a frying pan, sauté onions in olive oil until browned. Add garlic, mushrooms and herbs and cook until mushrooms release their water. Remove vegetables from heat, and cool to room temperature.
- Roll the lamb. Spread lamb on a work surface, boned surface up. Place the mushroom mixture (without the water) in a line down the center of the length of the lamb. Starting from one end, roll up the meat tightly around the vegetables, forming a cylinder.
- Tie the lamb. Using kitchen twine, tie the meat at 20-inch intervals along its length. Place a 4-inch square of aluminum foil over each end of the roast, to hold the stuffing in place. Tie another piece of kitchen twine securely around the roast to keep its shape.
- Roast the lamb. Lightly oil a flat roasting rack and place in a roasting pan just large enough to hold the lamb. Place roast on the pan and roast at 375ºF until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of the meat registers 135-140º, about 1 ¼ hours.
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Recipe tips and FAQs
I can not stress enough the importance of using a meat thermometer. This is the most accurate way to see if your lamb is done. This prevents you from overcooking your roast, keeping it moist and tender.
You do need to trim the excess fat and even out the meat. I have a video using a different stuffing (boneless leg of lamb with raisins and pine nuts), but it will help further explain how to evenly butterfly your boneless leg of lamb, stuff it, roll it and tie it up.
If you like this recipe, you should also try my grilled butterflied leg of lamb marinated in yogurt.
Storing/Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Store any leftover lamb in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
TO FREEZE: You can also freeze leftovers. Transfer to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months.
TO REHEAT: Like steak, I prefer to reheat leftovers NOT in the microwave, but sauté in a hot pan with olive oil or butter.
Once you have your boneless leg of lamb stuffed, rolled and tied with twine, it is ready to roast. Lightly oil a flat roasting rack and place in a roasting pan just large enough to hold the lamb. Place lamb on the pan and roast at 375ºF until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of the meat registers 135-140º, about 1 ¼ hours.
Whether you are cooking a bone-in or boneless leg of lamb, cook until the internal temperature reaches 140ºF/60ºC. This is the temperature whether you are grilling your lamb outdoors or roasting it indoors.
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Butterflied Leg of Lamb Stuffed with Mushrooms, Onions and Herbs
Ingredients
- 5 lb boneless leg of lamb
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil divided
- 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 6 crushed garlic cloves divided
- 1 onion sliced ¼-inch thick
- 8 oz sliced mushrooms
- ¼ cup chopped fresh mint
- 2 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped chives
Instructions
- Place the lamb on a large work surface and open it up. It should unroll easily with the bone already removed.
- Using a sharp knife, cut into the larger chunks of meat to create a flap and open it up. Continue doing this until the meat is one large flat piece, with relatively even thickness. Trim away any large pockets of fat, this reduces the gamey taste.
- In a small bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoon olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and 4 crushed garlic cloves.
- Place roast in a large shallow container and brush marinade all over it. Cover with foil and refrigerate roast for one hour.
- Remove the lamb from the refrigerator and let roast return to room temperature, about 30 mins.
- In a frying pan, heat 1 TBS olive oil over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add onions and sauté until browned, 10-15 minutes.
- Add 2 crushed garlic cloves, mushrooms and herbs. Cook for 7 minutes, until mushrooms begin to water. Remove vegetables from heat, and cool to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 375ºF.
- Lightly oil a flat roasting rack and place in a roasting pan just large enough to hold the lamb.
- Spread lamb on a work surface, boned surface up. Place the mushroom mixture (without the water) in a line down the center of the length of the lamb.
- Starting from one end, roll up the meat tightly around the vegetables, forming a cylinder. Using kitchen twine, tie the meat at 20-inch intervals along its length.
- Place a 4-inch square of aluminum foil over each end of the roast, to hold the stuffing in place. Tie another piece of kitchen twine securely around the roast to keep its shape.
- Roast the lamb until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of the meat registers 135-140º, about 1 ¼ hours.
- Remove pan from the oven. Transfer roast to a platter and tent loosely with foil. Let rest for 15 minutes.
- Transfer lamb to a carving board and carve into slices ½-inch thick. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
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