Asian BBQ Glazed Leg of Lamb

This juicy hunk of lamb is glazed with a sweet and spicy Asian barbecue sauce. It’s perfect for your holiday menu.

Lamb. Do you like it? Have you ever tried making it in your own kitchen?

Lamb isn’t something I grew up eating as a child. It happens to be a new cut of meat that I recently discovered earlier this year thanks to my meat enthusiast father. He picked up a few lamb chops for Squirrel while we were shopping at Wegmans over the summer. I’m pretty sure it’s a bonding strategy.

Squirrel, being the grill master that he is, grilled the lamb chops and brushed them with a balsamic glaze during the last few minutes on the grill. The glaze caramelized, creating a crispy outer layer. The sweet crunch and moist, juicy center was perfection. The recipe was simple and straightforward–lamb, salt and pepper, reduced balsamic with a touch of honey.

After one bite, the simplicity of the recipe proved delicious. Lamb is so flavorful on its own that it doesn’t require much effort to produce a delicious outcome.

Ever since that first bite over the summer, Squirrel and I have been blissfully in love with lamb. We even crave it.

For this recipe, I roasted an American Lamb leg of lamb on top a bed of red potatoes and onions. The potatoes and onions keep the leg of lamb elevated slightly, allowing the rich juices to flavor the hearty veggies below. I basted the lamb every 15 minutes with an Asian-inspired barbecue sauce to create a flavorful caramelized crust.

American Lamb is known for its robust flavor and tenderness. Lamb naturally pairs well with robust global flavors, so don’t hesitate to experiment with rich spices and aromatic herbs.

Roasting lamb:

1. Remove the lamb from the refrigerator 45 minutes prior to cooking. Like beef, taking the chill off the lamb will help it cook evenly.
2. Generously salt and pepper the outside of the lamb right before you’re ready to put it in the oven.
3. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Roast the lamb for 15 minutes before decreasing the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. The initial high heat will help develop a crispy, perfectly brown exterior, while the reducing the temperature will prevent the exterior of the roast from burning.
4. Roast the lamb uncovered so it develops a golden brown exterior and moist center.
5. For medium-rare, remove the lamb when a thermometer inserted in the center of the roast registers 130 degrees F. For medium, remove the roast from the oven at 140 degrees F.
6. Always allow the lamb to rest before slicing. Cover the lamb loosely with foil and let rest for 15 minutes.

The Asian bbq glaze is a combination of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger, chili sauce, pineapple juice, hoisin sauce, and brown sugar. It’s sweet, spicy, and bold flavors create a rich crust on the exterior of the lamb.

The sauce only takes 10 minutes to prepare, so there’s very little effort involved.

Once the glaze is made, the oven does the majority of the work. All you’ll have to do is baste the lamb with the glaze every 15 minutes and stir the potatoes and onions so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

After a bit of cooking, you’ll have a perfectly roasted lamb dinner.

Print Recipe

Asian BBQ Glazed Leg of Lamb

A sweet and spicy glazed leg of lamb.

Yield: 4 servings

Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients:

Lamb:

• 1 (4-pound) boneless leg of lamb
• 4 large red potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 large onion, chopped thick
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper

Asian BBQ Glaze:

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 teaspoons grated ginger or ginger paste
• 2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Lamb: 

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Add potatoes and onions to the bottom of a roasting pan or large casserole dish. Toss with olive oil and a generous pinch of salt and pepper.
3. Place the lamb on top the potatoes and onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper on all sides. Brush with a thin layer of the Asian BBQ Glaze.
4. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 325 degrees and continue to cook, basting the lamb with the glaze every 15 minutes and stirring the potatoes and onions, until a thermometer inserted into the center of the lamb registers 130 degrees F. or medium-rare or 140 degrees. F. for medium, about 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours. Begin checking your lamb at one hour to see how fast it’s cooking.
5. Remove the lamb from the oven and loosely over with aluminum foil. Allow the lamb to rest for 20 minutes before slicing.
6. Serve with the reserved Asian BBQ Glaze.

Asian BBQ Glaze: 

1. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring often, until aromatic, about 2 minutes.
2. In a large measuring cup, combine the remaining ingredients. Give the mixture a good whisk to combine.
3. Add the soy sauce mixture to the pot with the garlic. Cook, whisking occasionally, until the mixture thickens. The process takes about 10 minutes. The sauce should thicken to resemble barbecue sauce.
4. Reserve 1/2 cup for serving. Use the rest to baste the lamb as it roasts.

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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.