* 4 pound leg of lamb (American not New Zealand), bone in
* 4+ tablespoons lemon juice
* 1/3 cup olive oil
* 3 heavy teaspoons minced garlic
* 1 teaspoon thyme
* 1.5 teaspoon oregano (preferably Greek oregano)
* 3 bay leafs
* salt and pepper to taste
Mix together everything but the lamb. Cut slits into the lamb about every couple inches and insert garlic slivers into the slits. Place lamb leg in a large zip lock bag. Pour marinade over leg, making sure to coat every inch. Refrigerate 24 hrs. turning occasionally. Remove leg from marinade and discard the marinade. Don't rinse the marinade and sprinkle the leg of lamb with Cavender's Greek Spices. Place in smoker at 225* with 4 oz. hickory and cook until the interior of the meat reaches 145 degrees F, about 2 hours (when the lamb reached 120* I raised the smoker temperature to 275*). Remove, cover with heavy duty foil for 30 minutes, slice and enjoy. I lightly sprinkled Cavender's on the sliced lamb.
It was absolutely delicious. The meat was medium rare, very moist and tender. The Greek flavorings were just about perfect, not quite like mom's but close. The taste was very mild because the American lamb is not as strong as the New Zealand. The American lamb doesn't have that goaty or gamier flavor of the New Zealand.
All in all a "do again" recipe. As a matter of fact, I'll probably have lamb sandwiches tomorrow since the meat is so tender. Mom's giving me her recipe for the next leg of lamb, so it should only get better from here.
