Easy Smoked Leg of Lamb Roast

If you have a smoker you have to try this easy smoked leg of lamb roast. It’s rubbed with herbs, stuffed with garlic and smoked to perfection. The result is a tender and delicious lamb roast that’s perfect for Easter or a special family dinner! And this is a naturally low carb dinner so it will be great for those on a Paleo or keto diet.

You might also like this smoked salmon recipe.

My husband just bought a new pellet smoker as his finally bit the dust and he smokes meat quite often. So when I saw some lovely lamb roasts at the grocery store I thought this would be the perfect recipe to try on his new smoker.

OMG it was so delicious! Sincerely this easy smoked leg of lamb roast was one of the best I ever had. I stuffed it with slices of garlic (like my grandma used to do) and then rubbed herbs and spices all over it.

The combination of garlic and herbs cut down on the gamey flavor and then smoking just added even more of a rich flavor.

The smoker added a bit a smokey flavor and just cooked it perfectly. The meat was moist and tender and so full of flavor. We made it in the afternoon and was done before dinner time.

The type of lamb roast and smoker we used.

I found a 5 pound boneless leg of lamb roast at Costco and you can see what it looks like below. This size of roast can feed about 8-10 people. We had it for dinner and then ate the sliced leftover piece of meat which I will share with you in another post to come.

This roast had an almost 3 hour smoking time. If you have a bone in leg of lamb it will take a bit longer to smoke. To learn more about cuts of lamb, check this article from Jamie Oliver.

A leg of lamb usually has a layer of fat (fat cap) on the outside of the roast. Some people trim it a bit but we kept it on because it mostly melts during the cooking process and adds lots of flavor.

My hubby’s new smoker is an electric wood pellet smoker which is a different from his propane one that used wood chunks and wood chips. Unfortunately it just died. However what is nice about this new one is that it was able to maintain a consistent temperature more accurately than the old one.

But this recipe would work with any smoker. You just have to make sure you gauge the tempeature of the meat. My husband just used this awesome wireless digital thermometer that he got for his birthday. It’s nice because you use your phone to check on the temperature and it tells you how long it will take. No checking on it a million times to see what temperature it reaches. 

How to make smoked leg of lamb roast.

1. First take the netting off the boneless lamb leg if there is one. Slice the raw garlic cloves into slivers. Cut holes in the entire roast and stuff them with the garlic slivers. Do this all over the roast. Many people use kosher salt but we only had regular table salt. If you have it, use it.
2. Mix the olive oil, salt, basil, rosemary, thyme and black pepper to make a marinade. Brush or rub this all over the lamb and place the roast into a large ziplock bag. Refrigerate over night if you can or at least for a few hours. Note: I used dried herbs but if you want to use fresh herbs the rule of thumb is that 1 Tbsp fresh herbs equals 1 teaspoon dried herbs. 
3. Take the roast out of the refrigerator and let come to room temperature (about 30 minutes.) Place on the grill grate of the smoker and smoke lamb at 225-250°F for about 2-3 hours or until the leg of lamb registers an internal temperature of 140-145°F when using a meat thermometer. My husband uses this thermometer probe in the meat and can read it from the outside. IIt keeps you from having to open the smoker and thus losing heat during the smoking process.
4. Take the roast out of the smoker when it reaches the right temperature. Place on a platter and cover with a piece of aluminum foil and let rest for about 10 minutes before carving.

We ended up cooking this 5 lb roast for almost 3 hours at a smoker temp of 250°F to an internal temp of 142°F. It was a medium doneness when we sliced it. If you want it a bit more rare maybe take it of at 140°F. Cooking time will vary depending on how size of your roast and the smoker that you use.

If you have leftovers store them in an airtight container. (Please scroll down for the printable recipe card.)

I really think the stuffed garlic and the smoky flavor from the smoker gave this roast so much extra flavor. It was one of the most tender lamb leg I’ve ever eaten and I’m not sure if it’s from the slow cooking or the meat was just unusually good.

What to serve with this roast and what to do with leftover lamb.

You can serve this roast with any of your favorite side dishes. We usually have roasted potatoes and steamed snap peas or green beans. Since this is a naturally low carb dinner you can skip the potatoes and just serve with cauliflower rice or green salad. 

Since this is a naturally low carb dinner you can skip the potatoes and just serve with cauliflower rice or green salad.  Or try these delicious keto scalloped faux potatoes.

We had leftovers of this flavorful meat because this was a 5 pound roast so my husband sliced it really thin with our meat slicer and we made a delicious spicy stir fry (recipe coming soon.) However you could also make gyros.

Just pan fry thin pieces of meat and place the in pita or naan bread. Make a quick tzatziki sauce and top with lettuce and tomatoes.

More delicious and easy lamb recipes to try.

I have quite a few of low carb lamb recipes that you might also like. I have made a leg of lamb and lamb shoulder in the slow cooker, air fryer, Instant Pot as well as grilled lamb chops and burgers.

My family just loved this easy lamb roast dinner because it’s naturally low carb and the additional smoke flavor of the meat made it extra special. I hope you give this one a try if you have a smoker already. And if you don’t, you might want to think about it. Enjoy!

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Easy Smoked Leg of Lamb Recipe

Yield: 10

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours

Total Time: 3 hours 5 minutes

This smoked leg of lamb roast is juicy, tender and full of flavor. Studded with garlic and rubbed with delicious spices for the perfect lamb dinner and would be great for a family gathering or holiday.

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Ingredients

• 5 pound leg of lamb, bone-less
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon basil, dried
• 1 teaspoon thyme, dried
• 1 teaspoon rosemary, dried
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, cut into slivers

Instructions

1. Take the roast and cut slivers all over and stuff the garlic slivers into them.
2. In a small dish, add the olive oil and spices and mix together. Rub all over the roast and then place it into a large ziplock bag. Refrigerate over night for best results but you can do it for an hour or so.
3. Take the lamb out of the refrigerator and bring to room temperature (about 30 minutes).
4. Set the smoker to 250° then place on the grill grate of the smoker and cook until the internal temperature registers between 140°F-145°F for medium rare to medium. This took 3 hours for us.
5. Take out of the smoker and place on a platter. Cover with foil and let the lamb rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Notes

We ended up cooking this 5 lb roast for almost 3 hours at 250°F to an internal temperature of 142°F. It was a medium doneness when we sliced it. If you want it a bit more rare maybe take it of at 140°F. Cooking time will vary depending on how size of your roast and the smoker that you use.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 612Total Fat: 40gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 211mgSodium: 573mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 58g