Closeup of butterflied leg of lamb with rosemary and feta sliced on plate

Spring is a time of transition. Fashion and food start to change. Some of the heavy coats and sweaters get put away. We think about lighter clothes… and lighter food. Still, it’s not quite time to be fully committed to our summer wardrobe, or summer cooking. With spring on the way, I started to think about what would work for an elegant meal and mark the beginning of the season. Sometimes you still need the feel of a warm sweater on a cool spring day. Butterflied Leg of Lamb seemed to fill the bill. Made from a boneless leg of lamb and stuffed with rosemary, feta, and garlic, this recipe is a beautiful way to mark the new season. Versatile enough to be roasted in the oven or cooked on the grill on a summer day. A boneless lamb roast is a perfect transitional dish.

So What is Lamb? And Why do we Associate it with Spring?

Britannica tells us Lamb are what we call sheep before the age of one year. Mutton refers to the flesh of the mature ram or ewe at least one year old; the meat of sheep between 12 and 20 months old may be called yearling mutton. The meat of sheep 6 to 10 weeks old is usually sold as baby lamb, and spring lamb is from sheep of five to six months.

A part of the reason that lamb is associated with spring is its appearance on holiday tables on Easter or Passover. However, lamb’s history can be traced back to paganism long before these holidays even existed. The term “spring lamb” is really a reference to when the lambs are born. Their meat is actually harvested 3 to 4 months later, in the late summer or early autumn. So in the US, if you buy lamb in the spring it is likely from Australia or New Zealand.

What is Butterflied Lamb?

A “butterflied” leg of lamb is a lamb leg that has had the bone removed. The thick piece of meat that remains is then cut so that it is spread out into a thinner and larger surface. Note that “butterflying” a piece of meat is not a term that is unique to lamb, as almost any kind of thick cut of meat can be butterflied.

Butterflied Cuts Make Great Roulade

I love butterflied cuts as they lend themselves to another preparation, roulade. Simply stated a roulade is any cut of meat that has been butterflied, filled with a stuffing, then rolled and tied. And yes a jelly roll is a roulade, but we are focusing on the savory type of roulade. Another recipe that shows the roulade technique is our Stuffed Pork Roulade. You can find it on our YouTube video page. The video even shows you how to butterfly a piece of meat!

For our boneless leg of lamb we are making a nod to Greek flavors by stuffing the lamb roast with rosemary, feta cheese, and garlic. To impart additional Greek flavors, the butterflied lamb is marinated in a mixture that brings tastes we might associate with a Greek Salad Dressing. In fact, I realized after I tasted the marinade the recipe could in fact be used on a salad.

Also, if you don’t want to go down the roulade route, you could just marinate the lamb and throw it on the grill as is!

Ingredients for Butterflied Leg of Lamb with Rosemary and Feta Cheese

Some people love mint jelly with lamb. I wanted to serve this Butterflied Leg of Lamb with Rosemary and Feta in a way that gives a shout-out to the traditional mint sauce but in a new way. Check out the Piquillo Pepper Mint Sauce. It really makes the plate… and the taste pop!