Herb-flavored butterflied leg of lamb

This boned leg of lamb is butterfly so that it cooks quickly on the barbecue, remaining tender and rare inside. Once the bone has been removed, cut into the thick parts of the meat to flatten it out. Rub the lamb with aniseed myrtle, a subtly flavored Australian native herb.

Lay the lamb in a flat dish. Squeeze the lemon juice over both sides of the meat, then season with pepper. Rub the myrtle or fennel and thyme, and the oil, over both sides of the meat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator overnight. Remove it from the refrigerator 1 ½ hours before you start cooking. After 30 minutes, rub some salt all over the lamb.

Prepare the barbecue. Lift the lamb out of the marinade, and reserve the marinade. Pat the lamb dry with kitchen paper to remove all the excess marinade, and then skewer the lamb in three places to keep it flat. Once the flames have died down, rake the hot coals to one side and insert a drip tray flat beside them. Position a lightly oiled grill rack over the coals to heat. When the coals are hot, or with a light coating of ash, lay the lamb on the grill rack over the coals for 3-5 minutes to lightly char one side. Turn the lamb over and put it back on the grill rack, this time over the drip tray. Cover with a lid or tented heavy-duty foil. Grill the lamb for 20 minutes, basting the charred side occasionally with the marinade to keep it moist.

Move the lamb so that it is over the coals, replace the lid and grill it for 5-8 minutes more so that it chars slightly. Lift it on to a tray and let it rest under tented foil for 10-15 minutes. Cut into thick slices and serve with the juices from the drip tray.

Serves 6
1 leg of lamb, about 1.8kg/4lb, boned and butterfly
1 lemon
15ml/1 tbsp ground
Australian aniseed myrtle or 5ml/1 tsp fennel seeds ground with 10ml/2 tsp dried thyme
90ml/6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper
3 long metal skewers