A butterflied leg of lamb is a great choice for a barbecue and is the perfect way to feed a crowd; a two kilogram leg will happily feed around eight people. For best results marinate the night before to let the flavours really sink in, but if you don’t have the time try to prepare it at least an hour beforehand. Making a few slashes in the meat will also help the flavours penetrate. When making marinades avoid using vinegar and acidic citrus juices, as this will begin to cure the lamb and leave you with an undesirable result.

Before cooking your lamb this way you may be interested in learning how to butterfly a leg of lamb in our informative video.

Try different marinades using other herbs such as thyme or parsley or add spices to the marinade – cumin, coriander and fennel seeds all work well. For a Moroccan twist, use harissa or ras el hanout, or for a more Asian-style marinate in soy sauce with Chinese five spice and honey.

A barbecued leg of lamb is great when accompanied by a simple salad. Martin Wishart’s Crunchy fennel salad would be a great match, as would Peter Gordon’s Freekeh, cumin-roast artichoke, grilled corn and pomegranate. You could also try Andy Waters’ Fluffy lemon couscous or Anna Hansen’s spiced Sweet potato chips as a garnish.