Slow Smoked Pulled Lamb on the Traeger

in partnership with Safeway

In advance of the Easter holiday, we cooked up a beautiful leg of lamb that we got at our local Safeway grocery store on the Traeger Grill. Rather than cooking it to a medium-rare like some Easter lamb recipes prescribe, we slow smoked this meat and then placed it in a covered pan to braise until shreddable and tender. Served as a sandwich or in a bowl, it was a great Mediterranean-style dinner. To elevate this dish for the holiday, try the meat and sauce spooned over a bed of cheesy polenta and served with some glazed carrots. 

LAMB ON THE TRAEGER FOR EASTER

Lamb is an incredibly iconic dish for the spring season. Especially for Easter, it’s a common dish served on tables around the world and is special, rich and decadent. Many recipes call for a leg of lamb to be cooked akin to a prime rib– a strong outer sear and roasted until medium-rare in the middle. We love lamb this way, but it’s also fun to use the low-and-slow method on the Traeger grill to get super tender, shredded meat that can be used in a variety of ways.

We kicked off this cook by heading to our local Safeway grocery store (which is just around the corner from our house) and picked up a semi-boneless leg of lamb. The great thing about Safeway is that their meat department has great (and somewhat unique) offerings year-round, and their butchers can also special order things for you, if needed. 

But we didn’t need to do that– our Safeway had the semi-boneless leg of lamb right there in the case and it was exactly what we were looking for. Doing all our shopping at Safeway for that dinner made it so easy and efficient– a swing through the produce section for what we needed, grab the lamb from the meat department, a few staples from the aisle and we were out the door in a flash. And let me tell you– when you do this kind of grocery shopping with two 8 month old twin babies in tow, efficient and quick is so appreciated. 

Once we got home, we fired up the Traeger grill and got to cooking. We knew this cook would take a bit– about 5-7 hours total– because we wanted to cook the meat until it was cooked through, tender and shreddable. In this kind of scenario, the meat cooks past “done” and then the collagen begins breaking down, making the meat super tender. This lends itself well to stewed, braised and slow-cooked meats because the meat stays moist and tender and flavorful, sitting in the bath of other ingredients. 

The other bonus of cooking a dish like this until it’s shredded and tender is that it can hold until ready to serve. Rather than cooking the roast until it’s just done and ready to serve at the moment it’s needed, this dish can be cooked ahead of time (even a day or two) and then refrigerated until the day you serve it. Simply reheat the whole thing in the Traeger grill and you have the perfect dinner. For busy people like you and me, not having to precisely time the finish really makes life easier. 

INGREDIENTS FOR SLOW SMOKED PULLED LAMB

For this recipe, we picked up everything we needed at our local Safeway grocery store. We could easily have ordered ahead of time for delivery to our car, but my wife prefers to pick her own produce and so we made an adventure as a family of four (twins included) to grab what we needed. 

Because it’s spring, this recipe lends itself well to some lighter accompaniments too. You could serve it with couscous (like we did), a side of mashed potatoes or polenta, roasted veggies, or the like. Whatever you decide, you’ll be able to find all of that (and more) in your local store.

Our recipe included: 

• Leg of lamb (we got the semi-boneless one from our store)- about 3#
• Seasoning of your choice (I used my Garlic Junkie)
• Thyme
• Rosemary
• Parsley
• Mint
• Red wine (whatever you have on hand)
• Chicken broth

For serving- we went with two options that night– casual and delicious pita sandwiches and couscous bowls

• Couscous
• Tomatoes
• Red onion
• Cucumbers
• Herbs (a mix of the above)
• Pita bread
• Garlicky mayo sauce (mayo, garlic, a little bit of hot sauce)

WHY COOKING THIS ON THE TRAEGER WORKS 

When we first started thinking of a great and somewhat untraditional lamb recipe to make in advance of Easter (to give you all some delicious inspiration), we thought of a recipe my wife’s grandmother makes in the oven. It’s similar– slow cooked lamb in a bath of delicious flavors. But of course, it’s done in the oven. 

We cook everything on the Traeger grill because of the many reasons we talk about why— easy, delicious, fun, simple clean-up, unique and flavorful. The addition of some wood-fired flavor to our food means that dinners come out even more delicious than before. And it keeps the kitchen clean(ish) and cool (in the summer particularly) and always wows our dinner guests. 

HOW TO MAKE SLOW SMOKED PULLED LAMB AT HOME

First we coated the lamb on all sides in a generous coating of seasoning. Pick a seasoning that works for you– the combo we used was heavy in the garlic flavors with lots of pepper, salt and some herbs. For this recipe, we first gave the lamb leg a really good smoke bath by cooking it at a low temperature in our Traeger for a couple hours. This gives the meat the chance to soak in the flavor of the wood-fired fuel, develop a good crust and begin to cook the meat at a low-and-slow temperature. Once the meat had hit the internal temperature of 145*, we pulled it from the grill and added it to a covered pan with wine, herb aromatics and chicken broth and then put it back on the grill at a slightly higher temperature.

The length of this cook is important– give it 5-7 hours total so that the meat can become succulent and tender. If you cook it for less time, it won’t turn out as tasty. By cooking it in this flavor bath for the second phase of the cook, it got lots of moisture in the meat and gave it the chance to have the proteins begin to break down for maximum tenderness.

Once the meat hit an internal temperature of 203*, and was probe tender (meaning the thermometer probe slid in easily with little or no resistance), we pulled the pan from the grill and allowed it to cool for 20 minutes or so. You need it to come down in temperature a bit so that you can shred it by hand!

With a pair of food-grade gloves over a pair of heat gloves, I pulled the lamb from the pan and shredded it by first removing the bone (a perfect bone pull is so fun!) and then gently breaking apart the pieces by hand.

For serving, we did the meat two ways– in a pita sandwich and on a bed of couscous in a bowl. Both were delicious and an adaptation of the opposite. Of course, if you want to elevate it a bit for the Easter holiday, pick up some other ingredients from your local Safeway store to make a more elegant Easter dinner. 

STEP-BY-STEP DIRECTIONS

• Pick up all your ingredients at your local Safeway store.
• Preheat the Traeger grill to 225* and use the super smoke feature if you want.
• Unwrap the leg of lamb and season it generously on all sides with your seasonings of choice. Be sure to pick something that has strong flavors as your meat can stand up to that.
• Place the seasoned meat in the center of the preheated grill and allow to cook for 60 – 90 minutes until the internal temperature reads about 145*. By this point, the crust should be well-developed.
• In a pan with a cover (or aluminum foil), place the meat with a bunch of the herbs, a good amount of red wine and chicken broth until the bottom is submerged.
• Cover the pan tightly and return to the Traeger grill. 
• Bump up the heat of the grill to 325*.
• Allow the meat to cook, in the pan, for another 4-5 hours until the internal temperature reads 203*.
• The roast should be probe tender- meaning that a thermometer probe slides in easily to the meat when cooked fully. 
• Remove the pan from the grill and allow to cool for about 20 minutes on the counter.
• While the pan cools, assemble the other ingredients for the dish.
  • If making pitas or bowls: combine chopped onion, tomato and cucumber in a bowl. Season with olive oil and some vinegar, add chopped herbs and then salt and pepper to taste.  Cook couscous according to packaging. Crumble feta cheese. Make garlicky mayo sauce by combining garlic, mayo and hot sauce to taste. Warm pita bread on a hot skillet.
• Wearing a pair of food-safe gloves and heat gloves, remove the meat from the pan and shred it on a cutting board. The bone should slide out cleanly and the meat should break apart easily when squeezed. 
• Assemble sandwiches/bowls by layering ingredients and topping with garlicky sauce. Serve and enjoy!

RECIPES SIMILAR TO SLOW SMOKED LAMB ON THE TRAEGER

Lamb cooked on the Traeger is simply delicious. You can cook it long, low and slow (like this recipe) or use the grill at a higher heat to get a great sear and perfect medium-rare insides.

Here are some recipes I love on my Traeger:

• Smoked Rack of Lamb
• Grilled Lamb Chops

At our local Safeway store, we picked up all the ingredients we needed for this cook. We cooked it on the Traeger Timberline, but any model of Traeger you have would work great. Just be sure to cook it low and slow until tender and succulent!

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