For the last night of Hanukkah this year, we celebrated with a special family dinner. I made potato latkes, of course, and the main course was a delicious, marinated leg of lamb. If you are looking for an impressive entrée for your upcoming holiday feast, you could not do much better than a boneless leg of lamb.

Because it has been so unseasonably mild this fall, I convinced my husband to grill our leg of lamb rather than roasting it in the oven. The result was a flavorful, tender, perfectly pink piece of meat that took only 20 minutes to cook. Doesn’t that sound like something you would like to serve your guests this holiday season?

A boneless leg of lamb often is sold wrapped in a cylinder and held together with a mesh netting. But when you untie it, you will find a long, flat piece of meat. (You can also ask your butcher to butterfly a bone-in leg of lamb for you if you cannot find a boneless one.) You will notice that this piece of meat has a pretty uniform thickness; that makes a boneless leg of lamb easy to cook and serve. Exactly what we are all looking for in a holiday entrée, right?

I sometimes hear from readers and friends that they do not care for the taste of lamb. It’s true that lamb has a distinctive taste, but there is no reason why red meat lovers should not enjoy lamb. I think that we Americans — who eat much less lamb than the rest of the world — do not always know how to cook lamb and thus end up eating lamb that is overcooked and dry or gamey.

But when sourced and prepared properly, lamb is juicy, tender and flavorful. What should you look for when buying lamb? First, seek out lamb that was raised in America. Unlike lamb from other countries, American lamb is raised exclusively for meat, not for wool or leather. Thus, the animals are bred for taste and harvested at a younger age, resulting in a milder flavor. In addition, domestic lamb is fresher: the animals travel 10,000 fewer miles and for 30 days less than imported lamb.

How do I know all of this about American lamb? Because I attended a fascinating session at IFBC, the International Food Bloggers Conference, on lamb butchery, cooking and wine pairings with celebrity butcher — yes, that’s a thing — Tracy Smaciarz of Heritage Meats in Seattle. We even sampled two unusual lamb dishes that introduced me to new ways of preparing lamb: country lamb pâté with cornichons and Dijon mustard and smoked lamb loin with fennel, olives and anchovies. (Salty foods like olives and anchovies are a natural pairing with lamb.)

Here is another tip for reducing the gamey flavor of lamb: trim the visible fat prior to cooking because the flavor is concentrated in the fat. For example, I left on the outer cap of fat that covered the top of the leg because that was what was going to keep the meat nice and juicy; but I removed the visible pockets of fat from the inside of the leg. This only took a few minutes but made the lamb easier to carve and eat. Well worth the time, in my opinion.

I marinated the lamb for several hours in a Greek-inspired marinade of yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and oregano. I let it come to room temperature prior to cooking and then my husband grilled it — yes, in December — over medium heat, turning once halfway through, for a total of twenty minutes until it reached an internal temperature of 125 degrees. We then let the meat rest for twenty minutes prior to carving, while I finished frying my latkes.

The result was perfect, medium-rare lamb that was tender and juicy while also being full of flavor. My husband is not wild about lamb, but he really enjoyed this dish. Indeed, this grilled boneless leg of lamb dish will convert any lamb skeptics.

So think beyond beef this holiday and give leg of lamb a try.

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Yum

Yogurt-Marinated Grilled Boneless Leg of Lamb

Ingredients

• 5 lb. boneless leg of lamb
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• Zest and juice of one lemon
• 1/4 cup EVOO
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp oregano, preferably Greek
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Lay the lamb flat on a cutting board and trim the visible pockets of interior fat, leaving the fat cap on the exterior.
2. Season the lamb well with salt and pepper.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, lemon zest and juice, EVOO, garlic and oregano.
4. Rub the marinade all over the lamb and place lamb in a gallon-sized plastic big.
5. Refrigerate the lamb for at least one hour and up to 3 hours.
6. Remove lamb prior to cooking and allow to come to room temperature.
7. Heat grill to medium heat. Cook lamb, turning once, until it reaches an internal temperature of 125 degrees for medium-rare, about 20 minutes.
8. Allow lamb to rest, loosely tented with foil, for at least twenty minutes prior to carving.
9. Slice against the grain into thin slices and serve. (Tzatziki sauce, harissa or mint jelly all make nice accompaniments.)

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Full disclosure time: In exchange for a reduced-price conference ticket, I have been asked to write about my experience at IFBC. I have complete control over what I write. I and all the other attendees at this event received a boneless leg of lamb from American Lamb free of charge for review purposes. As always, all opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.