Roasting a whole lamb on a rotesserie for Easter


 

Mike Batsarisakis

TVWBB Super Fan
This easter I will be roasting a 35lb lamb on a rotesserie grill. I am planning on making a marinade of lemon, very little olive oil, sea salt and pepper. This is a very basic marinade. Has anyone roasted a whole lamb on a spit and can you tell me what you used as a mariande or for spices? Please advise. Mike
 
I've done whole lambs many times. The big deal is having a rotis that will handle the weight. If that is not and issue then you're good to go.

I often use a good quantity of oil plus lots of lemon zest and some juice plus some dry white wine. The larger quantity of oil keeps the acidity low enough so that I can marinate longer and not have to worry about making the meat mushy from the acids in the juice and wine. To this I'll usually add minced yellow onion, minced garlic, plenty of thyme, some marjoram, and some Greek oregano plus lots of ground pepper. I serve zatar on the side (the sumac-based version, not the thyme-based version) for sprinkling.

I have often done a very similar marinade but using rosemary, some thyme, marjoram and bay for the herbs and having freshly minced parsley available for serving. the other ingredients remain the same.

Piercing the lamb all over helps penetration.
 
Kevin, thanks for the response. Yes, we have a good quality rotis that we got from www.kanesbbq.com. Can you tell me what if anything do you put in the cavity of the lamb, before it's sewn up. I was thinking of throwing some lemon halves in there and possibly some fresh herbs but I don't know which fresh herbs to throw in. Also, I have heard that some of my people from the old country (Greece), cover the lamb with wax paper to keep the lamb from drying out on the outside and then in the final stages remove the wax paper to brown it. Have you ever heard of such a technique. Lastly, what ratios of oil to lemon juice and wine do you use, and what type of oil. THanks. Mike

Also, when you say mariande..do you mean to let the meat sit in the mixture? We don't have the time for that. We were thinking of basting only while it is on the spit. Please advise. THanks again. Mike
 
I've cooked whole lamb for Greeks (a huge family in San Diego) many times. I am not familiar with that technique but, to be sure, when I read your post I called one of them to see if he was. He wasn't either so I can't help you there. I've not had a problem with drying--it's a matter of keeping the heat moderate so that the exterior doesn't cook too quickly.

It's too bad you can't marinate. For future reference, I use about 4 parts olive oil to 1 part (total) lemon/wine mix.

For a baste do the reverse. It will separate but don't worry about that. Put the baste in a container with a lid and shake well before each basting session.

'Typical' Greek flavors are lemon, olive oil, garlic, Greek oregano, salt and pepper. To this I add thyme (it works so well with the other flavors) and marjoram (it's like oregano but with a welcome sweetness). The lemon juice should be freshly squeezed, the garlic fresh, the olive oil Greek, if possible (TJ's has kalamata oil if you can get by there), the herbs fresh or dried or both.

You have a few options for a basting/flavoring approach; here are two:

To maximize flavors getting in the meat and not just on it, you can make incisions using a thin-bladed parer or fillet knife all over the lamb, .5-1 inch deep every few inches every where except the inner cavity, and pack these slits with garlic and herbs. For this, peel and chop the cloves from 4 heads of garlic--go with a somewhat fine chop--and place this in a bowl. Eyeball the quantity of garlic in the bowl and add to that about 1/4 of its volume in dried oregano and 1/8 of its volume each of dried thyme and marjoram (crumble the dried herbs well before adding; if you use any fresh herbs double the amount and mince finely first). Sprinkle with a little salt, add severall turns of the black peppermill and mix well. Drizzle on a little olive oil; mix again.

Reserve 1/4 of this mixture for the baste and reserve another quarter for the center cavity. Take the remaining portion and, using your fingers, pack a little of this mix into the slits you made. Use all of it.

Wash 16 lemons then halve and squeeze them. Don't toss the juiced halves. Save as many as you need to fill the cavity. Heat 1 cup of oil in a small pot on the stove over low heat and add the lemon halves that will go into the cavity to this oil. Let them heat in the oil 10-15 min, mashing them just slightly as they heat.

Meanwhile, add the portion of the garlic-herb mix you reserved for the baste to the lemon juice.

Remove the lemon halves from the oil using a slotted spoon, draining well, and place in a bowl. While they are still warm, toss them with the garlic-herb mix you reserved for the cavity; allow to cool.

Pour the oil from the pot into a bowl and allow to cool. Eyeball or measure the lemon juice mix and add 1/4 of that amount of the reserved cooled oil. (Save any remaining oil in the fridge for another use.) Add a little salt and several turns of the black peppermill. Optionally at this point, add about 3/4 cup cheap white wine--like Taylor 'chablis'. Stir, cover, reserve at room temp.

Enclose the garlic/herbed lemon halves in the cavity.

******

Alternatively, follow the same process with the garlic mixture but use half the quantites called for above. Forgo the slits in the lamb and mix 2/3 of the garlic-herb mix with the lemon juice to make the base; use the remaining 1/3 to toss with the oiled juiced lemon halves for the cavity.

Hope this helps.

On your last question: Yes, I marinate the lamb in the mix for a full day.
 
Kevin, Thanks so much for your advice on this one. Sounds great! I will pass it along to the clan." I'll post some pictures when it's all over. Mike
 
Originally posted by Mike Batsarisakis:
Kevin, Thanks so much for your advice on this one.

Here are some pictures of a successful lamb cook.

Skewering the Lamb

Preparing the Lemons

Tying up the Lamb with Lemons in cavity

Marinating Lamb

More tying with butcher twine

Cooking Lamb and appetizers

Taking Cooked Lamb off Skewer

We did have a chance to marinate the lamb over night in a mixture of olive oil infused with lemon, turkish oregeno from Penzy's, sea salt, and fresh cracked pepper. The lamb was basted using the same ingredients but much less olive oil. The lamb liver was cooked with onions in a cast iron saute pan with the basting liquid plus white wine (unbelievably good). Unfortunately, due to excessive imbibing of intoxicating liquids effecting our judgment and increasing our appetite, we did not take photos of the lamb after carving.

The lamb was about 35 lbs and we cooked it for approximately 5-5 1/2 hours. 3 1/2 bags of Kingsford and 1 bag of lump was used due to very cold weather and very high winds. While the lamb was cooking, a hole in the skin developed due to the lemons being tossed around like a clothes dryer. As a result, most of the lemons fell out or were taken out as they were falling on the hot cools. Accordingly, next time I think that I would skewer all the lemons with a bamboo skewer to allow for less movement within the cavity of the lamb. The lamb reached an internal temperature of 180, which is probably too high but it was not at all dry. In fact, it was the opposite.

Lastly, the lamb was served with tzatziki sauce (thick strained yogurt, minced garlic, sea salt, pepper, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, and strained minced cucumber (seeded)).

Tzatziki is the prefect complement for lamb and you really can't have lamb without it.
 
Well, it looks terrific!

For cavities I usually use short (6-inch) metal skewers--2 or 3--and then lace them with wire to keep the cavity closed as the meat cooks and retracts. Skewering the lemons themsleves is a good idea.

Glad it worked out.

I was east of you for a couple days, now down in Groton. Grey still and windy but at least the rain's abated!
 

 

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