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Bedouin Leg of Lamb on a Spit

No one knows lamb like the Greeks, Turks, and Arabs of the Middle East. Here’s how a leg of lamb might be grilled over a live fire by bedouins (Arab nomads)—rubbed with saffron, caraway, and cardamom and served with a relish of preserved lemons and coriander. Although nomads would roast the lamb leg over a wood fire on a spit, we’ve given directions for backyard grilling using a charcoal or gas grill with a rotisserie setup. The beauty of rotisserie grilling is that the roast bastes itself as the surface fat melts and rolls around the meat. Lamb legs aren’t always completely covered with fat, so even when using the rotisserie we like to baste the meat with some olive oil now and then to ensure even browning. If you don’t have a rotisserie, cook the lamb on your grill using medium indirect heat, turning and basting every 20 minutes or so. Alternatively, you could roast the leg over a wood fire with a spit. See page 245 for information on spit-roasting, and set up the spit so that the meat rests about 2 feet above the heat.

TIMING

Prep: 5 minutes (plus 10 minutes for marinade and relish)

Rest before grilling: 1 to 2 hours

Grill: 1 to 1½ hours

GRILL TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

• Rotisserie for grill

• Long-handled basting brush

• Heavy-duty heat-resistant gloves

TIPS

• If a whole leg of lamb is too big for your rotisserie (or just too much meat), use a half leg (4 to 5 pounds) and reduce the cooking time by 30 minutes or so. We prefer the sirloin or butt end (near the hip) because the meat is more tender. Of course, it doesn’t have the classic protruding bone of the shank half.

• If you want to grill-roast only a half leg but think you’ll use the rest of the leg meat for other meals, buy a whole leg and have your butcher cut a few thick lamb chops from the sirloin end of the leg. Then roast the rest of the leg.

• To carve a leg of lamb, slice off any bits of meat from the thicker sirloin end, then grip the shank (bone) with a kitchen towel and your hand. Run the knife from the bone end to the sirloin end as close to the bone as possible to loosen one side of the leg meat from the bone. Leave the meat attached to the bone and make thin slices down through the loosened leg meat. Repeat on the other side of the leg, and then cut any remaining meat from the bone.

GETTING CREATIVE

• For smoky-tasting leg of lamb, soak 1 to 2 cups of oak wood chunks or chips in water for 1 hour, then add half to the coals at the beginning of grilling and half after the first batch dies out. If using gas, put the chips in a smoker box or wrap them in perforated foil and put directly over one of the heated burners.

• You could serve the lamb without the lemon relish, but we like its tart, salty counterpoint. To make a pan sauce instead, spoon off almost all of the fat from the drip pan and then scrape the remaining contents of the drip pan into a small saucepan. Also add any juices from the platter on which the meat has been resting. Bring to a boil and add about½ cup red wine and½ cup chicken stock. Boil until the liquid is reduced to about¾ cup. (Once the liquid boils, it also helps to pour the hot liquid into the drip pan and scrape the drip pan thoroughly. This deglazes extra flavor from the drip pan. Pour the contents back into the saucepan. If you know ahead of time that you’ll be making a pan sauce, you could replace the aluminum drip pan with a shallow roasting pan that you can boil liquids in.)

THE GRILL

Gas:

Indirect heat, medium (325° to 350°F)

3- or 4-burner grill-middle burner(s) off

2-burner grill-1 side off

Heavy-duty drip pan set between banks of charcoal

Grate removed

Rotisserie set up

Charcoal:

Indirect heat, medium ash

Split charcoal bed (about 2 dozen coals per side)

20 replacement coals

Heavy-duty drip pan set between banks of charcoal

Grate removed

Rotisserie set up

Wood:

Indirect heat, medium ash

12-by-12-inch bed, 3 inches deep

Additional