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Rotisserie set up

INGREDIENTS (MAKES 8 TO 10 SERVINGS)

½ cup Bedouin Dry Marinade (page 383)

1 bone-in whole leg of lamb, 5 to 6 pounds, surface fat trimmed to¼inch

½ cup olive oil

2 cups Preserved Lemon Relish (page 394)

DIRECTIONS

1. Scatter the dry marinade all over the meat, patting it in with your fingers. Cover loosely and let rest at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.

2. Heat the grill as directed, setting the drip pan(s) in the grill below the area where the lamb will rotate.

3. Slide the lamb leg onto the skewer of the rotisserie setup. Secure according to the manufacturer’s directions.

4. Put the skewered lamb into the rotisserie assembly. The lamb should be suspended away from direct heat and turn freely above the drip pan(s) as the rotisserie rotates. Cover the grill and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the leg (without touching the bone) registers about 125°F for medium-rare or 135°F for medium, 1 to 1½ hours total. Brush the lamb with the olive oil every 30 minutes or so. If your grill has an external thermometer, it should stay at around 350°F. If you are using charcoal, you will probably have to replenish the coals after the first hour.

5. Remove the rotisseried lamb to a large serving platter, cover loosely with foil, and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the skewers.

6. Carve the lamb (see Tips), and serve with the lemon relish.

Spit-Roasted Whole Spring Lamb Overcome by Garlic

There is perhaps no greater culinary spectacle than a whole animal turning on a spit over hot coals. Roasting the whole beast also makes it easy to feed a crowd. The flavors here are some of lamb’s favorites: rosemary, garlic, and lemon. The garlic and rosemary are inserted into slits in the meat to infuse the whole roast with their aromas. Plan to make a whole day out of the spit-roast. It takes a good hour or two to set up the spit-roaster, season the animal, and attach it to the spit-rod. Invite some friends over to help hoist the animal to and from the spit-roaster. After about 5 hours of slow roasting and tending the fire, you’ll all be feasting on some of the finest meat you’ve ever tasted.

TIMING

Soak wood chips: 1 hour (optional)

Prep: 1½ hours

Grill: 5 to 5½ hours

GRILL TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

• Spit-roaster (see Tips)

• 60 pounds of charcoal, 5 hours’ worth of gas, or about a quarter cord of wood

• 16 cups (4 quarts) wood chunks or chips, preferably oak or hickory (optional)

• Wire (18 to 20 gauge)

• Pliers

• Wire cutters

• Heat-resistant grill mitts (preferably heatproof silicone)

• Long-handled basting brush

TIPS

• Order the lamb several weeks ahead of your planned roasting day. A good country butcher or a farmer who sells at farmers’ markets should be able to get you one. Order it dressed for spit-roasting, which means it will be gutted and skinned with the head and feet removed. Try to buy a lamb that’s less than 30 pounds to keep it to a manageable size. If you can’t find one locally, Jamison Farm in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, raises some of the country’s best grass-fed lamb, and they ship small whole lambs year round.

• Let the lamb come to room temperature before firing up the spit-roaster. Otherwise, you’ll waste some of your fuel just warming the meat up to room temperature. It may be easiest to get the lamb the day before you cook it.

• The lamb can be mounted on the spit with its fore and hind legs extended, as if the animal were flying through the air (as described in the recipe here). Or it can be positioned with the forelegs tucked under its chin and hind legs tucked up under its belly. This second position is a bit more dignified but less dramatic. Tell the butcher which way you want it, so the lamb can be positioned that way before rigor mortis sets in.

• Lambs have very thin ribs with very little meat. The shoulders and thighs are much thicker, which is why the heat is placed there (in the 4 piles of coals) and away from the rib cage. On the off chance that the rib cage begins to brown as much as the thighs