Barbequed Butterflied Leg of Lamb

The origins of both the activity of barbecue cooking and the word itself are somewhat obscure. Most etymologists believe that barbecue derives from the word barabicu found in Florida and the Carribean; it then entered European languages in the form barbacoa. The word translates as “sacred fire pit.” The word describes a grill cooking meat, consisting of a wooden platform resting on sticks.

Okay, so that’s a bit about the past, what about the future?

Ingredients 

1 Leg of Taylor’s Local Spring Lamb [ask the boys in the shop to bone it for you]
6 Cloves of Garlic finely chopped
2 De-seeded Red Chillies finely chopped
A ‘thumb’ of Fresh Ginger finely chopped
2 TBSP of Ground Cumin
2 TSP of Paprika
2 TSP of Ground Tumeric
2 Crumbled Cinnamon Sticks
A Pinch of Cayenne [Chilli] Pepper
Zest of 2 Lemons
Juice of 3 Lemons [Microwave on high for 30 seconds to improve yield]
1/2 Cup of Oil
Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

Method

1. Mix the Garlic, Ginger, Lemon Zest and Chillies together.
2. Heat the Oil in a heavy based pan.
3. Add the Cumin, Paprika, Tumeric, Cayenne Pepper and Cinnamon Sticks to the pan.
4. Heat gently until the aromas are released. Do NOT allow to burn. If it does, ditch it and start again otherwise a good piece of meat will be spoiled.
5. Add Juice of 3 Lemons, Salt & Pepper and mix well.
6. Mix well with stage one’s ingrediants.
7. Prepare Lamb by trimming as much of the outside fat off as possible.
8. Rub mixture well into Meat, place in a dish and refrigerate for at least an hour.
9. This needs to be Barbequed over a griddle or hot plate and NOT over an open flame for between 15 and 20 minutes either side turning every 5 minutes or so. It also helps to place a large stone or rock [even a brick will do] that has been wrapped in kitchen foil. This helps to weigh it down and assists the cooking process.
10. If you don’t have a griddle you could wrap the meat in a couple of sheets of tin foil, which should prevent the flames from burning the meat. Remove the tin foil for the last few minutes, place on the grill and turn a couple of times.
11. Alternatively, you could cook it in an oven dish in a pre-heated oven at 220C/Gas Mark 7 for 30 minutes, remove from oven and finish off on the barbeque allowing the flames to scorch but not burn the skin side.