Who can ever forget Alex Boyazoglu's delicious spit braais?
This master of spits showed me the secrets of grilling a whole lamb:
Order a whole lamb ca. 300 to 600 g per person including bone weight. The average 12 kg (24lb) lamb will feed a range of family members totalling 36 or 24 hungry army chaps. The evening before the lamb is mounted on a iron cross of sort and wrapped well in aluminum foil (shiny side inwards), large parts first (are unwrapped last) together with the ingredients:
- rub in 20g oil
- 12 lemons or limes or mixed
- 6 garlic heads
- 120g oregano
- 20g pepper 20g salt
- onions, paprika, other vegies
- keep some mixture for basting
A very generous fire is prepared about 4-5 hours before serving and the lamb mounted when the flames are receded and about 3 hours before serving time. I share manual rotation with friends but ensure the axis of the spit is long enough as not to sit near the hot fire! Most butchers will rent or lend an electric spit. The smaller parts of the lamb are exposed after about 2 hours of cooking and the hungry impatient kids can be served first. The rest of the aluminium-foil is removed part by part as the meat is required, usually cut and served directly from the spit onto a waiting guests plate. The experts don't use foil but it is recommended for beginners, it prevents burning and also keeps in the ingredients and aroma better I find?
I hope to do my next lamb in July for GLOBOsapiens visitors on the Isar River bank...
More tips:
Guide to Greek FoodGrill GuruGreek FoodYouTube
