grilled half lamb

[ATram]

Hi guys, today i was talking to my brother about having dinner and I suddenly remembered i have half a lamb sitting in my freezer since some time ago.

So we agreed on cooking it for today.

This is my first post on eGullet, as im pretty new here and i always forget to take pictures of my dishes, so forgive me for my lack of writing abilities, my gramatical errors and my amateurish pictures.

I started at 5pm, taking notice that it takes about 4 hours to properly cook this lamb.

First of all i removed the neck and the spinal cord, as it doesnt contribute with much meat and it adds cooking time.

As it was a great lamb and it didnt have any excess of fat I didnt do anything else.

Then i started the fire, as I needed live coals for the next 4 hours so i was constantly adding logs to it.

In the mean time I prepared some "chimichurri" (a mix of a variety of ingredients, mainly herbs, with olive oil and vinager, which can be done in a lot of different ways). I dont recall which was the english word for it, sorry.

I vary the recipt of this very often, this time i used rosemary, garlic, ciboulette, oregano, papika, lemon juice, a bit of honey and little curry.

Here is the lamb already in the "parrilla" with the seasoning on it.

2 hours later it was turned to the other side and some salt was added.

Close up:

After that last picture my camara run out of battery so i couldnt take any more pics, but after 3 hours and a half of cooking it was turned around again, seasonead a little bit more, some more salt and left it cooking for less than an hour.

When it's ready you can grab the legs, twist them and they will come apart very easily, without need to brake bones or anything.

I can tell you it was very tasty and everyone loved it.

Questions, critics and insults are welcome.

Greets,

Alejandro

[maher]

that looks fantastic Alejandro.

one question, how are you getting the right amount of heat to the thicker parts (leg, arm) are you piling up coals under them? it seems that since the fire is on one side it would cook a whole lot faster.

if you can get pictures of your grill and explain it to us that would be great, its quite a unique looking thing.

[ATram]

thanks maher.

Here is a picture that shows the distribution of live coal, it's all around the lamb, not directly under it. The fat will start falling and will do something like a lake of fat down there, the coal goes all around that lake. If you put the coal right under it, it'll overburn and not cook, remember it's a process of hours.

You are right about the the overcooking at the fire side, that's why i use a separation between the fire and the grill, i always use a piece of metal for this, but didnt have any so i used a concrete thing i found in my yard.

Here is a pic where u can see it:

About the grill, it is the typical grill in Uruguay and Argentina. I think they are the only places that use it as this. As our main consume is meat we use it for all kind of meat grilling, "asado" is a typical food done there.

Edited May 29, 2006 by ATram (log)

[rooftop1000]

First I want that grill...then I want a lamb to cook in it

and we call chimichurri....chimichurri

I cook a boneless leg of lamb often on the grill, I coat it with olive oil, garlic, paprika, oregano and salt and pepper.

that looks wonderful

tracey

[Daniel]

Hello ATram,

Wow.. What a great first post.. Where are you writing from? Where is the "parrilla" located.. Is this in your kitchen or outside? Is this your only oven source? It really such a pretty way to cook..What kind of wood do you use for your fire..

[ATram]

Hello ATram,

Wow.. What a great first post.. Where are you writing from?  Where is the "parrilla" located.. Is this in your kitchen or outside? Is this your only oven source?  It really such a pretty way to cook..What kind of wood do you use for your fire..

←

The parrilla is located inside a bungalow, behind house in the garden, not inside the house. It isnt my only oven source, i wouldnt be able to cook many things there. I have a dual oven in my kitches

I used medium hardness wood for the fire, it was acacia y think. It cant be too hard because it would take too long to get live coals out of it.. and you need to keep a temperature constant inside the grill.

By the way, im writing from Montevideo, Uruguay.

Edited May 29, 2006 by ATram (log)