Mechoui in Arabic means “grilled,” but in Morocco it means a whole lamb, roasted in a pit oven with twenty or more other lambs, each trussed to a pole and the poles arranged all around the oven leaning against its walls, until the meat is so tender you can pull it off the bone with your hand without the help of any cutlery. You will find mechoui stalls in the Medina of Marrakesh and by the slaughterhouse in Casablanca, as well as in the weekly souks. Each will have one large, round clay pit oven where the mechoui vendor can bake up to twenty-five whole lambs in one go. Once done the roast lambs are taken out, one at a time, and placed on a large counter onto the street where people gather to buy their chosen cuts, which they carry off wrapped in paper to eat on the go or in a nearby café with mint tea. The meat is not seasoned when it is roasted and it is eaten dipped in a 50/50 mixture of salt and cumin. Often they will take the meat home for an impromptu meal. When you are offered mechoui in someone’s home, it will usually be a quarter of the lamb as they can roast only quarters (usually the shoulder, ribs, and neck) in their home ovens. You can do the same or simply roast a shoulder as I suggest here.
SERVES 4
INGREDIENTS
- 1 lamb shoulder on the bone (4½ pounds/2 kg)
- 3½ tablespoons (50 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- Sea salt
- Ground cumin
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Rub the lamb all over with the softened butter and place on a rack in a roasting pan.
- Roast for 2 hours to 2 hours 30 minutes, basting the meat every 15 minutes with a little water, until the meat is very tender and the skin is crisp and completely browned.
- Let the lamb sit for about 20 minutes before serving.
- Serve with a mixture of salt and cumin in a 1:1 ratio.
