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Mechoui “refers to the method of cooking a lamb or a sheep cooked whole on the spit” in Algeria and Morocco. Do you enjoy lamb and traditional Moroccan dishes? You should give mechoui a try.
While the term can have slightly different meanings throughout North Africa, mechoui refers to the cooking of a whole lamb or sheep in a clay oven over wood in Morocco.
In Maghrebi cuisine, it is a whole sheep or lamb spit-roasted on a grill. The word is derived from the Arabic word aw (“grilling, roasting”). This is a popular dish in North Africa.
Cultural Roots Of Mechoui
Mechoui, like many traditional Moroccan foods, is served in a unique way that is deeply rooted in local culture. It is frequently served at the start of a meal, which is usually a feast or diffa.
The host begins by taking pieces of meat with his right hand and offering them to their guests. Diners don’t need cutlery to eat mechoui because the meat is so tender that they can detach pieces with minimal effort.
In Marrakech, there is a neighborhood known as Mechoui Alley, where pits in the ground are used for slow-roasting lambs. The most skilled butchers with refined barbecuing chops will roast lambs to entertain and, of course, whet their customers’ appetites.
How To Prepare Mechoui
As established earlier, this dish is made from roasted sheep or lamb. The stomach cavity organs are removed, with the exception of the kidneys, and spices such as ras el hanout and saffron are used for seasoning.
The stomach cavity is stitched back together after the meat has marinated. The lamb is then skewered on a tree branch and cooked next to a pile of embers (not directly over them since the fat could char the meat). The spindle is rotated on a regular basis to ensure that the meat cooks evenly on all sides.
The lamb is cooked gently, allowing the interior and exterior to cook at the same time. To give it a crispy texture, brush it with butter or oil and gradually bring it closer to the embers until it turns amber in color.
Mechoui
Ingredients
- 1 leg Lamb
- ¾ cup Ghee
- 3 tbsp Kosher Salt
- 2 tbsp Rosemary
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Cumin
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 325°F.
- Remove excess fat from the lamb leg and add on salt.
- Take the remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix it well into paste. Apply little paste on the lamb leg and transfer it to roasting pan. Bake it covered with aluminum foil for 2 ½ hrs.
- Rub over the paste in every 30-45 min. Then set the oven at 375°F and bake it uncovered for 3 hrs. Apply the paste in every 1 hr.
- Serve it hot.
