American Whole Lamb with Chimichurri Sauce
Learn how to cook a whole lamb over live fire from Chefs Stephen Barber and Kipp Ramsey from Farmstead Long Meadow Ranch in California’s Napa Valley. They coat the lamb with a rosemary, harissa and vindaloo spice rub, and cook the lamb on a rack over a cherry and oak wood fire. They serve the lamb with a chimichurri sauce, potatoes and peppers.
Ingredients
- INGREDIENTS
Ingredients
Oak Wood
Cherry Wood
HERB BRUSHIngredients
Rosemary
Thyme
Lemon leaves
Any hard herbs available
LAMB RUB2 bu Rosemary
2 cups Harissa
1 cup Vindaloo spice
Ingredients1 ea American Lamb, whole, 55-60 lb.
1 recipe Lamb Rub (recipe above)
20-30 ea Garlic cloves
1 cup Preserved lemon
2-3 bu Rosemary
BASTE2 cups Olive oil
2 Tbsp Harissa
1 Tbsp Sun-dried tomato powder
1 Tbsp Chili powder
1 Tbsp Garlic powder
1 Lemon, rind of
1 Tbsp Rosemary
1 Tbsp Fennel seed, toasted, crushed
1 Tbsp Sea salt
1 Tbsp Ground black pepper
CHIMICHURRI SAUCE2 cups Olive oil
2 Tbsp Paprika
1 Tbsp Oregano
1 ea Shallot, medium, brunoised
as needed Lemon juice
as needed Salt
as needed Ground black pepper
2 lb Red fingerling potatoes, steamed
1 lb Jimmy Nardello Pepper
Directions
- INGREDIENTS
- Build starter fire away from lamb spit using both oak and cherry wood. Let fire burn a few hours and reduce it to hot coals.
- FOR THE HERB BRUSH
- Tie herb sprigs together with twine to create an herb brush for basting.
- FOR THE LAMB RUB
- Combine the ingredients and mix together.
- FOR THE LAMB
- Smear lamb with rub. Poke holes in lamb with a knife and insert garlic cloves; repeat with preserved lemon and rosemary.
- Saw lamb through the sternum. Spread rib cage open. Break the inner clavicle bones.
- Transfer lamb to barbeque spit with cross bars, spread flat with skin side out, towards the sky, and tie with heavy wire to secure legs and body.
- Transfer coals to create fire pit under barbeque spit.
- FOR THE BASTE
- In large bowl, mix olive oil, harissa, sun-dried tomato powder, chili powder, garlic powder, lemon rind, rosemary, fennel seed, sea salt, and black pepper. Use herb brush to baste the lamb skin.
- EMPTY HEADING
- Lower spit rack and cook for 2 to 3 hours; check for color change. Continue to baste, check fire, and add coals as needed.
- Rotate spit to have skin side of lamb facing fire. Cook for 2 additional hours. Continue to check fire, and add coals as needed.
- FOR THE CHIMICHURRI SAUCE
- In bowl, combine olive oil, paprika, oregano, shallot, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add steamed red fingerling potatoes and Jimmy Nardello peppers in chimichurri sauce.
- EMPTY HEADING
- When lamb is finished, let rest for 15 to 20 minutes and then cut or shred into pieces as desired.
- Heat and oil plancha. Place potatoes and peppers on plancha and cook until crisp.
- Once crisp, take veggies off and drizzle with more marinade in bowl.
- TO FINISH
- Serve the lamb on a platter with the chimichurri sauce and the vegetables.
