Méchoui Mauritanien

About This Recipe

Méchoui — from the Arabic شواء meaning to grill — is the celebratory dish of the Mauritanian desert. A whole young lamb is spiced with cumin, coriander, saffron, and butter, then rotated slowly over a bed of coals for several hours until the meat falls from the bone and the skin is amber and crisp. Traditionally eaten at weddings, Eid, and the reception of honoured guests, the communal act of pulling meat from the carcass is itself a ritual of hospitality.

Ingredients

Serves 10

• 1 wholeyoung lamb (~8 kg), cleaned
• 100 gunsalted butter, softened
• 2 tspground cumin
• 2 tspground coriander
• 1 tspsaffron threads, dissolved in 2 tbsp warm water
• 2 tspsalt

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the spice butter

   Mix butter, cumin, coriander, saffron water, and salt into a smooth paste. Rub generously all over the lamb, including under the skin where accessible.

2. 2

   Skewer

   Thread lamb onto a large metal spit, trussing legs and shoulders tightly.

3. 3

   Slow-roast

   Roast over medium-low charcoal heat, rotating continuously for 3–4 hours. Baste with remaining spice butter every 30 minutes.

4. 4

   Check doneness

   Meat is done when a skewer inserted into the thickest part meets no resistance and juices run clear.

5. 5

   Serve

   Rest 15 minutes. Guests pull meat by hand and dip in ground cumin-salt mix.

Variations

• •

  Add harissa to the spice butter for a spicier crust.

• •

  Oven-roast at 160 °C for 4 hours as a home adaptation.

• •

  Vegetarian: swap the protein for roasted king oyster mushrooms, smoked tofu or cooked chickpeas — adjust seasoning slightly upward to compensate.

• •

  Spicier: add a finely chopped fresh chile or a teaspoon of crushed Aleppo/Urfa pepper to the aromatics for warm, layered heat instead of a single sharp hit.

Storage

Leftover lamb keeps refrigerated for 3 days and makes excellent sandwiches.

Frequently Asked Questions