Mechoui (Moroccan Whole Roasted Lamb)

About This Recipe

Mechoui (مشوي) — meaning 'roasted' in Arabic — is the pinnacle of Moroccan festive cooking: a whole lamb or large shoulder, traditionally cooked in a mechmar (clay oven sunk in the ground) or over charcoal, basted repeatedly with spiced butter as it roasts for 4–6 hours until the skin crisps to shattering gold and the meat beneath is so tender it can be pulled away with two fingers. Mechoui is the food of celebration — served at Moroccan weddings, at Aid el-Adha (the feast of sacrifice), and at great outdoor banquets called diffa where guests tear at the lamb with their hands, dipping pieces into little bowls of cumin salt and ground pepper — the only condiments required, because the properly prepared lamb needs nothing else. In homes and restaurants, a large shoulder or leg approximates the whole-lamb experience with almost as dramatic a result. The key technique is the spiced butter baste — made with smen (aged butter), cumin, coriander, paprika, and salt — applied every 30 minutes as the lamb roasts, building layer after layer of flavor into the caramelizing skin.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 1bone-in lamb shoulder (about 2 kg)(or use half a leg of lamb)
• 100 gunsalted butter, softened(or smen)
• 2 tspground cumin
• 1 tspground coriander
• 1 tspsweet paprika
• 0.5 tspground ginger
• 0.5 tspcayenne pepper
• 4 clovesgarlic, minced
• 1 tspfine salt
• 2 tspcoarse salt(mixed with 1 tsp ground cumin, for serving)
• 1 tspground black pepper(for serving bowl)
• 1 lemonlemon, halved(for serving)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the spiced butter

   Mix softened butter with cumin, coriander, paprika, ginger, cayenne, garlic, and salt until smooth. This is your basting paste.

2. 2

   Score and rub

   Score the lamb shoulder all over with a sharp knife — deep cuts every 3 cm. Pack spiced butter into the cuts and rub the remainder all over the surface. Let sit at room temperature 1 hour, or refrigerate overnight.

   Scoring and filling the cuts ensures the spices penetrate the meat rather than just coating the surface.

3. 3

   Begin slow roasting

   Place lamb in a roasting pan. Roast at 160°C for 3.5–4 hours total. After the first hour, baste with pan juices and any remaining spiced butter. Baste every 45 minutes.

4. 4

   Raise heat for the crust

   In the final 30–45 minutes, raise oven to 220°C. The skin will crisp and color deeply. Watch closely and rotate the pan if browning unevenly.

5. 5

   Test tenderness

   The lamb is ready when the meat pulls away from the bone with two fingers and a skewer inserted at the thickest point meets no resistance.

6. 6

   Rest

   Rest uncovered 15–20 minutes. The meat needs rest to relax — cutting too early loses juices.

7. 7

   Serve traditionally

   Place lamb on a large board or platter. Serve with cumin salt and cracked pepper in separate bowls for dipping. Tear rather than slice — mechoui is eaten with hands, not cutlery.

Variations

• •

  Individual mechoui: small marinated lamb chops or cutlets grilled over charcoal and served with cumin salt.

• •

  Mechoui with chermoula marinade: some coastal Moroccan regions marinate the lamb in herb-heavy chermoula before roasting.

• •

  Slow cooker mechoui: cook on low 8–10 hours, then finish under the broiler for 15 minutes for a crust.

Storage

Leftover mechoui keeps refrigerated for 3 days. Pull meat from bones and store separately. Reheat in a hot skillet with a little butter — do not microwave. Mechoui pulled meat makes exceptional sandwiches in crusty bread with harissa.

Frequently Asked Questions