Over 20 years ago, I ate my first lamb and pig on the spit. That was all I used to cook — I thought it was brilliant. Then I began to study and teach myself other charcoal cooking methods using various cuts of meat. Now, I want to share what I believe is a better way to cook lamb and pig than on a spit: the Argentinian way. It’s even tastier, uses far less coal, and requires less preparation time and effort.
LAMB
Ask your butcher for a butterflied flat lamb. You can’t fit a whole lamb on the grill, so tell them you want a piece no more than 60 cm long by 40 cm wide. This will be a piece weighing around 11 kg max — enough to feed about 15 people. I usually get the front portion of the lamb, as the ribs and shoulders are better than the back legs.
They will run a knife along the ribs to cut them off the spine. Also, ask them to cut the front leg shanks off so the lamb is no wider than 40 cm. Another option is to get a side of lamb — or two sides — which includes the ribs, shoulder, and skirt/flap meat, but no backstrap or loin. This is my favourite cut and is even cheaper than a whole lamb! Take the lamb out of the fridge a good hour before cooking to bring it to room temperature.
Mix 500 ml of water with 2 tablespoons of a mediterranean spice. Place a mesh strainer over a cup and filter the mixture (you’ll need two cups). Inject the meat side of the lamb (under the ribs, shoulders, spine) all over using a marinade injector. Use all 500 ml for an 11 kg lamb piece.
Light your chimney and raise the grill so you can count between 12–15 seconds with your palm over the coals before it gets too hot. Place the lamb skin-side down. Wipe oil on the rib side or use a spray can, then season the meat side well with the spice. Turn it over so the ribs are facing down. Oil and season the skin side too. Cook bone-side down for approximately 3 hours, then 1 hour skin-side down. Be careful not to use too much heat, or the skin and/or meat can burn.
Cook with the lid above the meat if possible; otherwise, allow an additional 30 minutes cooking time. When the ribs are facing up, you should get a pool of juices forming in the rib cage. Use a spoon to baste this over the spine and shoulder meat.
PIG
For the pig, repeat the same method as above but use an Italian spice rub. Also, oil and salt the skin side only.
For both lamb and pig, make sure the meat is coming off the bone and the skin is crispy before serving.
You can also use bone-in shoulder, bone-in pork belly, or any other smaller cuts for this style of grilling if you’re feeding fewer people.
The trick is to be patient with this style of barbecuing. Don’t use too much heat or the skin will burn — especially with lamb. If this happens, reduce the heat or baste the skin with oil, which helps slow the burning.
Enjoy!