Barbecoa Leg of Lamb
Recipe by Chris.
Barbecoa is a South American style of cooking and it is also where the term barbecue actually comes from. It is prevalent in Mexico and the Caribbean and involves slow cooking meat with a high fat content either over an open fire or more traditionally buried in the ground. I have done neither, I have used the traditional marinade but gave it a go on the barbecue as I don’t want to ruin my garden with a large open fire!
The goal for this recipe is to try to keep the heat within the barbecue as close to 160c as possible for the full 8 hours, very tricky with a charcoal barbecue, especially if your barbecue doesn’t have a thermostat! One lesson I learned while trying this Easter weekend is to get a charcoal starting chimney, if you don’t you will have to keep relighting the barbecue and swapping the meat to the oven while you relight it.
Alternatively you can cook in the oven for 8 hours at 160 if you either don’t have a barbecue or just don’t want the hassle of painstakingly keeping a barbecue at a steady temperature for that long.
Ingredients:
For the Marinade
10 Dried Red Chillies
1.25 litres water
80ml cider vinegar
2x tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
5 Cloves Garlic, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon oregano
1/2 teasopoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
4 tablespoons rapeseed oil
For the Lamb
1 3kg Leg of Lamb
2.5 teaspoons of salt
Prep Time: 30 minutes (+marinading overnight)
Cooking Time: 8 hours
Serves: 6 people
Instructions
Boil the dried chillies in the water for 10 minutes
Add the chillies and half of the water to a blender
Add the rest of the marinade ingredients and blend until a fine paste
Heat the oil in a heavy pan (preferably cast iron)
Add the marinad and cook until has reduced a bit and the oil starts to separate, about 10 minutes
When cooked allow it to cool
Score the lamb leg about 1 cm deep all over and rub in the marinade
Leave to marinade in the fridge overnight
Wrap in tinfoil and cook on the barbeque for 7.5 hours, keeping it as close to 160 as possible, try to keep the meat away from the charcoal as you don't want it to burn on the outside
For the last half hour, remove the tinfoil and cook on the grill
Remove from the grill and let rest for 15 minutes covered in foil
Serve with your favourite sides and enjoy!
