We've taken our inspiration this week from North Africa, Tunisia to be precise, with this roasted lamb dish based around the feasting dish Méchoui. Ordinarily this is a whole lamb spit roasted on a barbecue, but to show a more realistic dish for a family back garden cook here in the UK, we've used North African spices as an inspiration for a fantastic lamb shoulder dish.

The key to this dish is the different cooking methods: first, the lamb is roasted in a covered drip pan topped up with water in order to allow the meat to slowly roast and for the flavours to infuse the dish. Then, the shoulder's removed from the liquid and roasted indirectly on its own in order for the dish to fully cook, and finally we sear the skin over direct heat so you get soft, juicy meat with a crispy, spicy topping.

You can cook this dish on either a gas or charcoal Weber barbecue, but the important thing is to have two different heat zones, so you can cook the shoulder both indirectly and directly to achieve the tender meat with crispy top.

Tunisian Lamb Shoulder

MAIN INGREDIENTS

  • Lamb shoulder (around 2kg), best quality
  • Black Peppercorns
  • Ground Coriander, 1 tbsp
  • Turmeric, 1/2 tbsp
  • Cumin, 1 tbsp
  • Saffron, pinch
  • Salted butter, 60g
  • Garlic paste, 2 tbsp

TO SERVE:

  • Flatbreads, toasted
  • Pomegranate arils

EQUIPMENT

You can create this dish using any Weber BBQ; charcoal or gas, so
long as you have two zones of heat.

 

We've used the following:

  • Weber Genesis E-330
  • Tongs
  • Large Drip Trays (6416)
  • Roasting Rack (6564)
  • Tin foil

 

IN THE KITCHEN

  • Combine the spices in a pestle and mortar and grind.
  • Make inch deep incisions into the lamb, then rub the butter all over the shoulder and into the incisions.
  • Add the garlic paste onto the butter and work into the meat.
  • Pour the spice mix onto and rub into the meat. Chill until ready to cook.

AT THE BBQ

  • Set up your Weber BBQ for indirect grilling, low, around 160C
  • Add the shoulder to a large drip tray, add enough water to have a layer of around 1.5cm on the bottom around the meat.
  • Cover with tin foil and leave to roast for around 2 hours.
  • After this time, remove from the drip tray and place back into the barbecue with indirect heat, using a trivet to raise the meat from the grate. Roast until the internal temperature reaches around 70C.
  • Remove and move to direct heat. Sear until the outside is crispy, rest and serve.

 

 


View more Weber BBQ Recipes from WOWBBQ