Mains
Lamb Souvlaki
Αρνί Σουβλάκι
This is Pappou’s recipe that Jim has perfected. It's untouched and unbeatable. The secret? Good oregano. Not the powdered stuff — real, Greek island oregano on the stalk, straight from the Mediterranean grocer. Similarly, the lemon juice is a crucial element of this dish. Trust us when we say not to use the store-bought, bottled lemon juice. Instead, go for a walk to Yiayia's, or past your Greek neighbour's house and grab a couple of their fresh, home-grown lemons. You'll be happy that you have gone to the extra effort when you lamb hits your tastebuds.
Main
Ingredients
- 1 leg of lamb (3-4kg)
- 1.5 tablespoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
- Handful of Greek whole oregano stalks
- 2 large lemons
Method
- Bone the leg of lamb and cut into 3-4cm cubes if grilling, not removing any fat. For larger skewers for rotisserie only, cut into 7-10cm cubes
- Place the lamb cubes into a large tupperware container, sprinkling enough salt to ensure full coverage and add ground white pepper. If you're using lamb backstrap, add oil since there is no fat to it. If you’re using half a leg of lamb, half the seasonings
- Take a handful of whole oregano stalks and rub between your hands, letting the oregano fall onto the lamb and ensure that there is good coverage of the oregano over the pieces. Mix the lamb with your hands, ensuring the seasoning is evenly distributed, and let sit for 30 mins
- After the lamb has been sitting, squeeze the lemons over the meat. Mix the lemon juice through with your hands and let it sit for 10 minutes. The meat should begin to change colour, going a shade of grey-ish white
- Use metal skewers and pack the lamb cubes tightly together. For a 30-40cm long skewer, Jim uses about 8-10 cubes. If you’re using larger skewers for rotisserie, you can get 1.5 legs of lamb onto 1 skewer. But that's for the experienced souvlaki-ist, and may require Jim consultation
- In an emergency, you can cook on a gas BBQ, but it's not as good. Make sure you use the grill section and on high heat in this case. If it's REALLY an emergency, cooking in the frying pan is a different system altogether. Half the amount of lemon and cut all the fat off your meat, reduce the salt and pepper amounts too
- If you’re doing it the correct way, on coals, make sure the coals are well alight before you start cooking (you can find a shortcut on page 61). Place lamb skewers on the grill and turn them infrequently (twice each side) and don’t let them burn. The timing depends on the heat of the coals and the size of your lamb. The meat browns on the outside but should be pink and juicy in the middle. So watch them carefully
- As you’re cooking, set some bits aside for any willing tasting assistants to test. Don’t forget the wise words: “If you let them dry up in the middle, they’ll be shit-house”