Spring Lamb
Ingredients
1 25-pound spring lamb, skinned
Dressing:
5 pounds potatoes, uncooked, peeled and quartered
5 pounds ground lamb, uncooked
Salt, pepper, parsley to taste
Oregano, sage to taste (optional)
Olive Paste:
5 pounds Kalamata olives, pitted
1 head garlic, peeled
6 sprigs fresh rosemary, trimmed
1 lemon, juiced
Instructions
Combine ingredients for olive paste in food processor and pulse until garlic is minced. Do not over process; paste should remain somewhat chunky. Allow flavors to marry while you stuff the lamb.
Combine ingredients for stuffing and pack loosely into lamb. Sew closed tightly with kitchen string.
Lay lamb on several large sheets of aluminum foil. Smear liberally with olive paste, ensuring that thicker parts of meat like the leg receive more paste. Wrap lamb tightly with foil, and wrap again with another layer of foil.
Place lamb on cooking apparatus, turning frequently to prevent burning. Because the lamb is skinned and thus more likely to burn, you should monitor the cooking process closely.
A 25-pound lamb should take about 3-4 hours over an open fire or buried loosely in glowing coals from a hardwood fire, depending on the size of the fire. You could also cook the lamb on a rotisserie, but be sure to keep it covered with foil until almost done.
In the Middle East and most European countries it is unheard of to serve lamb any other way than well done. We like to buck that tradition and serve lamb medium rare, as it is meant to be.
