How to cook a Lamb on a Spit for Easter

Whole Lamb on a Flaming Coals 1500 Hooded Spartan

Stuck for ideas on what to cook this Easter? Why not give a whole lamb on a spit a try?

There's something memorable about the whole family getting together, ogling over the sight of a full lamb turning for 4 hours over charcoal (trying to pinch that little bit of meat as it turns - without burning yourself!)

To help make it as easy as possible for you to cook a lamb on a spit this Easter, we've put together a "How To Cook a Lamb on a Spit" instructional video that breaks down each step for you to easily follow.

Recipe:

Attaching it to the spit:

1. You'll need a skewer at least 1300mm long, 2 large prongs, 1 back brace, 2 leg brackets, stainless steel wire and a basting brush

The lamb is ready to place in the hooded spartan

2. Pass the skewer through the front and back cavities of the lamb

3. Pierce the back brace through the spine of the lamb so that the U shape of the back brace straddles the skewer and the flat plate is on the back of the animal

4. Insert one large prong through each set of legs

Lamb's legs with wires to hold them in place

5. Bend the legs to fit inside the V shape of the leg brackets and use some wire to hold them in place.

6. If the neck on the lamb is long, I'd recommend tieing it down with some wire, otherwise, you'll find that it'll burn

7. Once the lamb is correctly affixed to the skewer, you're ready to add the whole lamb to a spit.

The whole lamb is ready to cook in the hooded spartan

8. Make sure the animal is balanced to ensure even cooking. Learn here how to balance the lamb correctly

Basting:

Using a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice and salt, baste the animal every 20-30 minutes to keep it moist from the outside. Ideally use an enclosed basting jar so that flies and/or other nasties don't help themselves to your marinade

Cooking time:

Many things will affect your cooking time, however, allow around 5 hours to be on the safe side. If it's ready a little earlier, you can always push the charcoal to the side and raise the lamb to the top of the spit roaster so it stays warm but doesn't actually keep cooking. Use a cooking thermometer to test the internal temperature of the fleshiest part of the meat (the legs) and once it gets to 75 degrees, you know it's cooked.

Trust me when I say, once you've cooked a whole lamb on a spit, you'll never be satisfied with a basic leg of lamb in the kitchen oven ever again!

We have a range of lamb spit roast recipes in our Learning and Support Centre.

PS. We absolutely love it when our customers share their spit-roasting images on our Facebook Page. If you're not already following us, go to our Facebook Page and share your spit roasting pics with our community.

Check our range of Spit Rotisseries.