Cooking a Leg of Lamb on a Spit Roaster

Spit Roast Lamb Leg Recipe

Cooking a couple of legs of lamb on a spit roaster is an easy way to cook for a special occasion or even at Christmas.  While you can cook a leg of lamb in your normal kitchen oven, cooking a leg of lamb on the spit will give you a delicious smoky flavour and allow you to also cook other meats (or multiple legs of lamb) on the spit at the same time.  Also as the lamb leg rotates on the spit, fats will render out and rotate on the surface of the lamb as it goes round and round, self-marinating and creating an amazing flavourful bark. 

Spit Roast Lamb Recipe Ingredients:

• 1 leg lamb
• Salt
• Sweet paprika
• Onion powder
• Garlic powder
• Cumin powder
• Basting mixture: lemon juice, olive oil and a little salt if you wish
• NOTE: I have intentionally not included the quantities as they will vary depending on the size of the leg of lamb. I typically go by sight and just sprinkle heaps of each ingredient all over the lamb ensuring there is an even coat. Everyone is different so season to your taste. The only ingredient that you should be light-handed with is the Cumin Powder as that can overpower all the other flavours. 

Alternatively, you can always purchase our Traditional Lamb Seasoning and just sprinkle that all over your leg. 

Cooking Method:

• If required, rub olive oil over the lamb to assist in binding the spices to your meat. Sprinkle all the ingredients over the leg of lamb. You shouldn't be able to see any of the meat due to the amount of spices you have added. If you wish you can also pierce the meat with a knife and push sliced cloves of garlic and a little rosemary in each hole for added flavour. 

Attaching it to the spit:

• You'll need a skewer, 2 chicken prongs, butchers string and toothpicks 
• Pass the skewer through the leg of lamb trying to keep the load as balanced on the skewer as you can. 
• Insert one chicken prong through either side of the lamb and lock in tight
• Use a counter balance weight if you're having trouble balancing the load 

Cooking time:

Many things will affect your cooking time, however, allow around 3 hours to be on the safe side. If it's ready a little earlier, you can always push the natural lump charcoal to the side and raise the leg 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 and once it gets to 75 degrees, you know it's cooked. 

Enjoy!

by: Rhiannon Peterson