Let's Go Moroccan!

Heartfelt thanks to all of you who wrote such supportive replies to my recent posts.

Here's a little giveback from the kitchen of the Ryland Inn. It's the first of four of my favorite recipes, which I'll be posting in coming days.

Those of you who have followed "Breaking Eggs" have heard me harangue about the importance of long, slow, low-temperature cooking, and the wonder it works on tenderizing meats. Well, here's an example. And it takes no special skill to achieve great results.

Let's get started on GRILLED 8-HOUR MOROCCAN LAMB SKEWERS.

Grilled “8-Hour” Moroccan Lamb Skewers

This recipe should yield 40 to 50 mini skewers suitable for hors d’oeuvres or 8 large skewers of an appetizer/main course size.

Ingredients
1 lamb shoulder approx. 12 pounds
Marinade
3 tbsp Extra Virgin olive oil
zest of 1 small lemon
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp Spanish smoked paprika “pimentone’
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 chile de Arbol
1 tsp harissa paste

¼ bunch of fresh mint
½ cup of Niçoise olives, pitted
salt and freshly ground “Tellicherry” black pepper

50 - 4” Bamboo cocktail picks (for hors d’oeuvres sized skewers); or,
8 - 12” flat metal skewers (for entrée or appetizer size skewers)

Method:

Roast the Lamb shoulder for ½ hour at 400°F; then turn down the oven temperature to 225°F and continue to cook for 7½ to 8 hours. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.  The lamb will still be a bit pink near the bone, but it will be super-tender.
Assemble all the ingredients of the marinade in a bowl: the olive oil, lemon zest, spices, garlic, harissa paste and mix together well.
Trim any excess fat off the outside of the lamb shoulder. Now, using your fingers, remove the meat from the bone, muscle by muscle.  You will need a knife at times.

Next cut the meat into regular cubes of the same size say, 5/8” x 5/8”.  It is more important that they are as uniform in size than what actual size cube you choose.

Take a bamboo skewer and thread a lamb cube on it. Then wrap an olive in a mint leaf and thread that on the skewer.  Finish with one more cube of lamb.

Arrange the skewers in a stainless pan loosely and the marinade over them, turning each piece until nicely coated. Cover and leave to marinate at room temperature for 2 hours or overnight in the fridge.

When ready to serve, remove from the skewers from the marinade wiping off excess with your fingers. Season them with salt & milled black pepper.  Then, grill them on the barbecue over medium-hot coals for only 1-2 minutes per side, turning now and then, until they are nicely “grill marked” on the outside and warm but still pink in the centre.
These would be nice served “puro” as is; or with a little bit of mint-yogurt sauce.

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