Mechoui

Mechoui is Morocco's great celebratory roast — a whole lamb or large bone-in shoulder slow-roasted in a clay-sealed pit or a very low oven until the meat collapses off the bone at a touch. The name comes from the Arabic for 'roasted over fire,' and traditionally a mechoui pit is dug for weddings and festivals, the lamb rubbed with smen (aged clarified butter), cumin, and salt. This oven version brings those same results to a home kitchen, rewarding patience with extraordinarily succulent meat.

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 2kg (4.5 lb) bone-in lamb shoulder
• 80g (3 oz) unsalted butter, softened (or smen if available)
• 4 garlic cloves, made into a paste with salt
• 2 tsp ground cumin, plus extra to serve
• 1.5 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 0.5 tsp turmeric
• 1.5 tsp flaky salt
• 250ml (1 cup) water
• Flatbread, fresh tomato salad, and extra cumin and salt, to serve

Instructions

1. Score the lamb shoulder all over with a sharp knife, making 2cm (3/4-inch) deep cuts. Mix butter with garlic paste, cumin, paprika, coriander, turmeric, and salt to a paste. Rub thoroughly into the meat and into all the cuts. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F). Place lamb in a deep roasting pan, pour in water, and cover tightly with two layers of foil.
3. Roast for 4 hours, then remove foil, increase heat to 220°C (425°F), and roast a further 20–30 minutes until the exterior is deeply browned and crisp.
4. Rest for 20 minutes. Tear the meat apart using two forks — it should pull away effortlessly.
5. Serve with small bowls of cumin and flaky salt for dipping, flatbread, and a simple tomato salad.

Cook's Notes: Smen, Morocco's pungent aged butter, is worth seeking out at a Middle Eastern or North African grocer — even a small amount stirred into regular butter lifts the dish considerably. Leftover mechoui meat makes exceptional sandwiches in flatbread with harissa.