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Title: Balkan Whole Roast Lamb or Pig
Categories: Info Bbq Balkan Lamb Pork
Yield: 4 Servings
| 1 | Info file |
In our Croatian and Serbian communities in the US and in the Balkans we regularly roast whole lambs, sheep and pigs with great success. I have done it frequently myself. The meat is very moist and tender, with a crisp outer skin. When I was a student, a lamb roasts became an annual event for my college fraternity and was a great hit.
The day before the roast, we would obtain the lamb, rub it inside and out with a paste of garlic salt and lemon juice. Make sure the breastbone is not split (i.e. the rib cage should be intact). The next day two parallel fires were built using a combination of charcoal and fruit wood. Adding some dried grape vines to the fire also gives a pleasant flavor. The fire was allowed to burn down to coals and the beast placed on the spit in between the two narrow fires such that grease from the meat dripped onto the ground, rather on the coals. The animal was basted from time time with fat, whiskey or šljivovica (plum brandy - eau de vie de prune). Usually the roasters (pechenjari) would drink liberal amounts of šljivovica, as well. We replenished the fires with charcoal as needed. Occaisionally we would build separate wood fires to feed coals to the fire.
We always used a mechanised spit with a gear reduction box, however in the old country the typical way was to use a wooden spit and get some young boys to turn the spit with their feet. Roasting takes on the order of 4 to 5 hours depending on the size of the lamb or pig. We always used young lambs and pigs. If we needed to feed a larger party, we roasted more animals. At our picnics in the US it is not unusual to see 15 or more lambs roasting at a time. In western Pennsylvania, Ohio and around Chicago and Detroit there are profesional pecenjari who roast pigs and lambs for picnics and weddings every weekend. I don't know where you are located, but you might want to try to contact some of these guys to see if they have had experience roasting a calf or cow. If there is a Serbian orthodox church in your vicinity, that would be a good place to start.
Typical accompaniments are raw green onions, salt and bread.
Happy roasting.