How to Cook a Spit-Roasted Lamb for Easter

This image shows a whole lamb cooked in the spit roaster — Whole lamb on the spit roaster

Are you at a loss for what to cook for Easter? Why not try a Spit-Roasted Lamb?

There’s something special about the whole family gathered around 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:

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

This image shows a man holding the skewer with whole lamb on it. — The Lamb is ready to place in the spit roaster

Pass the skewer through the front and back cavities of the lamb
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
One large prong should be inserted through each set of legs.

This image shows the two men placing a wire in the lamb's leg. — Lamb’s legs with wires to hold them in place.

Bend the legs to fit inside the V shape of the leg brackets and secure them with wire.
If the lamb’s neck is particularly long, I recommend trying it down with wire; otherwise, it will burn.
When the lamb is properly affixed to the skewer, it is time to place the entire lamb on a spit.

This image shows a spit roaster with a whole lamb placed on it. — The lamb is ready to cook in the spit roaster

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

Basting:

Baste the animal every 20-30 minutes with a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, and salt to keep it moist on the outside. Use an enclosed basting jar if possible to keep flies and/or other nasties out of your marinade.

Cooking time:

Many factors will affect your cooking time; however, to be on the safe side, allow around 5 hours. If it’s ready earlier, you can always push the charcoal to the side and raise the lamb to the top of the spit roaster to keep it warm but not cooking. Test the internal temperature of the fleshiest part of the meat (the legs) with a cooking thermometer; once it reaches 75 degrees, the meat is done.

Believe me when I say that once you’ve cooked a whole lamb on a spit, you’ll never be satisfied with a simple leg of lamb in the oven again!

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

PS. We love it when our customers post pictures of their spit-roasting on our Facebook page. If you haven’t already done so, please visit our Facebook page and share your spit-roasting photos with our community.

For more Blogs about spit roasting check here.