Lechazo Asado (Roasted Lamb)

A famous and typical recipe from Burgos, Spain

Aug 19, 2007 Angeles Fernández

The recipe for this Cordero Asado (Roasted Lamb) is a secret owned by some famous restaurants in Burgos, but Carlos Cubillo, my husband, got it and here it is. Ready?

It was just a question of testing, and now we can taste this wonderful dish at home.

First, it will be necessary to clarify some concepts about “lamb”. Whenever we talk about the Cordero Asado from Burgos, we are talking about a concrete lamb: the unweaned lamb, 4 to 6 months old. It’s weigth should be between 5 to 8 Kg. (between 11 and 17 pounds).

Its meat is softer, finer. On the other hand, some few people think an older lamb could be also used to prepare this recipe, mainly those who want “more meat” and “less bones”. It all depends on one’s taste, but we need to have clear ideas about the right type of lamb used in Burgos to prepare this recipe. After this note, let’s go with the recipe:

Ingredients:

• A 11-17 pounds lamb will serve four - ½ lamb will serve two.
• Salt
• Water
• Olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF (160ºC) for about twenty to thirty minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cut the lamb into pieces so that you can easily adapt them to the recipient. Note that the best one will be a roasting pan made of clay. In fact, this is the one used by the restaurants cookers.
3. Season every piece of lamb before placing it inside the clay pot and when all the pieces are placed, poor a small quantity of olive oil on every piece of lamb. Don’t use too much oil, if so, it will “hide” the authentic taste of this meat.
4. Add water, taking into account that the lamb will spend some few hours in the oven. Some 2-3 cm. (less than 1 inch) high will be enough.
5. When the lamb is in the oven, change its temperature to low heat. This dish needs, above all, time and patience!
6. From time to time, you will have to check if there is enough water on the bottom or around the lamb, we need to be sure water won’t complete evaporate.
7. When you see the lamb is taking a cooked – semi-roasted look, take it out from the oven. (Close the oven door meanwhile; we don’t want to reduce the oven temperature). Depending on the oven and other conditions, the lamb would take this semi-roasted appearance around 1 or 1,5 hours after having been put into the oven.
8. Very carefully, turn every piece of lamb, so that the cook evenly.
9. Let it cook until you see it’s ready.
10. Above all, and from time to time, check there is always some water on the bottom of the pan, and add it in case the lamb needs it.
11. Once it’s ready, remove it from the oven.

How to serve this dish:

Of course, you have to eat it as soon it gets out from the oven!

Here in Burgos, it’s typical to eat it with salad. But the ingredients for this salad are just lettuce and onion (with salt and olive oil, of course!). Something more difficult (I think) will be eating the typical bread : Torta de aceite. The Torta de Aceite is a round, thin bread, which surface was cooked with some oil.

Ah! Finally, remember that you are allowed to eat this dish using your own hands! Yes, even in a restaurant. The reason for that is that you have to take those little, final pieces of meat around the bones, and with the help of a fork, that would be impossible.

¡Que aproveche!

The copyright of the article Lechazo Asado (Roasted Lamb) in Mediterranean Cuisine is owned by Angeles Fernández. Permission to republish Lechazo Asado (Roasted Lamb) in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Lambs