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Mauritanian Méchoui

Name: Mauritanian Méchoui
Total time: 240 min
Yield: Serves 8
Cuisine: Mauritania
Ingredients: 1.5kg (bone-in shoulder) Lamb; 60g Butter; 1 tbsp Cumin powder; 2 tsp Paprika; 4 cloves Garlic; 2 tsp Salt; 1 tsp Black Pepper; 200ml Water

Main Dish

⏱ 240 min

👥 Serves 8

Difficulty ⭐⭐

Lamb rubbed with spices and butter and slowly roasted — a Mauritanian feast dish.

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📖 The Story Behind This Dish

Méchoui is whole roast lamb made for celebrations across North Africa; in Mauritania it's tied to nomadic culture and is the feast for weddings and honored guests. The lamb is rubbed with cumin, salt, and butter and slowly roasted over coals or in a pit dug in the ground until the skin is crisp and the meat falls apart. At home it's made with a large joint.

🌆 Where it's eaten: In front of a tent in the Mauritanian desert, charcoal-roasted lamb is heaped on a platter as guests pull it apart by hand.

🥕 Ingredients (serves 8)

Lamb 1.5kg (bone-in shoulder)
Butter 60g
Cumin powder 1 tbsp
Paprika 2 tsp
Garlic 4 cloves
Salt 2 tsp
Black Pepper 1 tsp
Water 200ml

👩‍🍳 Instructions

Mix the softened butter with the grated garlic, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper.
Score the meat, rub in the butter, and let stand 2 hours.
Set the meat in a roasting pan, pour in water, and cover with foil.
Roast at 160°C for 3 hours, basting occasionally with the pan juices.
Remove the foil, roast at 220°C for 20 minutes until browned, and serve with cumin and salt.

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