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Méchoui ( ar, مشوي}) or ''Meshwi'' is a whole
Méchoui ( ar, مشوي}) or ''Meshwi'' is a whole sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...
or lamb spit-roasted on a barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...
in Maghrebi cuisine
Maghreb cuisine is the cooking of the Maghreb region, the northwesternmost part of Africa along the Mediterranean Sea, consisting of the countries of Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia.
Well-known dishes from the region include ''c ...
. The word comes from the Arabic word ''šawā'' (, "grilling, roasting"). This dish is very popular in North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
.
In Algeria
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and Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
, the term ''méchoui'' "refers to the method of cooking a lamb or a sheep cooked whole on the spit".
In Tunisia, however, it applies to any piece of meat or fish grilled with embers.
Preparation
After having slaughtered and dismembered the young lamb, all the organs of the stomach cavity are removed, with the exception of the kidneys. This cavity is stitched after being sprinkled with spices, particularlyras el hanout
''Ras el hanout'' or ''rass el hanout'' ( ar, رأس الحانوت , ) is a spice mix found in varying forms in Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. The name in Arabic means "head of the shop" and implies a mixture of the best spices the seller has to ...
. The lamb is skewered on a tree branch and cooked next to a pile of embers. The spindle is rotated slowly and evenly so as to ensure evenly distributed cooking.
The prepared lamb is not placed directly above the embers, for the melting fat could ignite and char the outer flesh. The cooking is started gently, so that the interior cooks almost at the same time as the outside. During cooking, the meat is brushed with melted butter or oil, to make it crispy. Gradually, the lamb is brought close to the hot embers, so that the flesh takes on an amber color. The cooking time varies according to the weight of the animal, typically about a quarter of an hour per kilogram.
Presentation
Méchoui is a dish served at the beginning of the meal, as part of a feast or ''diffa''. With the fingers of the right hand, the host takes pieces of grilled meat and offers them to guests. Traditionally, no cutlery is used to serve a mechoui, because, due to the slow cooking of the meat, should be able to be detached without any effort. The nomadic populations, in addition to their main herd often composed of several thousand sheep, raise a small number of male lambs specifically for mechoui, feeding them with ''cheih'', a species of wildmugwort
Mugwort is a common name for several species of aromatic flowering plants in the genus ''Artemisia.'' In Europe, mugwort most often refers to the species '' Artemisia vulgaris'', or common mugwort. In East Asia the species '' Artemisia argyi'' i ...
which gives the lamb a distinctive character.
Regional variations
Mechoui is prepared, especially in Morocco, by digging a vertical hole, or by constructing an earthen oven, 0.8 to 1 meter in diameter and 1.5 to 2 meters deep. Wood is stacked in this cavity and burns for five or six hours. When the earth surrounding the hole is smoking and the wood is transformed into embers and ashes, most of it is removed to avoid flare-ups. The prepared lamb is added to the oven vertically and enclosed with a lid covered with clay, mud, or wet sand, sealing the lid as well as possible. Cooking lasts four to five hours. When the lamb is done, the hardened cover is broken to remove the lamb from the oven.Serving
Traditionally, méchoui is served with cumin and salt, either on a plate or in a decorative serving dish. The diners sprinkle salt and cumin to taste on the lamb before eating.See also
*List of Middle Eastern dishes
This is a list of dishes found in Middle Eastern cuisine, a generalized term collectively referring to the cuisines of the Middle East and the Maghreb region. The Middle East is home to numerous different cultural and ethnic groups. This diversity ...
* List of African dishes
There is a list of dishes found in African cuisine, a generalized term collectively referring to the cuisines of Africa. The continent of Africa is the second-largest landmass on Earth, and is home to hundreds of different cultural and Ethnic gro ...
* List of barbecue dishes
This is a list of barbecue dishes, comprising barbecued dishes and foods, along with those that are often barbecued.
Barbecue foods
*
*
*
* . It is also a term used both for a range of barbecue techniques and the social event of having ...
* List of lamb dishes
This is a list of lamb and mutton dishes and foods. Lamb and mutton are terms for the meat of domestic sheep (species ''Ovis aries'') at different ages. A sheep in its first year is called a lamb, and its meat is also called lamb. The meat of a j ...
* List of spit-roasted foods
This is a list of notable spit-roasted foods, consisting of dishes and foods that are roasted on a rotisserie, or spit. Rotisserie is a style of roasting where meat is skewered on a spit, a long solid rod used to hold food while it is being cooked ...
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mechoui Arab cuisine Algerian cuisine North African cuisine Lamb dishes Barbecue Mauritanian cuisine Spit-cooked foods Maghrebi cuisine Middle Eastern cuisine