Méchoui

Mechoui (Arabic مشوي, DMG mašwī, grilled ', also Meschui or Maschwi; Méchoui French, Spanish or Anglicized Mechui Meshwi ) is a cooked on the rotisserie or in an earth oven lamb. This festive dish is a traditional specialty of the North African and Mediterranean cuisine. In a figurative sense, the term - particularly in Tunisia - used for all kinds of roast meat from the grill.

Cultural background

Nomadic herders with large herds of sheep kept traditionally for the Mechoui a certain number of lambs that were specially lined - for example, Artemisia - to give the meat a particularly aromatic flavor. The execution of a Mechouis including ritual slaughtering, preparation and serving of the meal was a men 's business, which was later extended to family celebrations, with the women then took care of the other aspects of the feast.

The custom to organize a Mechoui at a special festive occasion, had and still has an important social function: In addition to offering a good, plentiful food - it is not uncommon that in such a celebration provided a 20 -kg lamb for 20 people and that all the meat is eaten during the long, extended meal - existing group structures new social contacts are already encouraged and, for example, at weddings or for guests of honor, created in a special setting.

In Morocco, a traditional Mechoui part of Diffa 's ( often a multi-course feast ), which during a Mausims (French moussem regional festival, usually in honor of a saint ) is celebrated. Other opportunities for a Mechoui are religious festivals such as the Islamic Feast of Sacrifice (Arabic: al - ʿ īd al - Kabir marok. Arab. L' Aïd al -Kabeer, that is the Great Festival, or Aïd al -Adha ( marok. Arab, .. French La Fête du Mouton ), Mawlid ( special day to celebrate the birth of the Prophet Mohammed ), at weddings, births, or the presence of special guests as a sign of respect and hospitality in these great feasts are also next to the Mechoui served meat dishes (chicken, beef), as well as couscous, vegetable dishes and desserts sweets.

Preparation and cooking

After skinning the lamb is skinned, the internal organs are removed. It is then coated inside and outside with a spicy marinade, the base of olive oil ( or melted butter ) is provided with the spice mixture Ras el Hanout -, served with garlic, onions, ground cumin, turmeric, ginger and pepper and salt. Heart, liver and kidneys may be otherwise prepared cut into strips or cubes, blanched in boiling water, blotted, seasoned and roasted a few minutes separately on small barbecue skewers (French brochettes ) or.

Preparation on the grill

The in Algeria as well as in the north and east of the Mediterranean, the most common method of preparation is cooking on a grill. The abdominal cavity is left open and the Lamb - fixed on a skewer with two Spießforken and a back brace - is grilled over a one to two meters long and about half a meter wide, prepared with glow pit under slow rotation.

More often do you use a system with a laterally and parallel to a brazier mounted rotisserie. The speed of the cooking process can be controlled both by the distance to the embers and the other by the insertion of Glutkorbs with logs; initially will continue grilled removed from the hot embers towards the end closer to the weak glow. This structure has the advantage that the fat drips down and can be captured without having to ignite the embers, which avoids Verkohlungsablagerungen on the roast. Throughout the cooking time the lamb needs to be rotated constantly manually or power-operated, so that the heat is distributed evenly throughout the roast. At time intervals, it is repeatedly thereafter coated with the spiced marinade. The grilling time of Mechouis varies depending on weight of the animal; a rule of thumb that about a quarter of an hour cooking time per pound is required for a 20 -kg lamb.

Is the lamb crispy and cooked through, it will be removed from the grill. The forks and the clamp are loosened and the skewer is pulled out. The chef sliced ​​the meat and arrange it according to varieties on platters. Green coriander, parsley and peppermint can serve as additional spices and for decoration. Depending on the field of culture, it may be customary for the host of the Mechouis the grill flesh comes with the fingers of his right hand, from roast lamb and offers its guests who enjoy the received meat without cutlery and plates from hand to mouth.

Preparation in an earth oven

In Morocco - and there especially in the Berber peoples - an earth oven is preferred next to the grill is used which is usually created for one-time (or even multiple ) use. It consists of clay, has a cylindrical shape, is about two feet high and open at the top. The furnace is filled with branches and logs that heat the oven walls during the burning. While the glow arises the lamb is prepared - a variant is that the abdominal cavity with couscous, almonds, plums or vegetable is filled and then closed again - and attached to a strong floor, which consists of fresh wood and is longer than the height of the furnace so that the Mechoui it can be pulled out of the oven. Up to four lambs are vertically set in the furnace, which is then completed as hermetically as possible with clay. The cooking time is between four and six hours. Another variation is that stacked in a hole 0.8 to 1 meter depth and a diameter of 1.5 to 2 meters of wood and burned for several hours. The lamb is divided into several large pieces, seasoned and buried in sealed clay pots in this hot ashes. The cooking time - usually three to six hours - is determined by the experience of the chefs.

Preparation in public ovens

In the cities of Morocco, the Mechoui is prepared in public ovens ( Ferrane ) or by specialist butchers, then deliver the finished dish.

Trivia

• Many French cities celebrate the summer festivals with a Mechoui, but in Villiers -Charlemagne, Département de la Mayenne in the Pays de la Loire, has been held since 1969 in each of the third week of August according to the Guinness Book of World Records "Largest Mechoui France" instead, be prepared for the additional festive activities within each 50 to more than 60 lambs.
• In the French film Breathtaking (Le Souffle ) from the year 2001, a Mechoui plays among men - and its preparation - a central role.
• The Canadian music group Jack G. Marinovitch has on their 2003 released album Cactus Cola Canapé a song titled Méchoui.