Cooking a leg of lamb over campfire

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Mesquite

It is what it is.
Mar 5, 2008
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~Hemel Hempstead~
I've done many a leg of lamb in front of a fire without any need to butterfly it by suspending it just to one side of the fire and turning it every 15 minutes for about 2.5 - 3 hours depending on the size of lamb.

Tasted absolutely delicious :D
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,665
McBride, BC
Right, it's long, low and slow. Don't rush this. See the drip tray?
Despite the fuss and bother of attending to the strength of the camp fire,
I'd love to try this.

Butterfly isn't necessary, many people don't remember that bone in takes a lot longer.
It increases the surface area/volume ratio to enhance any choice of savoury marinade.
Perhaps it depends more on the time available.
 

Tank

Full Member
Aug 10, 2009
2,015
278
Witney, Oxfordshire
Here is an option for you, cooking with a campfire works well. But have the fire to the side creating coals that you thendrag under the suspended leg of lamb.

Have a fire reflector and set fire to it, using the wind to blow the hot air towards the side of the meat

Spin the meat by twisting it up and letting it unwind.

20160811_194650.jpg

As other have said it takes a good 3hours plus to cook. Shave meat off the sides as it cooks like a kebab.
 
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bopdude

Full Member
Feb 19, 2013
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Stockton on Tees
I've cooked whole lamb over open charcoal fires, long and slow, 16 hours or so, a leg should be a doddle, set up your fire and make a trough to where your lamb leg will sit on a spit so you can turn it, as the fire wood burns down scrape the hot coals under the leg as needed to maintain a nice cooking temperature, job done.
 

Countryman

Native
Jun 26, 2013
1,652
74
North Dorset
A Hangi is a great way of doing a haunch of venison so would undoubtedly work well for a leg of lamb.

On a fire my favourite way would be in a Dutch oven long and slow on a bed of shallots with a bottle of red wine and oregano. You need to sear the outside first but then cook it until it falls off the bone.


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Ive done the butterflied version many times. Works well on the grill as excessive fat has been trimmed away. Usually marinated over night in lemon, garlic Rosemary salt and pepper. Sort of a Mediterranean version.

Had bone in version cooked for me on a ranch in Brazil once, when they just threw a whole big leg on a very hot fire (grill).

I was trying to tell them it wasn't going to work but then they kept pulling it off every 10 mins or so and carved perfect really thin slices, doner kebab style which were nice and caramelised on one side and pink on the other. Then they threw it back on for another 10mins while we ate salad and drank wine.

Worked really well but takes a brave man!
 

mousey

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jun 15, 2010
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NE Scotland
I was away with the scouts a few weekends ago, someone got a whole chicken and made a cover out of foil which looked a little like an umbrella [a very deep umbrella] to cover the chicken. It didn't touch the sides of the chicken and had an open bottom, this whole lot was then suspended on a tripod over the fire maybe two or three foot above [not a massive flames roaring fire] a decent size with lots of hot coals. This was left there for around three hours and was very tasty and didn't last long in the eating.

I'd imagine this would work for lamb also?
 
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Barney Rubble

Settler
Sep 16, 2013
553
281
Rochester, Kent
youtube.com
A spit works well. Simply locate the spit off to the side of the fire and wrap the meat in foil for added protection. Rotate regularly and keep the fire under control. I've done this successfully with a haunch of venison which was probably the same size as a typical leg of lamb. It took about 4 hrs and tasted sublime!

To be brtually honest though, the easiest way to cook joints of meat over fire has to be in the dutchy. Pulled pork is always a winner!
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,665
McBride, BC
These guys from the Almazan Kitchen are so confident = not the first time. Notice the cleaver = one multipurpose blade.
I can do chunked bison roasts like that in the oven. Outdoors would be fun.

Amy Turner: Mom taught us kids to cook fish in clay jackets in the fire.
Make a groove with your finger tip all around the fish just before you bury it in the coals.
Makes the clay easier to crack open with a rock & a stick chisel.
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
2,294
Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
If the forest is in your back yard, yes.

I do not think I could carry all that stuff together with my usual equipment.
Looks really delicious though. Something to try at home. Wonder if a well hopped beer like Urquell could replace the hop cones?

Ever tried cooking whole fish in a salt jacket?
 

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