Roasted Leg

Ingredients

• leg (of meat)
• horse-radish

Method

Spit-roasting demands roasting over direct radiant heat — the meat rotates continuously to cook evenly while the exterior develops a browned crust through the Maillard reaction. This is categorically different from oven roasting; the spinning motion and open flame are non-negotiable. Prepare the leg by removing the fell (the papery membrane covering the meat) only where it's thick enough to impede browning — leave thin sections intact as they protect the muscle beneath. Trim excess fat only if it's rancid or discoloured; fat bastes the meat as it melts.

Secure the leg firmly to the spit, threading it through the thickest part of the muscle parallel to the bone. The weight must be balanced — an off-centre leg will rotate unevenly and cook in patches. If using a kitchen fireplace spit, position the leg 15–20 centimetres from the heat source; it should take 2.5–3 hours to cook through. The surface should be deep mahogany-brown and the meat should yield slightly to firm pressure when pressed at the thickest point (around 62–65°C internal temperature for lamb, higher for older game-cookery animals). Baste every 20 minutes with the drippings collected beneath — this accelerates browning and prevents the exterior drying while the centre finishes cooking.

Wrapping the leg briefly with paper (traditionally parchment or butcher's paper) near the end of cooking is useful only if the exterior is blackening too quickly; it slows surface browning without stopping internal cooking, buying time for a colder centre to catch up. Remove the paper in the final 15 minutes to restore crust development.

Horse-radish — whether grated raw or prepared as a sharp emulsion with vinegar and cream — cuts the richness of the meat's rendered fat and plays against the savouriness of the roasted exterior. Scrape it fresh from the root immediately before serving; bottled versions lose the volatile compounds that give horse-radish its characteristic nasal heat. Serve the leg still on the spit if presentation allows, carving at table. The drippings, deglazed with stock or wine, become the gravy.