Lamb is traditionally the dish for Easter – but we decided to make it Caribbean Cruisine style.  It was a slow roast and a perfect time for a long cruise around the bay. For lamb inspiration, we went to one of our favorite books, ”Island Barbecue” by Dunstan Harris.

Jerked Lamb 

6-7 pound leg of lamb, boned and butterflied

3 cloves garlic, slivered

1 large bay leaf

½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves

½ cup jerk marinade recipe

Make deep slashes in the flattened out lamb and insert garlic cloves. Place lamb in a large nonreactive blow. Crumble bay leaf and add it and the thyme to ther jerk marinade. Pour the marinade over the lamb, cover, and marinate overnight, turning 3 or 4 times.

Remove lamb from the refrigerator about 30 minutes prior to grilling. Drain and reserve the marinade.

*Grill lamb about 6 inches over medium hot coals in a covered grill for 1 ¼ hours with vents left open. Turn every 10 minutes and baste frequently with reserved marinade.

Transfer lamb to a chopping board and let stand for 10 minutes to reabsorb the juices. In the true jerk fashion, using a sharpened cleaver, hack the lamb into bite-size pieces and serve with Jamiacan hard dough bread and lots of Red stripe beer.

Jerk Marinade

1 teaspoon ground Jamaican pimento (allspice)

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ cup finely chopped scallions (green and white parts)

*4 scotch bonnet peppers or 6 jalapenos, stems removed and cut in halves, retaining seeds

½ cup distilled white vinegar

¼ cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon salt

2 cloves  of garlic powder

Combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Process or blend on theliquefy setting for 2 minutes. Pour into a jar and refrigerate until ready for use Jerk marinade will remain good indefinitely as long as it is covered and kept refrigerated.

For Side dishes, we threw in some red & white potatoes and a green salad. 

 Garlic, Bay leaves & Thyme

 Red & White Potatoes with Carrots                                           Lamb Marinating 

Piercing the Lamb

Inserting the garlic cloves

                                                         Rolling the Lamb

Almost there

Topping with Thyme and Bay leaves

DELICOUS!

*I added 8 scotch bonnet peppers! Also, we roasted the lamb instead of grilling. Either way is fine. 

What’s your favorite Caribbean Lamb recipe?