Roast Whole Lamb
A celebrated traditional banquet dish from Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Gansu, and other regions—golden-red and glossy, crisp outside, tender within.
Ingredients
lamb
1
sesame oil
100 g
vegetable oil (rubbed onto the lamb skin in two coats)
1000 g
shrimp paste (mixed with hot sesame oil)
100 g
light soy sauce (rubbed onto the skin)
200 g
sweet bean paste (mixed with sugar)
100 g
scallion segments
250 g
Sichuan pepper powder (mixed with water and rubbed inside the lamb cavity)
3 g
cilantro
100 g
white pepper powder (mixed with water and rubbed inside the lamb cavity)
2 g
sugar (mixed into the sweet bean paste)
15 g
Instructions
1
Step 1
After slaughtering the lamb, lay it belly-down on a board. Part the wool to both sides from along the spine and pour 60°C boiling water over it, then scrape the wool clean. Dip the lamb briefly into an 80°C hot water bath, then lift it out. Rub the skin all over with light soy sauce, and rub the inside of the cavity with the Sichuan pepper water and white pepper water.
2
Step 2
Use an iron fork to prop the belly open, and hook each of the two hind legs with an iron hook. Rub the vegetable oil over the lamb skin in two coats. Once the oven chamber is thoroughly heated, hang the lamb inside and roast until the surface is golden brown and the meat is fully cooked through.
3
Step 3
Remove from the oven and transfer to a large platter. At the table, carve the lamb into thin slices and serve with thin pancakes, scallion segments, shrimp paste (mixed with hot sesame oil), sweet bean paste (mixed with sugar), and cilantro.
