In my spice cupboard I have many mason jars of premade spice rubs. There is nothing easier than opening up a jar and putting some rub on a piece of meat for grilling, roasting or smoking. If you are looking for a new spice rub to coat some lamb, chicken, beef or pork, you cannot go wrong with this Moroccan Spice Rub! The mix of spices in this Moroccan rub, also known as Ras el Hanout, provide amazing depth and at times tastes a little Indian and at others a little Mexican.
An awesome spice rub seasoning recipe to coat lamb, chicken, beef or pork. Mix all ingredients together and rub on meat.
Traditional Moroccan cuisine is one of the most diverse in the world. Morocco sits on the northern edge of the African continent, a mere eight miles across the Straits of Gibraltar from Europe at its closest point. Just as much an influence is Morocco’s location along ancient spice trade routes.
Spices are used extensively in Moroccan food; the turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, paprika, saffron and pepper found in this spice rub are all popular favorites. Coriander, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg and cloves are often used too. The emphasis is more on big flavors than heat.
Chicken is the most widely eaten meat in Morocco. The most common red meat is beef-lamb is preferred but is relatively expensive.
Read also: Moroccan Sausage Recipe
I always keep well-known Moroccan spice blends like Ras El Hanout in my pantry and those are usually store bought. I also like to make generous batches of spice blends that I use often - and this is a favorite and pairs perfectly with lamb chops. All of the Moroccan spice favorites make an appearance - cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and even a hint of clove. I can have flavorful lamb chops on the dinner table in under an hour when I have this rub on hand.
This flavorful rub will bring big flavor to chicken, beef and pork too. Roasting, braising or pan grilling are good ways to cook with it.
My visit to Morocco about 10 years ago didn’t disappoint and one of the highlights were the amazing spice vendors. The pyramids of colorful spices were perfectly piled at each of the spice stalls and the vendors took such pride in their wares and were incredibly knowledgable. The smell of fresh, lovely spices was everywhere. Moroccan food is one of my favorite cuisines. I love that it’s so flavorful yet subtle and very sophisticated.
If I say “leg of lamb,” you say… “What, lamb again?” Okay, fair enough-I have been cooking a lot of lamb here lately. But the answer I was looking for was “garlic and rosemary.” When we came into possession of the handsome, hefty [over seven pounds] leg of lamb above, my first thought was the nearly universal default cooking approach: Jam lots of garlic slivers into it, cover it with rosemary and roast it. But then I thought it was time to try something different.
Ingredients for Moroccan Spice Rub
Make the spice rub. Toast cumin seeds and coriander seeds in a dry skillet over medium low heat, stirring frequently, for 5 or so minutes, until fragrant. Transfer to plate and let cool thoroughly. Grind cumin, coriander and peppercorns with a mortar and pestle or in a spice grinder. Combine the cumin mixture in a bowl with the remaining rub ingredients, through olive oil, stirring to thoroughly blend.
Read also: Exotic Moroccan Delight
Seeds or powder? If you don't have cumin seeds and coriander seeds, you can substitute the powdered versions of both. We use boatloads of ground cumin in our kitchen.
Preparing and Roasting the Lamb
Spread the rub evenly over the entire surface of the leg of lamb. I spooned it on, then used my hands. Wrap the leg of lamb in plastic wrap and marinate, chilled, for 4 hours or longer. Remove from fridge for last half-hour of marinating to let it warm up slightly before roasting.
Roast the leg of lamb. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly oil a baking pan [just to make it easier to clean later] and place the leg of lamb in a rack in the pan. Roast in the center of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes per pound, rotating the pan once halfway through.
Variations in ovens and the size of the leg of lamb will cause cooking times to vary quite a bit. Use a quick-read thermometer to check the lamb well before you think it should be done (make sure you don't hit the bone-that will give you an inflated reading).
Serving Suggestions
While I love huge festive platters of lamb, today’s how to cook lamb recipe is a small meal for smaller gathering. It’s still festive, delicious and infused with Moroccan spice. I’m honored to share another delicious recipe in partnership with my friends at the American Lamb Board. If you’ve been guessing what we’re having this Holiday, you’re not mistaken because we’re having lamb. Without a doubt, my favorite lamb is American lamb.
Read also: Flavorful Lamb Dish
So many families put their hearts out on their land daily to grow their sheep with sustainability. Because of this, you’ll find fresh American lamb available all year long. Plus I can’t tell you how many people have steered away from lamb, until I urged them to try American lamb. YES, it tastes different! Because it’s fresh, pasture grazed and grain finished. The most common question ever! There’s a huge collection of lamb recipes on my blog ranging from easy and quick, fancy, or authentic and old family recipes.
For today’s recipe, there are three components. The lamb meat, the Moroccan spice, the Sweet and Spicy Sauce. I chose cut up chunks of lamb shoulder today because I’m making a small family Holiday meal. American lamb is super tender, and mildly flavored compared to other types, so you don;t want to over power that flavor. This is an authentic recipe from an old Moroccan French neighbour I had 10 years ago. She was a fabulous cook!
So now we’ve got our lamb spiced up and ready to sear. I love searing my lamb chunks until they have a nice crust before roasting. While so many of us associate sweet and spicy sauce with Asian food, the truth is, Mediterranean countries also love a good sweet and spicy combo. Spicy red chillies as much or as little as you can handle! Finally the water goes in. Bring this to a boil and then cover your pan and in the oven it goes.
I love parboiled couscous that is sold widely now at all grocery stores because I just add boiling water to it and it’s done! The lamb sits super well over the couscous with extra sauce drizzled over the lamb. A simple recipe like this is enough to make any meal feel special no matter how many people are gathering. It’s absolute comfort.
Yes, a lamb refers to a small sheep. Usually up till a year or so the sheep meat is referred to as lamb and it’s absolutely tender and delicious! Is lamb nutritious? YES! Lamb meat is full of quality protein, vitamins and minerals. On average, a 3 ounce serving of American Lamb is lean and has only 160 calories.
Oh I can have a whole post on that! To me, it tastes SO GOOD. Lamb feels like beef and can easily be swapped for beef recipes, however it has a distinct taste which is sometimes thought of like gamey-but it’s not exactly that.
Have your butcher cut off your lamb chunks into equal sizes. For the Sweet and Spicy Sauce: use fresh or dried fruits. As for the spice, make it as mild or spicy as you can handle. So many fun things happening on Instagram and Fecbook this season! Simply follow and comment on the giveaway posts with a lamb recipe you’ll enjoy for the holidays and be entered to win great prizes!
At that point, cover the pan with foil and continue roasting it in the oven for 1 hour.
There are only 2 ways to eat lamb in my opinion. That's either cooked medium rare or slow-cooked/smoked. Here I have opted for a delicious slow-cooked Moroccan lamb recipe. The lamb is rubbed in a delicious Moroccan spiced butter and slowly cooked in the oven for 5-6 hours. Yes, it's a little time consuming to make but once you have chucked it in the oven then you can just leave it alone for hours! Given you are having pulled lamb leg it's also kinda hard to overcook it too!
I think the main reason I love this dish is it's a show stopper. Put this down in the middle of the table and (unless you are vegetarian) it'll be hard not to dive in. The key to having a delicious slow-cooked lamb leg is patience. It takes about 5 hours to make at the least but sometimes can take a little longer too.
Whip up your spiced butter, rub the lamb and then pop it in the oven at a low temperature. My recommendation is if you are planning a 6pm dinner then aim to have the lamb ready by 5pm to give yourself a little time if it takes longer. Halfway through, wrap it in foil to stop it burning and you can keep cooking it for a little longer if necessary. You are looking for an internal temp of about 90-93c but the best way to test "doneness" is through probing it. The meat should be like softened butter when probing.
For this slow-cooked Moroccan lamb leg I have made a delicious Moroccan spiced butter and rubbed the lamb in it. Alternatively, you can use oil instead of butter - defo a little healthier but hey, you only live once! I have used salt, pepper, cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne (for a little spice), garlic powder, ground ginger & ground coriander. Simply mix them all together and you have a delicious Moroccan spice blend perfect for rubbing on any meat.
Whenever I have smoked lamb or slow-cooked lamb in the oven I tend to lean towards food with spice. I often add a fresh or creamy element like a salsa or a yoghurt dipping sauce too.
Slow-cooked lamb, in my opinion, isn't one for those classic roasted veggies. For my slow-cooked Moroccan lamb dish I went with some couscous and keeping in theme I made a delicious pomegranate salsa too. It's in the title! This pomegranate salsa is super easy to make. My one bit of advice is to make it while the lamb is resting. When you make it in advance the bright green and red colours mix together and you get a dull greyish colour.
What's the best way to deseed a pomegranate you ask? Simple. Slice around the top of the pomegranate (the bit that looks like a crown) about 1-2 cm deep. Once the "crown" has been removed you can see the delicious pomegranate arils and the white membrane bits too.
A rub of fragrant spices and herbs-including cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon and saffron-creates a crust of exotic Moroccan flavor on a roast leg of American lamb.
Lamb Meatballs In Pomegranate Sauce | Moroccan Lamb & Pomegranate Recipe | Allspice Institute
Wine Pairing Suggestions
The first and obvious answer to this question is the wine you like to drink! Often, we get caught up on the "best" wines to pair with food. With lamb, if I was cooking a nice cutlet served medium rare with simple flavours I might choose a pinot noir. A classic stews with red wine and trimmings I might want something a bit fuller like a shiraz or cabernet. With a lamb dish that has a lot of spices, I choose Grenache.
As mentioned above (if you read it), Giles & co are definitely lovers of Grenache. I think at this stage they have about 7 different red Grenache, 1 rose Grenache (the best rose is made from Grenache in my opinion) and 1 Grenache blanc. If these guys don't know what they are doing with it then who does! I first stumbled across their wines when a mate brought a bottle over and boy am I glad he did. I got talking to Paddy - the man on the ground here in Australia and soon found out that he is from Scotland, not far from where my father grew up. With a name like Thistledown, I always suspected there was a Scottish influence!
Giles & Fergal the 2 masterminds behind it are both Masters in Wine - in case you don't know it's bloody hard to obtain! So there is a wealth of knowledge going into wine production and trust me, it shows in the bottle too. Aside from Grenache, they make a number of Shiraz and a couple of Chardys too. They focus on single-vineyard wines and single blocks from vineyards too. As discussed, we are pairing this delicious slow-cooked Moroccan lamb with some Grenache.
One of the requests from Giles was something with a little spice to it and knowing how good Grenache is with slow-cooked lamb I figured let's add a Moroccan twist to it too. For me, I get notes of chocolate, coffee, cranberry, pomegranates and a little orange peel too. This moves into some cherry flavours and a little licorice too. Beautiful spicy notes, a kiss of oak with medium tannins. The acidity is well balanced and there is good length too. It's a baby right now and definitely opens up more after 30 minutes in the decanter. My advice is pick up 3-6 of them and enjoy them over the next few years.
Inspired by my slow-cooked Moroccan lamb recipe and need more lamb in your life? make the pomegranate salsa as the lamb rests - the longer you leave the salsa combine the colour turns from a nice bright green and purple colour to a duller grey colour. when roasting the lamb if you feel the outside is getting too brown then cover with foil and continue to cook.
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tags: #Moroccan
