Grilled Lamb on Rosemary Skewers

By Mark Bittman

Grilled Lamb on Rosemary Skewers
Evan Sung for The New York Times
Total Time
20 minutes, plus time to heat grill
Rating
5(191)
Comments
Read comments

Lamb on rosemary skewers has to be one of the oldest recipes in the world. In ancient times, the meat could just as easily have been goat, or something wilder, and fish was no doubt also a candidate. The idea of cutting branches of rosemary and using them as skewers must certainly have occurred to humans soon after they figured out how to build fires.

You want rosemary branches with woody stalks, if possible. But if the stalks are too flimsy to poke through the lamb, run a pilot hole through with a skewer, and be sure to grill the lamb and figs separately because they'll cook at different rates. You might throw together a little basting sauce of lemon, garlic and a little more rosemary, but the skewers are just fine without it, and have been for thousands of years.

Featured in: The Tasty Twig, a Barbecue Tradition

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 2pounds boneless lamb shoulder, cut into chunks
  • 10 to 20fresh figs
  • Rosemary branches
  • ¼cup extra virgin olive oil, more or less
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • ½cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 2cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • 1tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

584 calories; 42 grams fat; 15 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 20 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 27 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 22 grams sugars; 26 grams protein; 726 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Start a charcoal or wood fire or heat a gas grill; fire should be moderately hot. Thread lamb and figs onto rosemary branches, three or four chunks or figs per skewer. Do not mix meat and figs on same skewer.

  2. Step 2

    Brush lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Mix together the lemon juice, garlic and minced rosemary and brush a little of this mixture on lamb and figs.

  3. Step 3

    Grill, turning skewers as each side browns and taking care to avoid flare-ups; total cooking time should be from 6 to 10 minutes for medium-rare meat, and 4 or 5 minutes for the figs. Meat will become slightly more done after you remove it from grill, so take this into account.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

5 out of 5
191 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

Andre

Helps to first make a hole with metal skewer otherwise the meat just strips the rosemary leaves from the stalk.

B

If I had fresh figs year round, I would eat this once a week indefinitely. It's simply the best.

SuAyres

Could you soak dried figs in, say, dry wine til they plump up & then grill them?

SF

Delicious. Basting and finishing with the lemon juice, garlic, chopped rosemary was key. The figs were amazing.

Fisshu

Sidedish?

Tim

Amazing, tossed with a lemon (juice and zest), garlic, chopped rosemary, and evoo dressing. Best thing grilled in a while.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.