The master barbecuer

My father was a master barbecuer.  He honed his skills in the 1960s over a tin drum that perched on rickety legs. These were the days before lighting a barbie was as simple as turning on the gas or lighting heat beads. Baba carefully constructed a pyre of crumpled newspaper and kindling in the drum and set it alight, fanning the flickering flames with a sheet of cardboard and adding more wood until he had a bed of glowing coals. Placing a mesh grill over the coals, he laid out rows of fat lamb chops, spicy loukanika (sausages) and of course souvlakia. 

 
1½ kg lamb leg or shoulder (fat trimmed), cut into chunks
100ml olive oil
2 tsp dried oregano
zest and juice 2 lemons
2 garlic cloves, crushed
metal skewers or wooden ones that have been soaked

Place the lamb in a bowl with the olive oil, oregano, lemon zest, juice, garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix so that all the chunks coated and marinate overnight in the fridge.

Thread the lamb chunks onto skewers. Heat a barbecue or grill pan and cook for about 10 mins or to your liking. Serve with a salad of tomatoes, cucumber and feta and my father’s tzatziki (recipe here).