Hello dear friends!
Hello from me, too!
I'm Yorgos (George) Mallioras
and along with my brother, Andreas
we construct grills and ovens.
Through our channel, Grill philosophy
we share with you our passion for grilling.
All, Greeks, wherever they might be
grill at least once a year a whole lamb
mainly in Easter.
In some areas of Greece, however,
like here in Roumeli
where I came as a love immigrant
they always seek for an excuse to grill a whole lamb.
As we found an excuse today
that is the birthday of my nephew, Dimitris
we found an excuse to roast a lamb and get together
as a family.
Thus, with this excuse
we are going to show you how to skewer
and grill a whole lamb the right way.
Happy grilling to everyone!
Happy grilling from me as well!
Let's see all these!
The skewering
First we need to pass the metallic stop in the rod
to avoid skewering in vain..
Place the lamb in this position
and drive the rod from the back to pass..
Here in this stage you will need help
Pass the rod
Pass the rod making sure to be aligned with 
the spine of the lamb.
and
press to pass it through the head.
And then
the stopper will sit in the right place
under the lamb pelvis.
Make sure the lamb is aligned with the rod
it is very important.
It's very important that the stopper sits in the right position
under the pelvis
because this
is what will hold the lamb in place and help it rotate
without spinning around the rod.
Tying the lamb
So, it's time to tie the lamb.
Firstly, tie the spine in three places.
We don't use braces
but tie it the traditional way with string.
Raise the spit a bit from one side
to be placed properly on the spine so we can tighten it.
And the third tying
a little above the pelvis.
Tighten it up.
That's it.
In three spots.
Under the shoulder
in the waist
and above the legs.
It's time to tie the legs.
Use 3-4 pieces of string
wet, we have had it soaked in water
because this way we are able to tie them more securely
and during grilling, the string will dry and tighten up even more.
We tie it exactly as you can see.
I will let all the process unfold to see it precisely.
The legs should be in this position
compared to the stopper and the rest of the lamb.
Tie one more time.
Wire isn't suitable for tying the lamb
because when heated
it expands and loosens.
While the wet string, on the contrary,
dries and tightens up even more.
Let's tie the neck.
Tie in one or two places depending on its length.
We will tie in two places here.
It's best to tie in two places.
Here as well the string is better than the wire.
We circle it 2-3 times so the cord is triple, quadruple
or more.
Tie the second one the same way
near the head.
See up close how it's tied in place
Now we're ready for the spices
and tying of the stomach.
Spices and tying the belly
Now it's time to add the spices.
We use only salt and pepper
for salt, we use fleur de sel
and freshly ground black pepper.
The amounts that are recommended
are 12 grams (0.42 oz) of salt 
in every kilo (2.2 lbs) of lamb
and 1 gram (0.035 oz) of black pepper 
in every kilo (2.2 lbs) of lamb.
We'll first season the belly.
Don't use all the amount of salt
We'll season the neck as well
and between the front legs
there
and the back.
We won't use all the salt
almost half of it, maybe a bit more.
We will keep the rest to add it in the end if we want.
When it will be served.
It's time to sew the belly.
Start from the lowest part.
Sew very firmly.
Secure the edge first
with a knot, this way.
We tie it this way, as you can see it here
because it makes it more secure.
Tighten up very well.
It is important for the belly to be sewed well
to avoid losing much of its juices.
The tying is very important.
This way, as you can see, the string tightens up very well.
Continue this way until you have sewed the belly 
all the way up to the chest.
Gradually, we finish sewing the same way
up to the chest.
As long is the opening.
Charcoals and their arrangement
To roast the lamb
place the charcoals in such a way
to have fire under the legs to the thighs
and approximately where the belly is
you can have zero to a few charcoals.
Quick, easy and smoke-free.
The lighting progresses.
The charcoals are ready, they are lit.
But because the fire is very strong
we'll throw some charcoal ash
in the beginning.
In the begging, we need a very low fire for roasting a lamb.
That's why we're going to roast in the upper position as well.
By covering with ash
the charcoals are going to last longer, too.
Grilling and our advice: Do not rush
Slow roasting in the beginning
slowly
Larger animals need time to roast
and we start off with a low temperature and finish with high temperature in the end.
We'll see all these along the way.
To roughly check the heat
place your hand here
and in this stage you can withstand the heat for 6-7 seconds
same here
6-7 seconds.
40 minutes have passed from the moment 
we've started roasting the lamb.
As you can see, it has started sweating
it hasn't burned at all
and this is very important
If we have a very strong fire right from the start
and the lamb is burned on the outside
then the heat cannot reach the inside of the lamb 
and roast it properly.
Also, it isn't correct to wrap the lamb in baking paper 
to protect it from fire
because then you aren't roasting your lamb 
in an open fire but rather boiling it.
That's another way of cooking.
It's like roasting it in a cooker.
Also, don't try to control the heat using galvanized tin
the galvanic plating when heated
releases dangerous gases
which will stick on your roast.
And this is too serious!
and I have seen many doing it.
It is extremely dangerous.
Follow these steps
and you'll have the perfect grilling on the charcoals.
After one hour, we've lowered our roast one position.
It is very important
that the charcoal grills have spots 5-7 cm (2-2.3 in) apart
because this way we have more control over grilling.
We have more options.
It wouldn't be good to lower 15 cm (5.9 in) right away
So now we have approximately the same heat
that the lamb received at the start.
Because the fire is a bit lower now.
Half an hour later we've lowered it a bit more
to be closer to the fire
so we won't need to open it and make it stronger.
Grilling is a game with fire
that's the magic of grilling.
Two hours since we starting roasting.
Slow grilling
to roast first internally, to boil well, to raise temperature
and then in a strong fire to take color on the outside.
The lamb takes patience. As every whole animal roast.
If you noticed, we haven't strengthened  the fire yet.
If needed, we will lower one more position
we have this advantage, because, as I've mentioned
the positions are right next to each other.
Of course, the kind of charcoals play a role here, too.
What's their duration
and how evenly they release the heat.
It is a whole chapter that we'll open another time.
When the fire intensity drops
spread the charcoals a bit
and strengthen the fire.
If you need to add more charcoals,
light a second fire, outside your grill
and once the charcoals are ready, start adding.
Certainly, it also depends on the charcoals.
After 2 and a half hours of grilling
spread the charcoals, strengthen the fire.
Our hand withstands 5 seconds tops above fire.
And because we will need some more charcoals
outside of our grill we have lit some 
that will be ready soon to be added.
From now on, we are grilling in a stronger fire.
We have added some charcoals
and now the fire is very strong.
That's what is needed now at the end.
Our hand hardly withstands 3 seconds.
We are at the lowest part and in a strong fire
The temperature, as we have measured it a bit earlier
was around 70°C (158°F).
Noticing that when tying it with string
it hasn't moved around at all
in the spine, the belly and the neck.
Slow grilling for whole animals.
New charcoals at their full.
A very strong fire now.
Not even for 3 seconds.
We are constantly spreading the charcoals
to keep the heat they release very high.
77°C (171°F)
It foams heavily
it has color
the fire is very strong
It will be ready soon enough.
It foams heavily.
We need to remove it before it stops foaming.
It is ready. The front legs have opened up
and the back as well.
The color is excellent.
The temperature is above 80°C (176°F) internally.
Remove it.
Long grilling hours
to enjoy a delicious lamb roast.
The secret of success; don't rush.
Well, it's time for cutting.
Let's check if it's well done inside the legs.
Perfect!
Oh, let's try this crackling.
Perfect.
Cutting the back too.
A bit of the salt and pepper that we've kept
to enhance the flavor.
Absolutely delicious!
Very juicy
Very soft
Let's serve the rest.
Follow our instructions step by step
and you will enjoy a perfect lamb roast!
Happy grilling!
