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Ovelias – Whole Lamb Roasted on the Spit

Ovelias – Whole Lamb Roasted on the Spit

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Ovelias is a Greek Easter tradition where a whole lamb is roasted on the spit. 

The word ovelias (pr. Oh-veh-LEE-as), comes from the ancient Greek word “ovelos” which used to be a wooden or steel rod, where pieces of meat were skewered on and slowly cooked. 

Roasting on the Spit in Ancient Greece

Roasting on the spit, is an ancient tradition, when the Greeks would sacrifice animals to be favoured by their Gods!

A very popular place of sacrifice was on the Acropolis, when during very important events, such as the Panathinaea, they created a huge rotisserie, where they would roast up to 100 cows to honour Goddess Athena!

Ancient Greeks cooking ovelias image

Nowadays, the word “ovelias” means a whole lamb cooked for Easter on the spit.

The preparation of the lamb and of its offal is usually my husband’s job. 

It’s not an easy job to do and of course the women in the family help out as this is not a one man’s job to do this. 

He used to be the only male member of the family who knew how to make ovelias and kokoretsi but as the years pass, he has trained other members of the family to  do this.

Easter Demetris preparing ovelias image

Easter is best celebrated in the countryside

During the Easter holidays half the population of Athens celebrate Easter at their villages or at their relatives’ villages. 

Like the majority of the Athenians we drive away from this crazy city to relax and rejoin again with our relatives, who live in Sparta.  

Sparta is about 2 – 3 hours drive away from Athens but some times, during the Easter holidays, it may take even four hours to reach there.

Greek families usually gather together and celebrate on such occasions and we end up being more than twenty persons on Easter Sunday.

Preparing the lamb to make ovelias

The preparation of the lamb starts from the previous day. 

It is washed, seasoned and tied on the spit so that it is ready early in the morning to go on the spit. 

It is then covered with napkins and it is left all night, vertically on the spit, to drain and absorb the flavours of the seasoning. 

The same applies to making Kokoretsi, which needs even more time, as the thorough washing of the intestines takes a lot of time.  

The intestines are turned inside out and carefully washed, then rubbed with salt and often soaked in vinegar or lemon juice and water.

Demetris basting lamb and kokoretsi image

Preparing the fire and Roasting the lamb

On Sunday morning, my husband, together with my brother in law, get up early in the morning to prepare the fire.

My brother in law makes the fire by burning olive tree logs in a fire pit until they turn into hot charcoal. 

The charcoal is then put in the roaster and the lamb starts to roast.

The lamb takes a lot of hours to cook, about 5 – 6 hours for a lamb around 10 – 12 kilos, but a lot of fun goes on while roasting. 

Usually folklore music is playing loud and a lot of mezedes are served through the whole procedure.   

The lamb is roasted together with a Kokoretsi  and if there is leftover caulfat and lamb offal, we also make Tourkakia, a recipe we learnt in Sparta.

Some useful tips:

  • If the charcoals are about to extinguish, remove the lamb and blow air on the charcoal by using a hair dryer to light up the fire again.
  • When some of the fat melts on the charcoal the fire may light up, so just put it out by throwing some coarse sea salt on the fire.
  • There should always be some backup wood burning to add to the roaster, in case it is needed.
  • Depending on how many guests you expect for dinner, plan on approximately 500 grams / 1.10 lbs of lamb per person.
Tourkakia liver skewers served image
Tourkakia

I have taught my sisters-in-law to make sheftalia, which although a Cypriot delicacy, everybody loves, so we always make some.   

They  never make it to the table as they are cooked before the lamb, so their lovely smell attracts everyone around the spit.

They are usually devoured during the roasting procedure, accompanied together with some ouzo.  So does the kokoretsi, which is cut and eaten piece by piece directly from the spit.

barbecuing sheftalia during Easter image

Easter lamb image

Ovelias - Easter Whole Lamb Roasted on the spit

Yield: 20
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 6 hours
Total Time: 8 hours

Ovelias is a Greek Easter tradition where a whole lamb is roasted on the spit 

Ingredients

  • 10 - 12 kilos lamb

Lamb Dry rub:

  • 1/2 cup oregano
  • 1/4 cup salt
  • 1/8 cup black pepper

Ladolemono for basting:

  • 1 cup olive oil
  • ½ cup lemon juice
  • 2 - 3 tablespoons oregano

Instructions

  1. The lamb is washed and is rubbed with a mixture of salt, pepper and oregano both inside and outside.Then the lamb is tied on a metal spit.
  2. The spit has to go in from the rear, through the body cavity and out through the head.The back legs are tied on the spit with a wire so do the front legs with the head.Also you must wire the lamb on the spit from the inside of the cavity around the spit and through to the back of the lamb, encasing the spit and the spinal cord so that it secured and it does not fall apart. The stomach cavity does not have to be sewn as it serves no purpose.
  3. The whole roasting will take about five or six hours depending on the size of the lamb and at the beginning it should be placed on the highest level and once it is on fire it should be rotated continuously, at the beginning quickly so that the lamb will cook well all way through and not only outside.
  4. Gradually you can move the lamb downwards. You must not forget to baste the lamb frequently with the ladolemono mixture.The basting should continue until the lamb is done and the skin is crisp.
Nutrition Information
Yield 20
Amount Per Serving Calories 580

Did you make this recipe?

Tried this recipe? Tag me @ivyliac and use the hashtag #kopiaste!

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Collage Ovelias picture

Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,

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Jamie

Saturday 14th of April 2012

Ivy, your Easter celebration must have been delicious! This lamb looks amazing and I'll bet it was outrageously good! Happy Easter to you and yours! xo

Rosa

Saturday 14th of April 2012

Scrumptious! I'd love to be there... ;-P

Happy Easter and have a lovely time with your family.

Cheers,

Rosa

Joan Nova

Saturday 7th of April 2012

I know that tastes wonderful!! Happy Easter to you and your family.

Elly

Tuesday 29th of April 2008

Mmm, the best! I hope you had a nice Easter, Ivy. Christos Anesti!

Ivy

Friday 25th of April 2008

Thank you Laurie for your wishes.

Lulu, Kokoretsi will be posted tonight.

Rosie, shall try and fix the photo, thanks.

Val, I too hope that we may eat roasted lamb together one day.

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