In short. Mutton chops on a spit over embers made from almond and walnut shells and thyme branches. A recipe from Carbonara, near Bari, traditionally made for the feast of St Michael in October.
What makes this dish is not a technique in the kitchen sense — it is what the embers are made of, and the fact that the animal was raised by hand.
Ingredients
- 7–8 large mutton chops
- small branches of thyme
- salt
Method
1. The fire. Prepare the embers using the shells of almonds and walnuts together with thyme branches.
2. The spit. Thread the chops onto the spit, set it over the embers and turn it from time to time. Sprinkle with salt.
3. Knowing when to stop. Cooking should be finished, not prolonged: going further loses the fat, and the fat is where the taste is.
Almond shells as fuel. In a region full of almond groves, the shells were free and they burn hot and clean, with a smoke that perfumes the meat. It is the kind of detail that does not survive being moved to a gas grill.
More on the second courses page.
