What’s cooking today: Whole lamb flank on the braai

A rib stand is a nifty gadget for cooking a lamb flank (rib on the bone) slowly. The metal stand I bought this weekend is designed for the express purpose of solving that problem that everyone who braais a whole flank of lamb encounters: how to balance the grid and ensure slow but steady cooking.

This recipe is based on roasted garlic. I’d cooked a whole bulb in foil on the braai grid the previous night, and kept it for this purpose: to rub it on the skin of a lamb flank as well as pushing bits of the garlic into the cuts where the skin and fat is scored.

Scoring is important for this cut as it has masses of fat which needs to render while it’s cooking. This is where a rib stand comes in. It sits at an angle to the coals, and is best placed to one side of the braai, away from direct heat, so that the rib it contains can cook very slowly.

This flank cooked for an hour and a half followed by a quick blast right on very hot coals to crisp up the skin. All it needs then is five minutes’ rest for the meat to relax.

Ingredients

1 whole lamb flank/ rib, scored

1 whole head of garlic, baked in foil or roasted

A few rosemary sprigs

Juice of 1 lemon

Olive oil, as needed

Salt and black pepper to taste

Method

Prepare plenty of hot coals to one side of a braai, leaving space for the rib stand to be set up alongside but away from direct heat.

Rub the soft garlic pulp all over the surface on both sides, and push bits of it into the cuts where the meat was scored. Push small rosemary sprigs into the cuts too.

Squeeze lemon juice all over, then olive oil, rubbing or brushing it in.

Season both sides with salt and black pepper.

Place it in a clean hinged grid and fold it closed. Place it on the rib stand well away from the heat (at this point you need naked flame), with the bone side facing the flame.

Keep the fire going and let the flank cook at a fair distance for about an hour, turning it occasionally. Let the bone side get more attention for the first 45 minutes or so, then let the fat/skin side find favour with the flame.

Once an hour has gone by, move it closer to the heat, to encourage the fat juices to render away. But continue cooking.

After about 30 minutes, it should be ready for the grid to be taken off the stand and put directly onto hot coals, fat side down. In just a few minutes, if the coals are hot enough, the hard outer skin should have turned golden brown and become perfectly crisp.

These timings are not emphatic, as temperatures and the wind factor will play their part. Judge by your eye and trust your instincts. In cooler weather, it is likely to take a bit longer to cook.

Finally, put the grid containing the rib rack back on the stand for the meat to rest for five minutes. DM/TGIFood

Tony Jackman is Galliova Food Champion 2021. His book, foodSTUFF, is available in the DM Shop or, if sold out, directly from him. Buy it here. 

Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks. Share your versions of his recipes with him on Instagram and he’ll see them and respond.

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