A little late writing this entry ... due to a 6 a.m. finish ... 🤔😝

Today was one of those special days at Ballymaloe ... I'm not sure you could replicate it in any other environment with the same aplomb ... and this entry is probably going to read like a manual on how to do Asador lamb ... but hey ho ... can't be helped! 😂

After marinating the lamb on Friday night I had told the guys we would start getting the fire going at 10 a.m. ... however ... so eager were they ... that at 9 a.m. I heard them outside the cottage and had to rise from my bed to get started ... 🧐😤😋

We got the fire going around 10 a.m. and had to keep tending to it pretty much all day ... in order to keep the temperature at a steady level!

We had a bit of a struggle with the lamb positioning due to the integrity of the iron frame we were using ... it wouldn't stand unaided ... so we had to use our collective brain power (or lack of it) to try and figure out a way to have it in a safe adjustable position ... we succeeded, about a 50 degree angle I would say ... We eventually got the lamb on inside facing fire first around 11:45 a.m.

We also set up a separate fire pit that we keep going also ... to feed the main fire ... we were pretty much adding wood to the both every 20 - 25 minutes ... a labour of love! We judged the temperature by hand ... literally ... if we could keep our hand in front of the lamb for more than 15 seconds then it wasn't hot enough ...

We flipped the lamb at half time in the Swedish game (not the English game ... and no It's not coming home!😜) and increased the temperature a little to render down some of the fat (we didn't remove any fat from the carcass at all).

We checked the temperature of the meat (skewer test) around 7 p.m. and then again at 8 p.m. and made the decision to take it off and rest for about 20 minutes or so ... then we butchered it and tore it into bite sized pieces ! WOW was it good! 😋😋😋😋😋

The rest of the crew started to arrive around 8:15 p.m. or so and it wasn't long before the table filled with sides of all sorts and even homemade Oreos! 😋

All in all a great day and a great experience, it will be the last party / bbq I will throw at Ballymaloe ! 😢🤩😎

Tomorrow will be a struggle and a cleaning mission! 😩