Easter Lamb...with a "Hat Tip" to Uncle Ray

We're having lamb for Easter dinner.  Not the typical whole leg of lamb, or rack of lamb.  I'm making a recipe that is simple and provided by my late uncle, Raymond Dunning.

There is a recipe he used for family BBQs, and he would tell the story every chance he got.  It goes like this:

In the old days of Russia, as the Cossacks traveled the countryside, they would stop at the farmhouses along the way.  The farmers were required to provide them with lamb, onions and lemons, such as they had.  The Cossack would cut the items into chunks and store them in a leather bag.  At night when the Cossacks would get together, they would spear chunks of lamb on their swords, roast it over the campfire and sing songs of battles and "Mother Russia". (BTW, we aren't Russian, but that was probably a story he picked up during his time as a Merchant Marine during WWII.)

While I'm not sure of the truth of the whole story, parts make sense.  Lemons and onions are both anti-bacterial and could very well have kept meat from going rancid.  So that part makes sense.  Not being a student of Cossack history, I don't know about the rest. 

In the story is the recipe.  A boneless leg of lamb trimmed of fat, cut into chunks (whatever size you want, but I usually go for about 1" to 1-1/2", around that size).  Sliced lemons and onions.  Layer the meat, lemon and onions in a bowl or baking dish, and squeeze the juice from an additional lemon or two over the whole thing.  Let it marinate in the refrigerator for at least one day, preferably two days.  Stir it every 4 hours or so.  Before cooking remove from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature.  Lightly salt & pepper about 30 minutes before cooking.

When I was younger, he had custom made skewers resembling straight bladed swords. He would fill them with chunks of lamb and roast them over the BBQ pit.  As he got older and the number of folks at gatherings became less, he would cook them directly on the grill.  Today, I'm going to broil them in the oven on an old Graniteware broiling pan.  I'm going to combine a little of the old and the new.

The final result:

Ham and Easter?

Ham is a traditional Easter dinner (or supper if you're from the south), served all over the country.  That seems like a contradiction to me, since pork is forbidden by Jewish dietary laws and Jesus was a Jew. In addition, it seems weird to celebrate the Resurrection of The Christ by eating a scavenger.

In looking around the web, I noticed many had tied in the Easter ham with various Pagan rituals, many of which have in fact infiltrated the Christian Faith.  However, I think I found the most likely explanation on a page titled "Traditional Easter Foods" on About.com:

"In the United States, ham is a traditional Easter food. In the early days, meat was slaughtered in the fall. There was no refrigeration, and the fresh pork that wasn't consumed during the winter months before Lent was cured for spring. The curing process took a long time, and the first hams were ready around the time Easter rolled around. Thus, ham was a natural choice for the celebratory Easter dinner."

In addition, a ham can feed a lot of people.  When I was younger, we had large gatherings at my Grandmother's house on all the holidays.  Today, we're scattered all over the country and so a whole ham would be overkill.

We're having lamb today, look for a post on that later.  For the record, I did buy a half ham, it is in the freezer and will be done up in the next week or so.  It will provide several dinners and a nice bone for a pot of ham and beans!

Wishing you a Blessed and Happy Easter Day