The Ancient Art of Fire
By John Kass
May 12, 2024
This is not science but art. That is the secret, and throw in the breeze, the morning temperature, the feel of the lamb as you take it from the cooler.
The density of the cool meat. The ancient promise of the coals over a spit, as old as civilization itself.
My sons know the secret. They learned it over the years from watching me on such cooks that you have read about in my news column.
But this wasn’t my lamb. This belonged to my sons. This was their lamb for Easter Sunday. Christos Anesti!
They didn’t look for a formula, or measure by narrow numbers the coals in this final picture. There is no abacus, there are no computers to count coals. There were far fewer coals—three or four handfuls of lump charcoal–at the beginning of this seven-hour cook. Yes, seven hours.
When I first started cooking with live coals, I used too many. There was too much heat. Then, later, there wasn’t enough heat. There weren’t enough coals.
Listen so you will see.
As I said in the beginning, this is art, not science, tracing back through time, to the Mycenaean Civilization and the blind poet Homer, the father of all literature.
Homer spoke of the great but somewhat cowardly Agamemnon, who sacrificed his daughter at the edge of the wine dark sea. And he talked of fat lambs and the offering of the tasty morsels to the gods, with the man of wrath, the King of Ithaca, Odysseus drinking and talking around fires on the shores of Troy.
Uncle Pete is my brother, no god he.
But he is a good man, one of the best men, a man of honor. And so my sons offered him some tasty pieces and the lemony skin as you will see if you click right here:
Theo Pete heroically grabs a taste.
As difficult as it sounds, life is not just a baby spring lamb. Life can be found in vegetarian food. And don’t call me a commie, or I’ll find you.
We don’t much like commies. My family fought the communists in the mountains in the old country. My father and Uncle George and other young men from the village would hide from the communists under the backyard oven when the KKE went recruiting with guns. But Arakas (peas) and artichokes have no politics. They’re perfect as a side dish.
Betty makes it for me. And she’s no commie. She’s not even a Democrat, which is the last stage before they turn on you. But she loves me. After 38 years now, I think she’ll keep me. And she loves Arakas.
Here is her recipe for peas and artichokes
Ingredients: 2 cans quartered artichokes/ 3 small bags of frozen peas/1 medium onion chopped/1 cup fresh dill minced
1 15oz. can chicken broth/ one 28 oz. can crushed tomato/ 2-3 cloves garlic minced/ salt pepper to taste
Directions: Sweat onion in a large pot with olive oil until translucent. Add artichokes into pot and warm them in pot. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add fresh dill, tomatoes, chicken broth and 1 cup of water. Simmer for ten minutes to let the flavors blend. Add frozen peas and let simmer another 15 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Serves 8-10
Another of the genius accompaniments is Muthawama, also known throughout the Middle East as Toum. Yes, I am indeed quite ecumenical. We get a large tray from Al Bawadi in Bridgeview.
What is Muthwama? Garlic, olive oil, fresh lemon juice and salt. Perfect on top of braised rice as another side for your delicious spit roasted lamb.
Delicious.
Grill some pita bread, and grill some onion halves, too while you’re at it. Add some sliced onions or green onions and fresh roasted lamb (if Theo Pete leaves you any) and that’s a meal in itself.
My brothers and I share appreciation for great food. Below is a photograph from an Easter Sunday several years ago. I was the short fat guy in the middle. From left: Man of honor Theo Pete, me and man of honor Theo Nick. We learned from a great lamb master, our father.
The lamb was innocent. Aren’t they all?
Did Greeks invent this artform or was it shaped by the sands of time, near the Tigris–Euphrates river system where agriculture and civilization began before Greeks invented it?
I won’t argue whether the Greeks or the Persians did it. Spartan King Leonidas pressed his claim on the bodies of tens of thousands of Persians; and Alexander the Great conquered the world and what is modern day Iraq and Iran. But let’s not brag about which culture was sensitive to the art of spit roasting lamb. Let’s just sit down and fire up some Outlaw Country tunes and crack open some cold beers.
And for leftovers, grab some cold lamb sanguiches with mustard and slices of raw onion. Yeah baby.
First, you need a whole lamb. Get it at the butcher shop and ask them to fix the whole lamb it to the spit. I use a spit with u-shaped clamps that come up from under the spine, around the spit, tightened down with wing nuts and plates. You don’t want the lamb to wobble.
DON’T FORGET THE COTTER PINS!!
Keep the lamb cool overnight, in a basement, in a restaurant cooler if you have restaurant friends, then on Easter Sunday morning, around dawn, begin to prepare. We kept our last lamb this past Sunday in the garage, on bags of ice. It’ll take about four-five hours to get to room temperature. Remember, seven hours.
Betty reminded me to remind you not to forget slivers of garlic inserted in the lamb. She did not ask me to remind you that you’ll need plenty of ouzo over ice, for the cooks. And you’ll need lamb–preferably from your neighbor’s farm if you live in Green Acres, or from Colorado. Avoid gamy New Zealand lamb. Oh, and fresh lemon juice, fine olive oil, fresh cracked pepper and Kosher salt.
There’s a lot to think about, yes.
If you don’t know what you’re doing, you don’t know how much fire to use, if you don’t know how to slice it off the spit, you might have problems. Especially your brothers do what brothers do and try picking at the tasty crispy skin. And if you’ve always wanted to serve roast lamb at your backyard barbecue, but you know that no matter how many lamb roast youtube videos you bingewatch, you just won’t get it in time.
But there is one thing you can do:
Call my two sons.
Call Spiro and Peter. Ask them. See if they’re free. Don’t ask me. I’ve got columns to write.
The boys really know what they’re doing. They’re good men. I’m proud of them. Betty is proud of them. Their grandfather would be so proud of them, too. That was the tastiest lamb I’ve ever had.
It’s not science. It’s art.
And it is ancient as civilization itself.
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About the author: John Kass spent decades as a political writer and news columnist in Chicago working at a major metropolitan newspaper. He is co-host of The Chicago Way podcast. And he just loves his “No Chumbolone” hat, because johnkassnews.com is a “No Chumbolone” Zone where you can always get a cup of common sense.
Comments 22
Family traditions being passed down through generations. That’s what life is about. Congratulations! You and Betty have done well.
I love this column. Great traditions = great family. The ties that bind. Makes me wish I had been there, part of it.
John,John what of the seasoning for the lamb? Just slivers of Garlic, that’s it? I’m not Greek but my neighbors were the last few years. We were honored to be invited to partake in their Easter feast two years. I know the lamb was basted with something! You and Betty have done a great job. But what of the secret sauce??
And I’d be happy with an Egg McMuffin each morning! 😉
Peas and artichokes! What an addition to my recipes! Multiple Kass entries along with my Italian and Polish Grandmothers’ favorites.
Yes, Erin Geary! (a wonderful someone I’ve met through johnkassnews, who knows her way around well made paragraphs) generational traditions and Kass’s wondrous family together with muthwama, something new. Brothers and sons and charcoal and even a little B.C. history.
When does the cookbook come out?
Well, John, it took quite a few of your lamb columns to persuade me that I want to eat…lamb…I think. But my gradually developed taste is only for custom Kass lamb over the right amount of coals. Please consider taking orders for your right-roasted delicacy from us subscribers. I’m thinking $30/pound…or an inflation-adjusted $60/pound if they manage to keep propping Biden up.
How do you say “good appetite!” In Greek?
Great stuff here, John. Thank you,
Just yum!!!!!
Great job, Spiro and Peter!!! May you have a long tenure at the spit!
Γιάννη,
I, too, turned over my Easter lamb duties to our son and nephews. They watched me for years and eventually became the chefs if Easter lamb on the σούβλα!! My son offered me the crispy skin for a snack as we prepared to serve this annual delicacy. We are truly blessed for so many reasons. We married well, raised good children, and were blessed by God to endure health roadbumps along the way! Thankyou for lending us your voice of reason! Χριστός Ανέστη!
With your family, you did good.
I would convert to Greek Orthodox for an invitation. YUM
Since I escaped Chicago for the free state of Texas I have made the proper food adjustments. I have made a fair trade of Texas Brisket for a good Chicago Greektown Gyros plate. It’s not even noon over here and John has me thinking of good Greek food. When I visit my family on the far south side of Chicago I try to stop at Tzatziki on Indianapolis in Hammond Indiana (right off of 294) for a good plate of Greek street food. Small, family owned, great greek potatoes. Happy Easter, have a great day with your family, John.
Good heavens John — you have taken me back some 55+ years to when my husband and I were dating. I cannot tell you how many nights we spent eating and drinking in Greek Town in Chicago with friends!!! This was all a brave new world to me . . . Right after we were married in 1971, my husband left on a trip for a month to Africa to film the TV commercials for Schlitz for the 1972 Olympics. He was with Leo Burnett Adv. agency in Client Service. I met him in Athens at the end of that month for a week’s vacation. I loved Greece. But we couldn’t find your kind of Greek food in the large cities!!! Restaurants kept telling us this was “peasant food” and we had to go into the mountains to get this — certainly hope times have changed!!!!
I love it when you write about family, food and tradition. So much of this has been eliminated in our society today. Thank you for preserving what my parents taught me to believe in and we tried to pass on to our children. Isn’t that what true legacy really is?
You’re a Rich Man John. Enjoy your lamb and investments. Happy Mother Day to St Betty!
Flyover Land.
PS I would pay to dine and hear JK stories if you put a meet and great together. Invite your haters and let them pay for their own food(Crow).
It is great to see you celebrating the cooking of the lamb, Mr. Kass, and even greater to see you in the photo with your sons. I’m glad you are back and getting healthier.
What a wonderful tradition. Being with family & friends breaking bread is more important than all the wealth in the world. Ouzo, Raki or Sambuca will do for me. I will use Betty’s recipe for Araka. Looks delicious. I have to travel 45 minutes here in NC to get a good gyro. They don’t use the meat cut from the spit, but order precut meat from…Chicago. It tastes just like Central Gyros. Why don’t you have a lamb roast for subscribers. I would gladly chip in. Maybe at a forest preserve? Glad you are feeling better John. Enrique, I will make a stop at Tzatziki next trip to Chicago. Thanks for the mention.
Long live traditions! I thoroughly enjoyed that, I could almost taste everything you described and my mouth was watering looking at the photos! Yum. Thank you so much for sharing it all, may God bless you and your wonderful family!
Delightful and delicious presentation of the lamb and fire.
Delectable side dishes, too.
I was getting hungry just reading the fine details.
And great pictures, too!
Christos Anesti!
Thoroughly enjoyed reading about your Easter feast. You definitely do it up right. I don’t have a supplier of whole lamb and in fact Texans generally do not put lamb of any kind much on the grocery store shelves devoted as they are to barbeque whole beef briskets etc. And on the rare occasions when you can find lamb of any kind, it is priced as if it were gold.
I want to congratulate you on your resilience recovering from your illnesses and wish you a very long life and continuing brilliant career as a writer who provides so much pleasure to your readers.
I love the picture of you and your boys, so cool. I can only wish I could cook lamb. I wish I had learned/experimented at a younger age. I’ll have to stick to Sous Vide as being as far out on the limb as I can go. I will try Betty’s recipe for peas and artichokes though! Thanks.
I think I love your columns, and podcasts about food the most. I can hear your calm but intense voice whenever you talk about such. Great stuff … as always.