OVERVIEW
The following recipe shows you how to cook the entire dish on your Big Green Egg, cooking directly at a higher heat (to brown the meat), then lowering the temperature and switching to a direct setup. If you are short on time, or are not confident bringing the temperature down, the browning can be done on your kitchen hob.
BROWN THE LAMB
Set up your EGG for direct cooking. If you’re using the Dual Zone System, install the Dual Zone Basket with 2 x Half Moon Stainless Steel Grids at the upper level. If not, install the Stainless Steel Grid. The target temperature is 180°C.
Heat the olive oil in a Cast Iron Dutch Oven or a traditional tagine. Add the lamb shanks and brown on all sides. Add the onions, garlic, ginger and spices and cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Remove from the heat.
SLOW COOK THE TAGINE
Switch to an indirect setup by adding 2 x Half Moon Ceramic Deflectors or the ConvEGGtor in a legs-up position, topped with the grid. Bring the temperature down to 120°C.
Add 500ml water to the Dutch Oven and cook for 2 hours until the meat is just starting to fall off the bone.
Add the carrots and cook for 30 minutes then add the dates, preserved lemons and half the coriander and cook for a further 30 minutes.
Before serving with couscous, scatter over the rest of the coriander and, if you like, some flaked almonds and pomegranate seeds.
