Ouzi—Stuffed Lamb with Rice

Name: Ouzi—Stuffed Lamb with Rice
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Middle Eastern

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roubashahin.com.au

Mains

Ouzi the way we make it at home — whole lamb stuffed with spiced rice. This time, made indoors in a regular oven.

PREP TIME

1 hour

COOK TIME

6 hours

SERVES

About this recipe

For as long as I can remember, our family has made ouzi — stuffed lamb with rice — in the wood-fired oven outside, with everyone gathered around watching the whole lamb being seasoned, stuffed and tied up. It’s one of those dishes that pulls people in before it even hits the table. Over the years, so many of you have asked me how to make it at home, in a normal kitchen, without a wood oven. So I’ve spent some time working out a way to bring that same dish indoors — and this is it.

This ouzi — stuffed lamb with rice — is slow-cooked in your conventional oven until the meat is falling off the bone and the spiced basmati rice underneath has soaked up everything beautiful from the lamb. The key here is your butcher. You need a small lamb, around twelve kilograms, and you need them to prepare the ribcage and flaps the right way so you can stuff it and fold it closed. Show them photos, show them my video. A good butcher will know exactly what you mean once they see it.

What’s more, the rice on its own is a recipe worth making — it’s the same base I use in my Chickpea and Eggplant Rice Pilaf, just without the eggplant and stuffed into the lamb instead. Best of all, you can prep the rice and the spice rub a day ahead, which makes the whole thing far less daunting than it looks. That said, give yourself the time on the day — six hours in the oven is non-negotiable.

Ingredients

For the Lamb

½ cup olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
4 brown onions diced
5 cups basmati rice, washed
2 tablespoons Vegeta
2 tablespoons baharat
2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
6 cups water, for the rice
1 ribcage section from a small lamb prepared by your butcher as described below
Salt, to season
6 cups water, for the roasting tray

For the Spice Rub

5 teaspoons salt
6 teaspoons oregano
3 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Notes from Rouba

Your butcher is everything here — small lamb (around twelve kilograms), and ask them to prepare the ribcage with the flaps left intact for folding. Show them photos or my video so there’s no confusion.
Make your rice the day before if you can — it’s easier to handle when it’s cooled right down.
Always undercook the rice slightly — around 90 percent done. It finishes cooking inside the lamb.
Sew the flaps closed with cooking string and a needle if you have one. If not, metal skewers through the top will hold everything in just as well.
The water in the base of the tray is what keeps the lamb tender over six hours — don’t skip it and don’t let it dry out.
Save any rice that doesn’t fit inside the lamb — you’ll plate it underneath when you serve.

Equipment Note

For this recipe the tray is everything. You need a deep roasting tray that fits the full width of your oven — as close to edge to edge as you can get — because if the tray fits, the lamb fits. The lamb cannot stick out at either end, or you won’t be able to seal it properly with the baking paper and foil, and the steam is what makes this work over six hours.

Method

Step 1. Make the spice rub and prepare the rice

Combine all the spice rub ingredients in a bowl and mix well — set aside.

Heat the half cup of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and sauté the diced onion until softened. Add the washed basmati rice, Vegeta, baharat and chickpeas, then toss everything together so the rice is coated. Pour in the 6 cups of water, lower the heat, cover and cook for 25-30 minutes until the rice is cooked through— it can be slightly undercooked because it will finish cooking inside the lamb but you don’t want it overcooked. Let it cool completely.

Step 2. Season and stuff the lamb

Preheat your oven to 180°C (fan-forced) (200°C conventional) (390°F).

Lay the prepared lamb flat with the inside facing up. Drizzle olive oil all over the inside, season generously with salt, then rub the spice mix into every part of the surface.

Spoon the cooled rice into the cavity, — save any rice that doesn't fit, you will use it for serving later.

Fold the bottom flaps, side flaps and top flap inwards over the rice to close the lamb.

Using a needle and cooking string, sew the flaps closed in a simple rustic stitch — or use metal skewers threaded through the top to hold everything in place

Step 3. Season the outside and set up the tray

Carefully turn the lamb over so the sewn side is facing down. Drizzle the top with olive oil, season with salt, then rub the spice mix all over the outside until it is fully coated.

Place a wire rack inside your large deep roasting tray and sit the lamb on top of the rack, sewn-side down. Pour 6 cups of water into the base of the tray around the lamb.

Step 4. Cover and slow-roast

Cover the whole lamb with a sheets of baking paper, then layer three sheets of foil over the top, sealing the edges tightly so the steam stays in. Place the tray in the oven and roast for 5 and a half hours.

Remove the foil and baking paper carefully and return the lamb to the oven, uncovered, for the final 30 minutes to brown up the outside. Plate the lamb over the reserved rice.

A FEW THINGS YOU’LL WANT TO KNOW

What cut of lamb do I ask my butcher for?
You want a small whole lamb — around twelve kilograms — and you need the butcher to prepare the ribcage section with the belly flaps left long and intact, so you can fold them over the rice to close it. Show them photos or my video. Once they see it, they'll know exactly what to do.

Can I make this without a wire rack?
The rack is really there to lift the lamb up off the base of the tray so it isn't sitting in the water — this is how it stays tender without getting waterlogged underneath.

Why do I need to add water to the tray?
The water creates steam under the foil for the full six hours, which is what keeps the lamb so tender and stops it drying out. Check it around the four-hour mark — if it's getting low, top it up with a cup or two of hot water.

Can I make this ahead?
Yes — and there are a couple of ways to do it. The rice can be made the day before and stored covered in the fridge, and the spice rub keeps in a sealed jar for weeks. You can also prep the whole thing ahead — stuff the lamb, sew it closed, sit it on the rack in the tray with the water, cover with baking paper and foil, and store it in the fridge until you're ready to roast. Just transport it slowly and carefully from fridge to oven so nothing shifts. Otherwise, stuff and sew the lamb the day before, then on the day sit it in the tray, add the water, cover and roast.

What do I serve with ouzi?
The lamb and rice together are the main event — but a big bowl of laban (yoghurt), a fresh salad and warm Lebanese bread on the side make it a proper feast. My Nana's Yoghurt Salad is the perfect match here — it brings everything together with that cool, garlicky freshness against the rich spiced lamb. This is the kind of dish you put in the middle of the table and let everyone tear into.

Can I use a bigger lamb?
Not for this method. A small lamb (around twelve kilograms) is what fits in a domestic oven and cooks evenly in six hours. Anything bigger and you're back outside in the wood oven — which is its own beautiful thing, but a different recipe.

I have spice rub left over?
That's a good thing — this is one of those spice rubs you don't want to make in tiny batches. Store any leftover in a sealed jar and you'll find yourself reaching for it constantly. It's beautiful on my Chipotle Salt Thigh Fillets in place of the chipotle salt, gorgeous on my Pan-Fried Garlic Quail, and honestly, even just tossed through homemade chips with a drizzle of olive oil — you're done.