Sacrificial Feast Roasted Meat (Thysia Kreas)
The Quirky Foodster Team
Ingredients
- Goat or lamb leg, bone-in — 2 kg (4.4 lb)
- Olive oil — 3 tbsp
- Garlic, slivered — 4 cloves
- Dried oregano — 2 tbsp
- Sea salt — 1 tbsp
- Juice of 2 lemons
Method
- Preheat the oven or prepare coals for a steady, moderate-high heat.
- Make small incisions in the meat and insert the garlic slivers.
- Rub the whole joint with olive oil, oregano, and salt.
- Roast for about 1 hour, basting occasionally with the pan juices and lemon, until cooked through and well browned.
- Rest for 15 minutes before carving and sharing among the table.
Introduction: Roasted meat prepared in the manner shared out after a religious sacrifice, when a whole community might eat meat together.
Cultural Background: Animal sacrifice (thysia) to the gods was one of the main occasions on which ordinary Greeks ate meat, with portions roasted and distributed among the community after the ritual offering of certain parts to the deity. Feast days built around sacrifice were central to civic and religious life.
Tips: Basting regularly keeps the meat from drying out during the longer roast.
Variations: The meat can be spit-roasted whole over an open fire for a more traditional presentation.
Nutrition: Approx. 420 kcal per serving.
FAQs:
Q: What role did sacrifice play in Greek meat-eating?
A: Public sacrifice was one of the primary contexts in which communities, including the less wealthy, had regular access to meat.
Q: Was the meat shared equally?
A: Distribution customs varied, but shared communal feasting after sacrifice was a central social and religious practice.
- Goat or lamb leg, bone-in — 2 kg (4.4 lb)
- Olive oil — 3 tbsp
- Garlic, slivered — 4 cloves
- Dried oregano — 2 tbsp
- Sea salt — 1 tbsp
- Juice of 2 lemons
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