A Portuguese Easter Classic: Roasted Kid Leg (Cabrito Assado)

Ingredients:

For the brine:

• 2L of fresh water

• 60g of salt

• 1 lemon (sliced)

• 1/2 a white onion (cut in quarters)

• 3-4 garlic gloves

• 1-2 bay leaves

• 1 bunch of fresh parsley

• 1 teaspoon of black peppercorns

• 1/2L white wine (ideally a Portuguese white like this or that)

For the marinade:

• 1 white onion

• 4 gloves of garlic

• Olive oil

• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

• 30g of sweet paprika

• Teaspooon of dijon mustard

• 1/2L white wine (ideally a Portuguese white like this or that)

• 1 bunch of fresh parsley

Other:

• 1.5kg of potatoes

• 3kg of kid meat

A note on the meat:

For this recipe I used a whole kid leg but you can use other cuts if you prefer, and if you struggle to find kid, lamb makes for a good substitute.

Preparation:

1. Prepare your brine: In a large container (make sure it’s big enough to fit your kid leg), place 2L of fresh water, 0.5L of white wine, 60g of salt, a sliced lemon, half an onion (cut into quarters), 3-4 smashed garlic gloves, 2 bay leaves, a teaspoon of black peppercorns, and a bunch of parsley.

2. Submerge your kid leg in the brine, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 12 hours

3. Remove lamb from marinade and discard excess marinade. Pat your kid leg dry with a paper towel and place in a deep roasting tray.

4. Roughly chop 1 whole white onion and add it to the roasting tray along with 3-4 smashed gloves of garlic

5. Drizzle everything with a generous drizzle of olive oil and add a big pinch of salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

6. Add a teaspoon of dijon mustard and 30g of sweet paprika and massage throughly throughout the entire kid leg

7. Add 0.5L of white wine and a bunch of fresh parsley.

8. Mix everything together and let it marinade for 2 hours

9. Peel, chop and boil your potatoes until fork tender

10. Add your potatoes and kid leg into a roasting tray and roast in a pre-heated oven at 140ºC for 1 hour and then increase the temperature to 180ºC and cook for another 1 hour (turning the roast at the 30 minute mark).

11. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley, and serve.