Roumeli Kontosouvli (Κοντοσούβλι Ρούμελης)

Kontosouvli belongs to Roumeli and the mountain table of Central Greece, where celebration meat goes over coals in pieces large enough to stay alive inside. The word says it plainly: konto souvli, the short spit. It isn't souvlaki made bigger for drama. It is its own thing, lamb shoulder cut in heavy chunks, scented with oregano, wine, lemon, garlic, and olive oil, then turned until the fat shines and the edges catch black.

The cut is the whole lesson. Keep the lamb in pieces of 5-6cm, with a little fat left on them, because the outside needs time to brown before the center is done. Make them small and they dry out while you're waiting for color. Make them big, press them close on the spit, and the meat protects itself. Good olive oil, and patience.

I record the Roumeli lamb version here, because the region is the dish's surname. Pork kontosouvli is common in tavernas, and beef appears in some butcher counters now, but lamb shoulder is the meat I trust for a home cook who wants the old feast table without a whole animal on the spit. Nothing clever is needed. The coals do the work if you don't rush them.