Lamb and Goat

In much of North America, pork rules the barbecue circuit. Among South American asadores, beef reigns supreme. So it may take you by surprise to learn that on any given evening, probably more fires are lit around Planet Barbecue to grill lamb (and goat) than any other meat. The grilled-lamb zone begins in West Africa, stretches east along the north and south of the Mediterranean to the Middle and Near East, through the Caucasus Mountains to Central and South Asia, then on to China, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, and all the way to Australia and New Zealand. In the New World, you find barbecued lamb in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, and, yes, Owensboro, Kentucky (home of the world’s only barbecued mutton), not to mention the Caribbean, where the lamb’s nimble cousin, the goat, has been the meat of choice for generations of pit masters.