Whole Goat Barbeque at 6° Celsius …

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     What can be more daring than setting out in mid-fall for a barbequing expedition on a mountain cliff at 4° Celsius? It is true though it sounds idiotic. It is natural among my circle that one among us will come up with some crazy ideas and everyone will agree with him no matter how crazy it is, because the rest of the pack won’t have any equally crazy ideas to offer instead. This time Dr. Shaheen’s wild imagination led him to suggest barbequing a whole goat at the weekend.

     However, it was the best-planned outing we had ever had. The plan demanded preparation in advance, so everything was well thought out and executed. Individual members had volunteered to contribute rice, yogurt, garlic toast, toasted green apples, salads, dates, peanuts, chips, tea, Arabian coffee and dates as pre-dinner snacks. There was only one snag: the place we had chosen for setting up camp.
       The setting was Al Sooda, a peak on Sirwath Mountain situated west of Abha, 3000 meters above sea level and dotted with Arar trees. The temperature was a mere 6° Celsius but it felt more like 4° because of the wind and fog. Bear in mind that Al Sooda is one of the coolest places in the kingdom. What happened next defies words even though I will attempt to describe it. It became part of our collective experience.
       We started barbequing by midday but by 5.30 p.m. the well-marinated whole goat still wasn’t cooked. Some of us volunteered to go out to buy extra coal and other supplies that we had run out of. A few collected more firewood in the area. Others took turns to keep the fire burning and turn the goat to expose it to the flame. Still others stood close around, sheltering the fire from the wind by forming an inner circle in addition to the outer shelter of sensibly parked cars.
      Happily frustrated after laborious waiting around for five hours, some started to pinch off half-cooked portions. Others who are normally choosier couldn’t withstand the temptation in the shivering cold and followed suit. Oscar Wilde famously said: “The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it” and “I can resist everything but temptation”. What happened next I’ll leave to your fertile imagination. Your guess won’t be far off!

       


Comments

  1. TPShukooRJanuary 28, 2015 at 4:33 AM

    This is really crazy. I used to scale the mountains but never had a barbeque.

    ReplyDelete

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