← Nouns Cooking · Moroccan

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg bone-in beef shin or veal shank (or lamb shoulder), cut into large chunks
• 8 cloves Garlic, peeled, left whole
• 1 Preserved lemon, quartered
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp Ground ginger
• 1 pinch Saffron, crumbled
• ½ tsp Black pepper
• ¾ tsp Salt
• 1 tbsp smen or ghee
• 3 tbsp Olive oil
• 200 ml Water
• ¼ tsp Smoked paprika (optional)

Method

1. Heat the oven to 150°C (300°F). Choose a tangia jar or a small, deep casserole that holds the meat snugly.
2. Put the meat, garlic, preserved lemon, spices, salt, smen and oil in the pot and mix with your hands until every piece is coated. Pour in the water: it should come only a third of the way up, as the meat makes its own juice.
3. Lay a sheet of baking paper on top, then cover tightly with foil or the lid and poke two small holes so steam can escape.
4. Bake without stirring for 4 hours, checking after 3 hours, until the meat slides off the bone and the garlic is soft enough to spread.
5. Tip everything into a warm dish. If the juices are thin, boil them in a small pan for 5 min until glossy, then pour back over the meat. Serve with khobz to mop it up.

Tips

• Use a cut with bone, sinew and a little fat; lean meat dries out in the long bake.
• Taste before salting at the end: preserved lemon is salty. Smoked paprika hints at the original cooking in the embers of a hammam furnace.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Taste of Maroc SBS Food