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Qawrama is the name of a preserved lamb fat--known as a kind of
duhniyat--a fat or grease used for cooking in Lebanese and Syrian dishes, and
the name of a dish of mutton or beef cut into small pieces and braised with lots
of onions and tomatoes. The preserved lamb is made by cooking fatty mutton or
lamb's tail (usually), but also shoulder meat, with abundant salt and then
pouring the browned meat and its fat into preserving jars. The sheep favored by
Arab cooks are the fat- tailed species (Ovis aries L. platura), with tails that
are very wide and up to two feet long, mostly all fat, that were introduced to
the Levant by the Turks. Another domesticated species from Arabia (Ovis aries L.
dolichura) was described by Herodotus as having their long, fat, heavy tails
carried by little carts. After the preparation is made, a layer of fat
solidifies on top. The cook scoops out spoonfuls of it to use in various dishes,
including vegetable cookery. Should you feel like giving it a try, grind
together equal amounts of lamb fat and boneless lamb shoulder and neck meat.
Place this in a stew pot or saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat, adding
abundant salt (1 1/2 teaspoons per pound of meat mixture) and a mixture of black
pepper and baharat, about 1 tablespoon
spice mix per pound of mixed meat. Simmer for 6 hours, and then pour off the fat
into a container with some of the meat. Freeze for up to 6 months and use for
the cooking fat in meat recipes.
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