Bayd b'Awarma
بيض بقاورما·(bayd bi-a-war-ma)
The Sobhiyeh: Morning Rituals & The Forn
Pull a jar of awarma from the fridge. It's essentially Levantine confit: heavily salted, spiced lamb slowly cooked in its own liquid fat. Rendering a sheep's tail into preserved meat allowed Lebanese mountain villages to store protein for frozen winters. Drop a spoonful into the cold cast-iron skillet, let the cinnamon and gamey fat wake up, and crack in your eggs. The lamb fat hisses, the whites violently blister, the yolks stay perfectly molten. Leave the spatula in the drawer and scoop the yolks with a torn pita.
Before you start
Slowly melt the diced lamb fat in a heavy pot over medium-low heat.
This takes patience; let it render for about 30 to 45 minutes until the fat turns into pure liquid gold and crispy cracklings float to the top.
Pour the liquid fat through a fine-mesh strainer into a heat-proof bowl.
Discard the cracklings, or salt them and eat them as a cook's treat.
Return the clear fat to the pot over medium heat and stir in the ground lamb, salt, pepper, cinnamon, and 7-Spice.
Cook the meat in the fat, stirring frequently, until all the moisture evaporates and the lamb turns deep brown and crispy at the edges, about 20 to 30 minutes.
Ladle the hot mixture into a sterilized glass jar, ensuring the meat is completely pushed down and submerged in the liquid fat.
Let it cool completely to room temperature so the fat turns opaque and white, then seal tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
Ingredients
- lamb fat trimmings1 lb
- ground lamb1 lb
- kosher salt1 1/2 tbsp
- black pepper1/2 tsp
- cinnamon1/4 tsp
- Lebanese 7-Spice1/4 tsp
- eggs4 large
- fresh mint leaves1 cup
- tomato1 med
- white onion1/2 med
- green olives1/2 cup
- Lebanese mountain bread2 large
Method
- 01
Place a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and drop in three to four heaping tablespoons of the solid awarma.
Make sure to chisel out both the opaque white fat and the preserved meat from your jar.
- 02
Let the meat sizzle in its melting fat for one to two minutes.
It should be piping hot, and the edges of the lamb should turn fiercely crispy as the trapped aromatics wake up.
- 03
Crack the eggs directly into the bubbling fat and leave them undisturbed.
The goal is extreme textural contrast: the intense heat will violently blister and lace the egg whites while keeping the yolks perfectly soft and molten.
- 04
Remove the skillet from the heat, crack fresh black pepper over the top, and carry it spitting and sizzling straight to the table.
Notes
The golden rule of awarma.
Never salt the eggs. The preserved lamb is already heavily salted to cure the meat, which naturally seasons the eggs as they fry together. An extra pinch of salt will ruin the pan.
Eating it right.
Ditch the forks. Tear off shards of warm pita or mountain bread to scoop the runny yolks and crispy lamb. You need a bright, acidic plate of fresh mint, sliced tomatoes, raw white onions, and briny green olives alongside it to slice through the beautiful weight of the rendered fat.
Sourcing the fat.
Ask your local butcher for lamb fat trimmings, keeping away from pungent mutton fat. If lamb is entirely out of reach, high-quality beef tallow and ground beef are the only acceptable substitutes. Never attempt this preservation with vegetable oil or butter.
From Cook Lebanese in America.