On the heat. None

Ingredients

• 1 kg lamb tail fat
• 100 ml water
• 1 onion, halved (optional)
• 1 tsp salt
• — YOU WILL GET
• About 700 ml clear rendered fat
• About 150 g crisp golden scraps

Method

1. Chill the fat hard, then cut it into 1 cm cubes. Cold fat cuts cleanly; warm fat smears.
2. Into a heavy pot with the water. The water stops it catching before it starts giving up its own fat, and it boils away entirely.
3. Lowest possible heat, uncovered, 90 minutes to 2 hours. Stir every 15 minutes. It should never sizzle hard or brown.
4. When the solids have shrunk to small golden nuggets and float in clear liquid, add the onion and salt for the last 15 minutes if using.
5. Strain through muslin into clean jars. Keeps 3 months in the fridge, a year frozen.
6. The strained scraps are jizzeh. Salt them and eat them, or fold them through rice or a pilaf. Do not throw them away.

Cook's note. What to do with it. Cook rice in it, fry eggs in it, mix a spoonful into koobideh or adana mince, seal a stew with it, or brush it over kebabs as they come off the fire. It is the single biggest upgrade available for R69.

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