Zarb

Ingredients

Meat

• 3 kglamb, shoulder and leg on the bone in large pieces
• 1whole chicken, spatchcocked, optional
• 3 tbspJordanian baharat
• 1 tbspground turmeric, 1 tbsp ground cumin, 1 tbsp sumac
• 1 tbspcoarse black pepper, 2 tbsp salt
• 6garlic cloves, crushed
• 200 mlolive oil
• juice of 2 lemons

Vegetables

• 6potatoes, halved
• 4onions, quartered
• 4carrots, in chunks
• 2aubergines, thick sliced
• 4tomatoes, halved
• 2 tspsalt, 2 tbsp olive oil

The oven and the table

• hardwood or acacia, enough for a 2 hour fire
• 1tiered steel rack, a deep drip tray and a metal drum lid
• 1large hessian sack or heavy blanket, and dry sand
• steamed rice with almonds, laban, khubz and chopped salad, to serve

Directions

1. Rub the lamb and chicken with the baharat, turmeric, cumin, sumac, pepper, salt, garlic, oil and lemon juice.
2. Marinate overnight, or at least 4 hours. Dig a pit about 1 metre deep and 60 cm across, line it with stones, and burn hardwood down in it for 2–3 hours until you have a deep bed of glowing embers and searing stone walls.
3. Cook undisturbed for 3 to 3 hours 30 minutes. Do not open it to check: opening drops the pit temperature and there is no getting it back.
4. Pour the collected pan juices over the steamed rice, which has been cooking above ground.
5. Pile the meat and vegetables on a communal tray over the rice, scatter almonds, and serve with laban, khubz and chopped salad, eaten with the hands.

Technique

• Zarb is the Bedouin sand oven of Wadi Rum, and it is a sealed underground oven, not a smoker: the meat cooks in trapped radiant heat and its own steam, which is why it stays so moist.
• The fire must be finished. Live flame or fresh wood in the pit gives sooty, acrid meat; you want only embers and hot stone.
• Sand does the sealing. Sealing is the single skill in the technique, and it is the step people get wrong.
• Lamb goes on the top tier for a reason: the dripping fat is the only basting the food gets in three and a half hours.

Substitutions

• No desert: a covered kettle barbecue set up for indirect heat at 140–150°C (275–300°F) with a water pan reproduces about 80 percent of it in 4 hours.
• Failing that, roast at 150°C (300°F) in a covered roasting tin for 4 hours with 200 ml of water, then uncover for 20 minutes. Add 1 tsp of smoked salt to the rub for the missing fire note.
• Goat is used as often as lamb by the Bedouin and gives a leaner, gamier result.

Variations

• The chicken-only zarb served at most Wadi Rum camps, which needs 90 minutes rather than three hours.
• Zarb with rice cooked in the pit in a sealed pot under the meat, so it drinks the drippings.

History

Bedouin pit oven of Wadi Rum, where meat and vegetables are lowered into a sand-covered fire chamber for hours.

Frequently asked questions

What is Zarb?

Zarb is a main from Jordan: bedouin lamb and vegetables slow-roasted in underground sand oven. Bedouin pit oven of Wadi Rum, where meat and vegetables are lowered into a sand-covered fire chamber for hours.

How long does Zarb take to make?

Zarb takes 45 min plus overnight marinating of preparation and 3 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Zarb?

Yes, within limits. No desert: a covered kettle barbecue set up for indirect heat at 140–150°C (275–300°F) with a water pan reproduces about 80 percent of it in 4 hours. Failing that, roast at 150°C (300°F) in a covered roasting tin for 4 hours with 200 ml of water, then uncover for 20 minutes. Add 1 tsp of smoked salt to the rub for the missing fire note. Goat is used as often as lamb by the Bedouin and gives a leaner, gamier result.

What is the most important thing to get right in Zarb?

Cook undisturbed for 3 to 3 hours 30 minutes. Do not open it to check: opening drops the pit temperature and there is no getting it back.