Georgia
Khinkali with Lamb
Georgian dumplings with a juicy lamb filling, fresh cilantro and a touch of chili
2 h·6 servings
sheep tail fat
The soft fat pad from the tail of fat-tailed sheep, rendered in the pan or threaded in cubes between pieces of meat.
Fat-tailed sheep store a large fat reserve in their broad tails, and across the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Middle East this has long served as a cooking fat. The fat is white and soft and melts at a low temperature, so it renders easily and keeps meat juicy over a grill. It tastes clearly of lamb, but rounder and less tallowy than the hard kidney fat. The rendered cracklings turn crisp and are prized in their own right. Look for it at Turkish, Arab or Caucasian butchers, often to order at halal butchers, and occasionally frozen by mail order.
Substitute:
Other lamb fat, from the back or breast, comes closest in flavour but is firmer and renders less smoothly; kidney fat turns tallowy. Unsmoked pork back fat has a similarly soft texture but carries no lamb flavour, which changes the character of the dish.
Used in · 1 recipe