Fatted Calf of Mamre, Glazed with Date Honey
A slow-cooked veal shoulder, rubbed with cumin and coriander, then glazed with date honey until lacquered and tender. Served shredded with tangy labneh and fine flour bread.
A slow-cooked veal shoulder, rubbed with cumin and coriander, then glazed with date honey until lacquered and tender. Served shredded with tangy labneh and fine flour bread.
When a great man wishes to honor his guest, he does not offer herbs: he runs to the herd, chooses the fattest and tenderest calf, as did the father of believers under the oaks of Mamre. Rub the meat with cumin, let it surrender all day over low embers, then coat it with the thick syrup of dates until it shines like amber. At the end of days, such is the feast the righteous will share—and I, the first of works, will be the dish of honor. Eat slowly: this banquet has been awaited since the foundation of the world.
- •Fat and tender veal — one shoulder (festival meat)
- •Date honey (dvash) — a good ladleful (sweet glaze)
- •Cumin and coriander — a generous pinch (rubbing spices)
- •Garlic — a few cloves (aromatic)
- •Curdled milk (hemah) — one bowl (tangy accompaniment)
- •Olive oil — a drizzle (cooking fat)
Fatted Calf of Mamre, Glazed with Date Honey
A slow-cooked veal shoulder, rubbed with cumin and coriander, then glazed with date honey until lacquered and tender. Served shredded with tangy labneh and fine flour bread.
Why this dish? Behemoth is the bovine beast par excellence, the colossal "ox" of the origins, and Jewish tradition makes him the dish of the messianic feast of the righteous (the table of the messianic feast counts among his attributes). The fatted calf that Abraham served to the visitors at Mamre, tender and drizzled with curdled milk, is the very image of this banquet of abundance promised at the end of time.
When a great man wishes to honor his guest, he does not offer herbs: he runs to the herd, chooses the fattest and tenderest calf, as did the father of believers under the oaks of Mamre. Rub the meat with cumin, let it surrender all day over low embers, then coat it with the thick syrup of dates until it shines like amber. At the end of days, such is the feast the righteous will share—and I, the first of works, will be the dish of honor. Eat slowly: this banquet has been awaited since the foundation of the world.
Ingredients (period version)
- Fat and tender veal — one shoulder (festival meat)
- Date honey (dvash) — a good ladleful (sweet glaze)
- Cumin and coriander — a generous pinch (rubbing spices)
- Garlic — a few cloves (aromatic)
- Curdled milk (hemah) — one bowl (tangy accompaniment)
- Olive oil — a drizzle (cooking fat)
Ingredients
- Veal shoulder (or lamb shoulder) — 1.2 kg (festival meat)
- Date syrup — 4 tbsp (glaze)
- Ground cumin — 2 tsp (spice)
- Ground coriander — 2 tsp (spice)
- Garlic — 4 cloves, crushed (aromatic)
- Olive oil — 3 tbsp (cooking fat)
- Labneh or Greek yogurt — 250 g (tangy accompaniment)
- Salt — 2 tsp (seasoning)
- Fine flour bread — 4 to 6 pieces (accompaniment)
Method
- Rub the shoulder with salt, cumin, coriander, crushed garlic, and olive oil. Let rest 1 hour.
- Sear the meat on all sides, then cover and cook in the oven at 150°C for 2.5 to 3 hours, until it falls apart with a fork.
- In the last half hour, brush generously with date syrup several times to form a lacquered glaze.
- Shred the meat, drizzle with its glazed juices.
- Serve with tangy labneh, fine flour bread, and fresh herbs on the side.
How it was made : Killing a beast from the herd was a rare and solemn act, reserved for hospitality or feasts: the meat, quickly perishable, was eaten the same day in community. It was roasted on a spit over embers or cooked in hot pits, and served with curdled milk (hemah) and white bread of fine flour, prestigious foods.
The contemporary twist : Plated as a banquet: the lacquered meat in the center, a swoosh of labneh, a trumpet of crispy bread stuck in the dish—a nod to Behemoth's trumpet which, they say, will sound the opening of the feast of the righteous.
Sources : Genesis 18:1-8 (Abraham and the tender calf at Mamre) · Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 74b-75a (Behemoth at the feast of the righteous)
Behemoth · Charactorium