If you are fortunate to be invited to the home of a Saudi for a meal, in all likelihood you will be served some type of dish containing lamb. In my experience lamb seems to be the favored meat of Saudis. Lamb will be prepared grilled, baked, fried, boiled and presented in a variety of many different ways. However most popular and frequently served will be lamb and rice (also known as lamb kapsa). In this case, the lamb will first be browned in a skillet and then it will be covered with water as it continues to cook. Rice and spices will also be added giving it a very appetizing taste.
Another unique way in which lamb is served in Saudi Arabia is when a small lamb will be stuffed with rice and baked deep in the ground in a “desert” oven. It is like a combination of baked and grilled lamb which is cooked slowly all day long.
Many Saudi families cook with lamb similar to how many westerners choose to cook with chicken as their primary and favored meat. During Eid al Fitr and Eid al Adha most Saudi families will prepare their best dishes of lamb and oftentimes have slaughtered one or more lambs specifically for the occasion.
I have not figured out exactly why lamb is the preferred meat of Saudis. It can be a challenge for me as I do not wish to insult or slight anyone but I have never acquired a taste for lamb. Even the smell of lamb cooking turns my stomach. What I have done when we have been invited out and lamb is the main course is I will typically eat around the lamb enjoying the rice and salads that typically accompany a lamb dish. Other times, I will also bring along a dish to share such as lasagna or moussaka made with ground beef. I will always put some of the lamb dish on my plate as to not even take some would be viewed as rude. Fortunately now that my Saudi family is aware that I have not been able to eat lamb they will always have another dish prepared for me.
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Carol, people and countries tend to develop (traditional) cuisines around the type of livestock their terraines and climates support. You can observe this variation very clearly in Italy where beef and butter of grassy and moderate Piedmont give way to olive oil and lamb of dry, hot, hilly Sicily that could never sustain cow herds.
Of course, with refrigeration and global availability of pretty much anything these boundaries get blurry. But as far as tradition goes, that’s your rule of thumb.
I can live with lamb and indeed prefer it to beef, but I still to this date am not able to deal with Saudis and Middle Easterners in general preferring to have their meat well done. The civilized concept of medium rare has just not sunk in yet. On boiled lamb, well, I don’t even want to go there. Oh well. What they lack in sophistication, I find they make up in heartiness. Or vice versa.
NN–I agree with your assessment of the preference for lamb being based on geography, climate and what the land will support. Also sheep can be herded unlike chickens which require a more sedentary lifestyle, than the traditional nomadic one. It i hard but amusing to imagine a saluki herding chickens. LOL
Anthony Bourdain has a wonderful clip of enjoying a lamb dinner in Saudi with both men and women present. He particularly remarks on the Saudi sense of humour and irony “very much at odds with the kind of humourless fanaticism I was led to expect”:
http://www.5min.com/Video/Anthony-Bourdain-No-Reservations—Saudi-Arabia-Lamb-Dinner-30111670
Excellent commentary and visuals, including serving the lamb’s head to the honoured guest, and eating an eyeball. That was one of the things that surprised me about a roast lamb dinner (traditional for Eid al Adha, and at weddings in Morocco) The eyes were covetted especially by the children, much like the turkey wishbone at Christmas.
Unfortuanately I’ve read a medical journal article about the transmission of a certain disease by consuming lambs eyes in the Middle East, so I have never been tempted to try it. It probably is some rare unusual occurrence but I’m not much for “organ meats” anyway. I do like lamb though, preferably Arab style, and as a couscous or tagine, or Italian style with rosemary and other herbs. Sliced lamb with mint jelly–not so much.
I don’t mind lamb. It does have a taste that one must get used to if used to the usual beef/chicken/pork they have over here. However, I’m quite fond of trying different kinds of game meat (eg. elk, moose, deer) and unique farmed meats (ostrich) so I wasn’t put off by lamb when I tried it. That said, it is definitely not a popular meat here – I really had to look hard in the grocery store to find it!
Mel– Yes, lamb is well hidden in a Canadian super market, or even at a butchers, unless it is a Greek one or a halal one. Often it is imported from New Zealand, although we raise lamb here, except probably in the West with all those cattle herds (higher revenue per grazing pasture/ranch).
Lamb is also rarely featured much on restaurant menus unless they are Middle Eastern, and even then.
I wonder if Saudis abroad miss it?
Carol, I am with you on this one. I DON’T like it one bit. I tried it once in my life time and that was that!!!lol Something about it does for some reason, turn my stomach as well!
My husband, on the other hand, LOVES it. I refuse to even cook it for him (I know, it sounds mean). So, whenever he wants to eat it, he gets it from out! He always teases me and says, I am not an Arab if I don’t like lamb! lol
I’m a lamb hater as well. Have hated it since I can remember. And let me tell you, that is a very difficult taste-situation to find yourself in here in Saudi Arabia. Fortunately, we’re an Indonesian family so most of our meals is beef or chicken. Although, in recent years, I have acquired a limited taste for lamb if cooked in the right way. Boiled lamb, however, never fails to turn my stomach.
Saudis do love meat, a lot. and are offended when someone says that meat is overrated, like when i turned vegetarian. i was called an infidel for that once, was infuriating, but had a good laugh at it.
When you’re in Jeddah, fish is the dominant dish (for obvious reasons). they still love meat though.
Chiara – when Anthony Bourdain was in Jeddah, they didnt feed him half the good stuff.. it’s a shame.
I also agree that they really cook the meat/fish/chicken etc to death quite often…especially fish. Comes out very papery…
I like lamb…when its frolicking in the pasture…preferably with American bedu…lol.
My first encounter with lamb was for my daughters aqiqa. I remember when I recieved the lamb, opened up the bags and thought I was going to die. There it was, a whole lamb cut up, eyeballs and all. Yuck, it smelled HORRIBLE. But I bought a bottle of INDO (natural meat tenderizer) a whole bottle of lemon juice, olive oil, a ton of garlic, and about 3 huge roasting pans and let it marinate for 2 days. On the day of the aqiqa, we brought it to the park and grilled it. It was FABULOUS. We sat at the park the whole day just chewing on lamb with all the other Muslims. You want to get Muslims out of the house, just grill lamb!
My new favorite way to make it is in my crock pot. I make a morrocan stew with squash and raisins with it. It is so tender, you never even know that it’s lamb. Delicious!
Chiara, Mel – lamb is eaten quite a bit on the west coast. Lamb from Saltspring Island is very popular and you seldom find a good restaurant without a lamb dish. I love lamb! Having said that I had to take a deep breath when I first went to Africa to meet my in-laws and saw the creatures in the yard waiting to be slaughtered for the next day’s meal.
Asmaa–I have no doubt Jeddah holds infinitely more culinary delights! I hope to sample them in the future! I have just learned about Anthony Bourdain, but he seems to do his part, both for the culinary world, and for cross cultural understanding.
Sabiwabi–I wish I had attended your daughter’s aqiqah! Sounds fabulous! and indeed, grilled lamb is great, as is a mechoui (whole lamb roasted outdoors on a spit)–fabulous. Grilling outdoors eliminates culinary odours in the kitchen. Moroccan tagines are wonderful and often combine savouries with fruit. I also like lamb kebabs, and South Asian or East Asian lamb curries. Besides I just learned there is good evidence that tumeric prevents Alzheimer’s–what better excuse for spiced cooking!
Wendy–ah yes, if you go far enough West you get to the West coast and Salt Spring Island, both great places for healthy culinary diversity.
Carol,
Beef in Saudi Arabia is not very good…in general, it is too tough.
Being a midwest gal, I was lucky to acquire a taste for lamb right away. But, I rarely cook it myself….I just enjoy the traditional Najdi dishes at my mother-in-law’s house. Luckily, I have never had to eat eyeballs!
I tried lamb for the first time when we were in Syria. The Turkish lamb kebab was good. The other lamb dishes I don’t think I ever tried. It didn’t look appealing. I don’t see lamb for sale much around here .. maybe at Easter. Probably due to Passover actually.
I am sorry that you are here in Houston for such a stressful reason. I hope your family heals quickly and that you get to come back again for pleasure! We have some wonderful art galleries and restaurants!
I don’t like lamb either as when I was a small child I came to love (and name) a lamb on the farm near where I lived. Sadly, he was one day served to me for lunch! My husband, unfortionatly, has come to love it living in Saudi Arabia. He better start liking beef, chicken, or something else before I get there!
I’ve had lamb prepared Turkish style along with more American style leg of lamb. I do enjoy lamb but I can imagine it an acquired taste. (We had lamb often during my childhood).
In Ireland, lamb is traditionally served at Easter time. It’s considered a festive rather than an everday type of dinner. For everyday, mutton is often served. In fact, Irish stew is actually mutton stew – never managed to acquire a taste for that myself. There is a rather obnoxious expression – or at least, I have always thought it a little cruel – that is used sometimes to describe a woman who is trying to appear more youthful by, perhaps, wearing clothing more suitable for a younger woman – “mutton dressed as lamb”.
I don’t like the taste of lamb. My Omani ex loved it. We went to this farm in Indiana where four lambs were being sold. They were cute. One had an adorable black face (see where I am going with this). Anyway, a friend of his was able to butcher it in the halal way. My ex told me when they were taking the second to the last lamb to slaughter (was done in a month’s period of time for all four) the little black faced lamb was left and he brayed in a pitiful way….thank God I wasn’t there to see it or I would have been crying my eyes out. I rarely eat meat and if I visited a meat packing plant I know I would go veggie….just the thought. Anyway, I do love how the Arabs present their dishes with such style. :^)
@NN – I also agree on not preferring meat well-done and prefer my steaks medium rare. Even in the States many of the Saudis in my circle will continue to order a steak well-done.
@Manal – I do believe you are the first Saudi I know who does not like lamb! Even while here in the States my husband and his family members who have been here continue to have their lamb!
@Saudi Jawa – whoa…two Saudis in a row professing their dislike for lamb. I don’t feel so alone now!
Yeah..when I first came to Saudi, family would tell me to eat around the lamb when dishes were fixed with lamb and other veggies. They didn’t seem to realize that the rice or veggies also had the flavor of the lamb and for me, was difficult to swallow. Now thankfully they are very understanding and have a separate dish for me. Although I did manage to lose a lot of weight those first several months chomping down on the cucumber and tomato salad!
@Thank you coolred! (big happy frolicking grin)
@Sabiwabi – my husband really enjoyed your comment and certainly agreed with it too.
@Miriam – if you ever are asked to eat the eyeball, you better make sure we all get a picture of that!
@Diana – although we came to Houston for reasons other than pleasure, I can say we are very much enjoying the hospitality and all the varied choices of arts, entertainments, foods, etc that are here. And I think that Texans and Saudis are very similar in the manner they offer hospitality and are so welcoming!
We discovered here in Houston a place called the Jerusalem Market which is where we have gone when my Saudi family wants lamb for dinner. They’ve decided that “haroof amerikee” is right up there with “haroof nejdi.”
@Irisheyesksa – please forgive me…but what is the difference between lamb and mutton?
@marianna – I can relate to your feelings!!
Mutton is basically the meat from an old sheep.
Lamb is young than, I believe, two years of age? Mutton is older. A lot of people have a hard time with mutton because there is a strong taste. Do Saudis slaughter their lamb early? If not it may be mutton you dislike?
Personally, I’m a big fan of lamb if done right. Boiled just doesn’t sound right and well done. *shudder* eek. Beef and lamb need to be medium rare for me otherwise it seems like leather. I’ve even been known to order a steak rare if the place is good enough.
Are you enjoying the good texas beef down there?
Chiara – well, I am in Alberta and we’re a little (too) crazy about our beef
perhaps that’s why lamb is hard to find in the grocery store here 
Oddly enough, I haven’t had a problem finding lamb in Greek restaurants (even the fast food versions here have lamb).
@Irish, Onigiri — thanks for the explanation.
My husband tried to get me to like lamb and I’ve no doubt he had it prepared in the most appealing way, but even the smell of lamb as it cooks just turns my stomach. It’s strange for growing up, having wild game was natural (rabbit, turkey, venison, etc.) but even as a young child, lamb just made me feel ill.
But beef on the other hand…oh….there are such excellent steaks and cuts of beef in Texas. Now i wonder….are the best steaks in Texas from the Longhorn Cattle? Anyone know?
I guess Manal already outed herself. I was going to do it but she beat me to the punch. She is the only Arab I know that doesnt eat it so I always tell her she going to get her “Arab card” taken away.
When we did Sinan’s aqiqa we had like 10 pounds of lamb left after we gave out meat to everyone. It sat in the freezer forever, but when she finally made it, it was SO good. She made a Morrocan dish that she had in a book of hers. Awesome.
Mel–oh yes on re-reading I did leave out the Greek restaurants as well as the Greek butchers.
Isn’t there some sort of punishment for Albertans who eat anything other than beef. Don’t they take away your health care and your tickets to the Calgary Stampede? Remember the great kd lang scandal? Rather like the great Oprah vs the cattle breeders Texan fiasco. Better hide those lamb chops under your parka, or throw them into an oil well for quick deep frying LOL
Well I’ll be pleased to report to the family, that so far Moroccan preparations are a great success!
“My Moroccan” won’t eat couscous, olives, or aubergines! I tell him he is a fake Moroccan (also the heat rash at the beach is a wonder), but he doesn’t find that humorous.
Fortunately for me the sisters-in-law had relished the eyeballs by the time I first realized they were up for eating, and my family has always been very kind about my preferences. Lucky for me I like almost everything my mother-in-law prepares (spaghetti is out of her comfort zone, and not her best dish).
Chiara – meh. I already have had my Stampede tickets revoked because I live in Edmonton (dun dun dun!)
I do remember the kd lang thing, I remember one of the local radio stations having a lot of fun with it – ‘More screams than kd lang in a meat market..’.
Lamb souvlaki, come to think about it, is quite yummy
Mel–As long as you are making an informed choice, acting of your own free will and willing to take the consequencess, enjoy the lamb! Anyone who can handle an Edmonton winter, shouldn’t be messed with! LOL
Oh, yea, I did cook it once from Sinan’s Aqiqa. I forgot about that one! LOL It was a forgotten bag and I didn’t want to throw it away so I made it for hubby! He liked it, obviously, so that was a good thing!
Carol,
If you had it tough intially, think of my plight.. vegetarian stuck in a saudi . My in-laws never understood why i wouldn’t eat ” around the lamb” . oh yeah.. it was salad and fruit, fruit and salad . Unfortunately the smell of lamb doesn’t sit well with me.
Both my kids hate it too , they are vegetarians + eggs and sometimes chicken @ restaurants , poor F can’t even order lamb in restaurants without my daughter turning up her nose.
@radha – oh my….that is indeed even more difficult than my own issues with lamb!!!
Manal & I must form a club. I, too, hate lamb. I detest any meat where the critter looks “real” (head and all). I think living in saudi would have made me vegetarian eventually.
My mother, a bedu, was appalled when I did not eat lamb. It went beyond “the starving children in africa” syndrome. She truly thought it was immoral to waste such a precious meat.
Now that I’ve left saudi, meat plays a teensy role in my diet.
While I applaud those who do enjoy and like lamb, I’m really glad to hear that I’m not alone in those who simply do not like it!
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