Which cut of lamb is best for tagine?

Bone-in shoulder or neck. They have enough fat and connective tissue to turn soft after long cooking. Leg is leaner and can dry out.

Can I use beef instead of lamb?

Yes. Use beef chuck or shin in large chunks, and allow about 30 minutes more cooking time. Beef with prunes is very common in Moroccan homes.

Is this the same as mrouzia?

No. Mrouzia is a related sweet tagine made after Eid al-Adha, usually spiced with ras el hanout and sweetened with raisins and honey. This dish uses prunes and a simpler ginger, saffron and cinnamon base.

Can I cook it in a pressure cooker?

Yes. Cook the meat and onion base under pressure for about 35–40 minutes, release, then reduce the sauce uncovered and add the prunes and almonds.

Lamb Tagine with Prunes and Almonds (Beef Works Too)

Name: Lamb Tagine with Prunes and Almonds (Beef Works Too)
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 2 h 45 min
Total time: 3 h 10 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Moroccan
Ingredients: 1.3 kg (3 lb) bone-in lamb shoulder or neck, cut into large chunks (or 1 kg / 2.2 lb boneless lamb or beef chuck); 2 large onions (about 400 g / 14 oz), grated; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 3 tbsp (45 ml) olive or neutral oil; 1 tsp ground ginger; 1 tsp ground black pepper; 1/2 tsp ground turmeric; A pinch of saffron threads, crumbled; 1 cinnamon stick; 1 tsp salt; 1 small bunch cilantro, tied; 500 ml (2 cups) water, plus more if needed; 250 g (about 1 1/2 cups) pitted prunes; 2 tbsp honey or 3 tbsp sugar; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 100 g (2/3 cup) blanched almonds; 1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

Lamb tagine with prunes and almonds (tagine lham bel barkouk) is lamb braised for 2–3 hours with onions, ginger, saffron and cinnamon, then finished with prunes cooked in honey and topped with fried almonds and sesame. It takes about 25 minutes of hands-on work. It is a celebration dish in Morocco, served at weddings, family gatherings and the days after Eid, and it suits the end-of-year holiday table well.

It is sweet but should not taste like dessert. The meat and onion sauce stays savoury and peppery; the sweetness lives in the prunes.

At a glance


Serves	6
Prep	25 minutes
Cook	2 h 15 min to 3 h, depending on pot
Difficulty	Easy, just long
Best cuts	Lamb shoulder or neck, beef chuck or shin

Ingredients

For the meat

1.3 kg (3 lb) bone-in lamb shoulder or neck, in large chunks (about 6 cm / 2½ in), or 1 kg (2.2 lb) boneless lamb or beef chuck
2 large onions (about 400 g / 14 oz), grated
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp (45 ml) oil
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp ground turmeric
A pinch of saffron, crumbled
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp salt
A small bunch of cilantro, tied
500 ml (2 cups) water

For the prunes and garnish

250 g (about 1½ cups) pitted prunes
2 tbsp honey (or 3 tbsp sugar)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
100 g (⅔ cup) blanched almonds
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

Start the base. In a heavy pot or tagine, mix the onions, garlic, oil, spices, cinnamon stick and salt. Add the lamb and turn to coat.
Sweat, don't sear. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, turning the meat, until the onions have softened and the spices smell toasted. (In a clay tagine, keep the heat medium-low on a diffuser and give it 15 minutes.)
Braise. Add the cilantro bundle and the water. Cover and cook at a low simmer:
- Dutch oven on the stove: 2 to 2½ hours
- Clay tagine on a diffuser: 2½ to 3 hours
- Oven: 160 °C (325 °F), covered, about 2½ hours Check every 45 minutes and add a splash of water if the pot looks dry. The meat is ready when it pulls off the bone with a spoon.
Cook the prunes. About 30 minutes before the end, put the prunes in a small pan with a ladle of the cooking liquid, the honey and ground cinnamon. Simmer gently 10–15 minutes until plump and glossy. If your prunes are very dry, soak them in hot water for 15 minutes first.
Fry the almonds. Fry them in 1 tbsp oil over medium heat, stirring constantly, until evenly golden, 3–5 minutes. They burn quickly; take them off a shade early.
Reduce and finish. Lift out the cilantro and cinnamon stick. If the sauce is thin, cook uncovered for 10–15 minutes until it coats a spoon. Add the prunes and their syrup and simmer 5 more minutes.
Serve. Pile the meat in the centre, prunes around it, almonds and sesame on top. Serve with bread.

Tagine with prunes, almonds and sesame on the table next to its conical lid and round Moroccan bread — Served straight from the tagine, with bread for the sauce — Credit: Basile dit Basili, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Lamb vs beef

	Lamb shoulder / neck	Beef chuck / shin
Flavour	Richer, slightly gamey; the classic	Milder; good for guests who avoid lamb
Cook time (Dutch oven)	2–2½ h	2½–3 h
Fat to skim	More	Less
Price abroad	Often higher	Usually lower

In Japan, where bone-in lamb shoulder can be hard to find outside specialist butchers and online shops, beef shin (sune-niku) is an excellent substitute.

Braised beef with soft prunes in a thick sweet-spiced sauce, sprinkled with sesame seeds — The beef version: braised short rib with prunes and sesame — Credit: TheGirlsNY, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Tips

Big pieces. Small cubes fall apart into threads. Moroccan cooks cut lamb for tagine into large chunks, often on the bone.
Keep the prunes separate. Cooked in the main pot for hours, they dissolve and turn the whole sauce sweet and muddy.
Sweetness is adjustable. Start with 1 tbsp honey, taste, then add more. Some families add orange flower water to the prunes; ½ tsp is plenty.
Saffron is optional. Turmeric gives the colour; saffron gives aroma.
Skim the fat. Lamb shoulder releases a lot. Spoon it off before reducing, or chill the tagine overnight and lift off the fat once it sets.

Mistakes to avoid

Mistake	Fix
Boiling instead of simmering	Tough, dry meat. Keep it at a lazy bubble.
Too much water	Add only enough to come halfway up the meat.
Burnt almonds	Fry over medium heat and pull them early.
Honey added to the meat early	Sauce scorches on the bottom. Sweeten only the prunes.
Using lean leg	Dry results. Use shoulder or neck.

Make ahead and storage

This is an ideal dish for a holiday or dinner party because it improves overnight. Cook the meat to the end of step 3, cool and refrigerate up to 3 days. On the day, skim the fat, reheat gently, cook the prunes and fry the almonds. Leftovers keep 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer (store almonds separately so they stay crisp).

Where it fits on the table

For a festive Moroccan menu, serve a couple of cooked salads or a chicken pastilla to start, then this tagine, then fruit and mint tea. If you are cooking for a crowd, make chicken tagine with preserved lemons alongside it; one sweet and one savoury tagine is a common pairing. New to clay pots? Start with how to season and use a clay tagine.