Khlea

Khlea is a confit. Strips of beef are marinated with garlic, coriander, cumin and salt, hung in the sun and wind to dry for several days, then cooked slowly in a mixture of beef fat, olive oil and water until the water evaporates, and packed into a jar with the fat poured over to seal them from air - at which point they keep for a year or more at room temperature without refrigeration, which is the entire point of the method and why it existed. It is a Fes staple above all and is traditionally made after Eid al-Adha, when a household has more meat than it can eat. It is used in small quantities as a flavouring: fried with eggs for breakfast, in lentils, in soups, in rice, and the fat itself is used as a cooking medium. The taste is strong, salty and slightly gamey and it is not eaten as a meat course in its own right.

What you actually see

• A confit method - dried, cooked in fat and sealed under it, keeping a year unrefrigerated.
• Sun and wind drying - several days hanging before the cooking stage.
• A flavouring, not a course - used in small amounts in eggs, lentils and rice.
• Made after Eid - when a household has more meat than it can use fresh.

When to go

All year; made in the weeks after Eid al-Adha. An hour.

Honest expectations

The flavour is strong and salty and divides visitors. It is very fatty by construction. Shop-bought quality varies. It is a pantry ingredient rather than a dish to order.

Nearby

Fes butcheries and souks are where it is best; sold nationwide.