Morocco Meat.
It’s a main ingredient that forms a part of the very declicious Moroccan Cuisine. I love feasting on the numerous tagines that are available there, and the rich, complex flavours become addictive.
However, anyone who has travelled to Morocco would have probably noticed an abundance of open-air meat displays, proudly hung outside local butcher shops.
After passing numerous such shops, I devised my own Code of Practice for this occupation of preparing Certified Moroccan Meat; surely mirroring the laws passed down between generations, father to son, in the Moroccan Butcher Apprenticeship Scheme.
A photo of one of these butcher shops is shown below, and the Unwritten Laws follow:
Unwritten Law One: Meat must always hang outside in the sun, so it can be covered in flies. It must never, ever be refrigerated – even if one possesses a refrigerator that is working.
Unwritten Law Two: Cow tongue is a delicacy, not offal. It’s not relevant pondering where this tongue has actually been, even if the tongue’s destination was the smelly arse of another cow.
Unwritten Law Three: A high-pressure hose, or a bucket and mop, are way too hard to operate to clean up meat scraps, and should be avoided at all costs. Domestic animals such as cats and dogs are automatic and efficient cleaners.
Unwritten Law Four: The quality of the meat is proportional to the number of cats drooling on the street.
Unwritten Law Five: Sheep and/or goat heads are also a delicacy and must be displayed in full view to attract prospective customers – and flies.
But don’t let that put you off Moroccan Food.
If you want to see the great recipes where Morocco Meat ends up, check out Cooking at the Kasbah: Recipes from My Moroccan Kitchen.
I don’t have a feeling this photo made The Travel Guide to the Jetset scene in Marrakech!
Get stuck into it!
Other things to do in North Africa – check out the large Legoland at Abu Simbel in Egypt.
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July 3rd, 2009 at 10:13 am
I’ll just conveniently ignore/forget how the meat is stored/displayed, and just eat away. If I stop and think about it, I’ll probably never eat any meat at all. Heh.
Ren´s last blog ..Day Six (05-Apr-09): Sunday in Cambodia (Phnom Penh and Siem Reap)
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July 3rd, 2009 at 11:07 am
Unwritten law six: a chicken pastilla must contain at least 50% pigeon meat.
Unwritten law seven: camel trek into the desert is not recommended after consuming pigeon meat for the first time.
Unwritten law eight: camel burgers are the best.
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anthony Reply:
July 3rd, 2009 at 11:29 am
Ha ha, I like them Tracey! You have obviously come up with the extra laws from your own experience!
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July 3rd, 2009 at 1:00 pm
hilarious! again. great…i really like rule 4
Nomadic Matt´s last blog ..The Weekly Photo: Taipei
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July 3rd, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Geez…it would almost turn someone vegetarian…but not quite.
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July 4th, 2009 at 12:58 am
How is it you always manage to make me want a giant hunk of cow with your posts? While disgusting, it still has made me want to try some Moroccan cuisine!
1002things´s last blog ..Planning is Half the Fun
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July 7th, 2010 at 8:26 pm
I dont eat the meat, I will begg for an egg.
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July 15th, 2010 at 12:15 am
People in Marocco have thier right to have their written and unwritten rules. Meat is no different. To be honest me as vegeterian had zero problems reading your post. Continue showing worlds diversity to everybody leaving in a shell.
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August 25th, 2010 at 5:32 am
Moroccan food is yummy,just minus the meat.
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