Cube all the meat as if making a stew,cover with water,bring to boil, scim often until you end up with a clear stock. If you use lamb backbones as I have done here as well, I brown them off as they are to render down the fat to use as a bit of a stock flavour. Remove the browned lean meat of bones and add to the pot.Add all the herbs and spices,except the chives.
Peel the onions, chop 2 of them add to the meat. Add stock cubes if using them but traditionally this is meant to taste of red meats and onion,simmer for 70 minutes,until stock is reduced by about 1/2 at least. Slice the other onions very thinly for later on.Remove the pot from heat and fill the meat into ovenproof dish,remove the bayleaf. Then carefully ladle some of the stock into the dish. Do not cover the meat more then a third or so depending on the dish you are using.
Now use the sliced onions and the scallions. Soften them in the butter, but do not fry them. Then layer them over the meat.Put your dish into a preheated 180C-200C.oven and bake until onions are golden brown.Sprinkle the chives very finely over top.
Serve very hot, with thick cut crusty bread and a cool beer. Here I have served it for the colder month with baked Chinese leaf cabbage, a little gravy made from the meat stock and simple potatoes.
People from the region of Saxony prefer to eat this reheated even as early as the morning for breakfast,the dish got it's name because the cast iron or clay tiegel (pot)that was used to bake it in. It is most likely eaten at celebrations like sport events, parades and other social events). If no beer is to hand iced water goes very well with this dish also.
