At the zenith of Istanbul street food sits the much revered lamb Kokorec. This is a hard one to swallow for those who are not accustomed to eating offal. The preparation elevates one of the most modest parts of the lamb to the levels of some of the most memorable food experiences. It’s a celebration of textures and Maillard reactions — the beautiful caramelization that happens on the surface of proteins that are exposed to heat.
On a roasting pit, they skewer a one inch diameter base made of sweet breads. This is then wrapped with layers upon layers of strings of small intestines. The final construction is a three inch cylinder.
The pit is stabilized four inches above glowing charcoals and roasted for a couple hours. The final result is composed of varying layers of crispiness and textural integrity all the way down to the melt-in-the-mouth sweet breads. —sayatexplores
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