Şampiyon Kokoreç ★ 4.2
Şampiyon Kokoreç on Sahne Sokak, the 1962 Beyoğlu kokoreççi keeping its charcoal grill burning past midnight for the Balık Pazarı late-rakı crowd.
Try: Kokoreç sandwich
History
Kokoreç entered Istanbul's late-night street-food scene from the Balkans and Asia Minor in the early 20th century, with the canonical operators clustering around Şampiyon Kokoreç on Beyoglu's pedestrian arteries from 1977. The dish is a regulated Turkish PDO product: only lamb intestine over 24cm in length and meeting strict cleaning protocols qualifies. Şampiyon Kokoreç, Karaköy late-night counters and the Beyoğlu after-midnight stands serve the canonical version.
Common allergens: Gluten
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 1.5kg lamb intestines (bağırsak), pre-cleaned by a Turkish or Halal butcher
- 500g mixed lamb offal: heart, kidney, sweetbread, liver (in roughly equal parts), trimmed and cut into 3cm chunks
- 2 lemons, juiced
- 1 tablespoon salt for cleaning
- 4 long flat metal skewers
- 100g lamb fat or kuyrukyağı (tail fat), in small pieces
- 100ml sunflower oil for brushing
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon Turkish pul biber (Aleppo pepper flakes)
- 1 large ripe tomato, very finely diced
- 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 large Turkish bread rolls or half-baguettes
Method
- Rinse the cleaned intestines thoroughly inside and out. Soak in cold water with lemon juice and a tablespoon of salt for 1 hour. Rinse again.
- Thread the offal chunks tightly onto two of the skewers, alternating with pieces of lamb fat. Pack firmly so the kebab is dense.
- Take the long intestine and wrap it tightly around the offal-loaded skewers in a continuous spiral, tucking the ends in. The intestine should completely encase the offal.
- Light a charcoal grill and let it burn down to a hot bed of glowing coals.
- Set the wrapped skewers on the grill. Cook 60 to 75 minutes, turning regularly, brushing with sunflower oil. The intestine should crisp to deep brown all over and the offal cook through.
- Lift onto a heavy wooden board. Chop the kokoreç finely with a cleaver into small pieces.
- Scatter oregano, pul biber, diced tomato, parsley, salt and pepper over the chopped kokoreç and toss together briefly on the hot board.
- Stuff into split warm bread, eat immediately at the bar.
Tip from the editors. Pre-cleaned lamb intestine from a Halal or Turkish butcher is essential; the cleaning is unpleasant.
Where to eat kokoreç
Kokoreç in Istanbul
Karaköy Lokantası ★ 4.5
The teal-tiled Karaköy Lokantası, Bib Gourmand listed in the Michelin Guide, runs an Ottoman-leaning lunch lokanta downstairs and a meyhane upstairs at night.
Signature: Lakerda, Hünkar beğendi, Lamb shank
Asmalı Cavit ★ 4.3
Asmalı Cavit on Asmalı Mescit Caddesi, a 1990s-opened Beyoğlu meyhane where proprietor Cavit Bey works the room nightly over a mezze list led by smoked.
Signature: Smoked eggplant mezze, Albanian liver, Köfte in tomato sauce
More cities are in research. Want kokoreç covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.