Cubes of fresh lamb liver interleaved with tail fat on thin skewers and grilled hard and fast over coals, a dawn ritual in Şanlıurfa and Diyarbakır. It is eaten rolled in flatbread with raw onion, parsley, and hot pepper.
Also known as: ciğer kebabı, ciger kebab, ciğer şiş, Urfa ciğer, Edirne ciğer, liver shish
Watch it made
Ingredients
- 600 g very fresh lamb liver
- 150 g lamb tail fat (or firm beef fat), in 1.5 cm cubes
- 2 tsp isot (Urfa) pepper or pul biber
- 2 onions, sliced with 2 tsp sumac and a handful of parsley
- 4 lavash breads
- Salt (only at the end)
- Thin metal skewers
How to make it
- 1
Peel the membrane off the liver, trim any tubes, cut into 2 cm cubes and pat them completely dry.
- 2
Thread three pieces of liver to every cube of tail fat on thin skewers.
- 3
Over your hottest coals, grill 5-6 minutes total, turning almost constantly; the outside should catch color while the center stays blush.
- 4
Off the heat, season with salt and isot pepper, then slide the meat into lavash with the sumac onions.
- 5
Wrap and let the bundles sit 2 minutes so the bread softens with fat before eating.
Pro tip: Never salt raw liver. Salt pulls moisture to the surface and the cubes steam grey and grainy instead of searing; in Urfa the salt lands only after the fire has done its work.
The story of Ciger Kebab
Ciğer kebabı is the dawn food of Şanlıurfa and Diyarbakır, and eating it at breakfast is a genuine local institution rather than a curiosity for visitors. Cubes of fresh lamb liver are threaded between pieces of tail fat and grilled hard over coals, and the shops that do it best open very early and sell out.
The dish exists because of freshness logistics: liver deteriorates faster than muscle meat, so it was cooked and eaten in the morning, close to slaughter. That practical constraint became a culture, complete with its own accompaniments, its own hours and a fairly strong regional pride about which city does it better.
The technique that defines it
The liver is cut into cubes of two centimetres or so and threaded on thin skewers alternating with cubes of lamb tail fat. It is not marinated. Salt goes on at the fire or afterwards, because salt draws water out of liver and firms it prematurely. Some cooks dust it with a little pepper on the grill.
The cook is very short and very hot — two to three minutes total, turned once or twice. Liver is unforgiving in a specific way: it goes from silky to grainy in under a minute of overcooking, and there is no rescue. The fat cubes melt and coat it as they render, which is the only basting the dish gets or needs.
Choosing your ingredients
Lamb liver, as fresh as you can get it, with the membrane removed and the larger tubes cut out. Calf liver works but is milder and denser. Frozen liver will not give the same texture — the ice crystals break the structure and it turns grainy no matter how carefully you grill it.
The tail fat is not optional in the traditional version. If it is unavailable, cubes of fatty lamb belly are a reasonable stand-in; plain oil is not, because it burns off rather than melting into the liver. Thin metal skewers are preferred so the cubes are held without being crushed.
Mistakes that ruin it
Salting before grilling
Salt pulls moisture out of liver and firms it. Season at the grill or on the plate.
Overcooking by a minute
Liver has an extremely narrow window. Pull it while the centre is still faintly pink.
Skipping the fat cubes
Without rendering fat between the pieces, liver dries and tastes metallic.
Using frozen liver
Freezing damages the texture irreversibly for this dish. Buy it fresh on the day.
How it is served
It is slid off the skewer into warm flatbread with a great deal of raw onion, parsley, sumac and hot pepper flakes, and eaten immediately, usually standing, usually before eight in the morning. Grilled long peppers and tomatoes come off the same fire. Tea, not ayran, is the Urfa drink with it.
Questions about Ciger Kebab
Why is liver kebab eaten for breakfast?
Liver had to be cooked very soon after slaughter, so it was a morning food. In Şanlıurfa and Diyarbakır that practical habit became a fixed local tradition.
Should liver be marinated?
No. Traditional ciğer kebabı is unmarinated and unsalted until the moment of grilling, because both salt and acid firm the texture before it reaches the fire.
How do you stop liver tasting bitter or metallic?
Buy it very fresh, remove the membrane and tubes, cook it fast and hot, and pull it while the centre is still slightly pink.
What is served with ciğer kebabı?
Flatbread, raw onion with sumac, parsley, hot pepper, and grilled peppers and tomatoes. Tea rather than ayran in Urfa.
