Khorovats recipe

Armenian barbecue leans on grapevine embers and an onion marinade, never on oil or a spice rub.

7 hours and 30 minutesmedium10 ingredients

Ingredients

• 1500 g pork neck
• 3 onions
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 1 tbsp dried coriander
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 eggplant
• 3 tomatoes
• 3 bell peppers
• 2 lavash

How to make Khorovats

1. Cut 1.5 kg of pork neck into 4 cm cubes and leave the fat on, since it is what bastes the meat over the coals.
2. Slice 3 onions into rings and crush them with 1 tablespoon of salt until they weep, then toss them with the pork, 1 teaspoon of black pepper, 1 tablespoon of dried basil and 1 tablespoon of dried coriander. No oil goes in.
3. Cover and marinate in the fridge at least 6 hours, ideally overnight. One hour is not long enough for the onion to do its work.
4. Burn dry grapevine wood, or failing that hardwood charcoal, down to grey embers with no flame. That wood is the source of the smoke and the dish loses its character without it.
5. Thread the pork tightly onto flat metal skewers, meat only, and shake off the clinging onion so it does not burn.
6. Grill 15 cm above the embers for 20 to 25 minutes, giving the skewers a quarter turn every few minutes, until the outside is lacquered and the inside is just cooked.
7. Put 2 eggplants, 3 tomatoes and 3 bell peppers whole and unskewered straight into the embers until the skins blacken, then peel them hot and chop them into the salad that accompanies the meat.
8. Slide the meat off the skewers onto a sheet of lavash, wrap it for a couple of minutes to steam and catch the juices, then serve with the charred vegetables.

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