Jerusalem mixed grill

Ingredients

Meat

• 300 gchicken hearts
• 300 gchicken livers
• 200 gchicken thigh, in strips
• 150 glamb, in strips
• 100 gchicken spleen, optional

Seasoning

• 2 tspbaharat
• 1 tspground turmeric
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1 tspground coriander
• 1 tspblack pepper
• salt
• 3 tbspoil

Pan

• 3onions, sliced

To serve

• pita or laffa
• tahini
• amba
• pickles
• chopped salad

Directions

1. Trim the hearts and halve them, and trim any green or sinew from the livers.
2. Soak the livers in cold water or milk for 20 minutes, then drain and pat them very dry.
3. Dry the livers thoroughly. Wet offal steams in the pan instead of searing, and pale grey liver is unpleasant.
4. Cook it on a flat griddle or the widest heavy pan you have, over a high heat.
5. Fry the onions first in the oil until deep gold and beginning to catch, then push them to one side of the griddle.
6. Add the hearts and the lamb first, because they take longest.
7. Add the chicken thigh, then the livers last of all.
8. The livers go in last and come out first. They cook in about two minutes and turn to grit if left as long as the hearts.
9. Scatter the spices over the meat on the griddle rather than marinating beforehand.
10. Seasoning on the hot griddle is how it is done at the Machane Yehuda stalls: the spices toast against the metal instead of burning in a marinade.
11. Keep everything moving with two spatulas, chopping and turning it together with the onions.
12. It is done when the edges are crisp and dark and the livers are still faintly pink inside.
13. Pile it straight into a warmed pita or laffa with tahini, amba, pickles and salad.
14. Serve at once, because it does not hold.
15. It grew up around the Machane Yehuda market in Jerusalem, built on the offal that butchers could not otherwise sell.

Technique

• Chicken hearts are the backbone of it and the ratio matters more than the exact cuts.
• Amba, the pickled mango sauce, is the standard condiment and is what makes it taste of Jerusalem.
• Baharat here means the Middle Eastern blend of allspice, cinnamon, pepper and cloves.

Substitutions

• All chicken, dropping the lamb.
• Ras el hanout in place of baharat.

Variations

• Without the spleen, which is common outside the market.
• Wrapped in laffa as a shawarma-style roll.
• With more turmeric, which some stalls use heavily.

History

A dish combining various grilled meats and organ meats, typically chicken heart, liver and spleen along with regular chicken or lamb, cooked together with onion and warming spices, documented across Israel, specifically associated with Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda market, where the dish is generally credited to have developed among market butchers and grill vendors during the mid-1900s as a way of using and elevating cuts of meat and organ that might otherwise go unsold. Its combination of organ meat with regular cuts reflects a broader culinary tradition of using the whole animal, transformed here into a specifically bold, flavourful street food dish. Jerusalem mixed grill remains closely and specifically associated with Jerusalem’s market culture.

Frequently asked questions

What is Jerusalem mixed grill?

Jerusalem mixed grill is a street food from Israel: chicken hearts, livers and lamb griddled with onion and baharat. A dish combining various grilled meats and organ meats, typically chicken heart, liver and spleen along with regular chicken or lamb, cooked together with onion and warming spices, documented across Israel, specifically associated with Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda market, where the dish is generally credited to have developed among market butchers and grill vendors during the mid-1900s as a way of using and elevating cuts of meat and organ that might otherwise go unsold. Its combination of organ meat with regular cuts reflects a broader culinary tradition of using the whole animal, transformed here into a specifically bold, flavourful street food dish. Jerusalem mixed grill remains closely and specifically associated with Jerusalem’s market culture.

How long does Jerusalem mixed grill take to make?

Jerusalem mixed grill takes 30 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Jerusalem mixed grill?

Yes, within limits. All chicken, dropping the lamb. Ras el hanout in place of baharat.

What is the most important thing to get right in Jerusalem mixed grill?

Dry the livers thoroughly. Wet offal steams in the pan instead of searing, and pale grey liver is unpleasant.