Kuiruk-boor

Ingredients

The meat

• 600 gsheep tail fat
• kuiruk, in one piece
• 600 gsheep or lamb liver
• in one piece

The broth

• 2onions, halved
• 2bay leaves
• 1 tablespoonblack peppercorns
• 2carrots
• salt
• water to cover

To serve

• 1onion, sliced very thin
• a ladle of the hot broth
• black pepper
• flatbread

Alongside

• kymyz or tea
• at a ceremonial table

Directions

1. Keep it cold right up to cooking. Boiling keeps the fat soft and the liver tender. Rinse the fat thoroughly in cold water. Trim off any skin or membrane. Leave it in one whole large piece.
2. Cut pieces render and shrink away. Rinse the liver in cold water. Peel off the thin outer membrane. Cut out any of the large tubes. Leave it in one whole piece as well. Pull it off from one corner in a sheet.
3. Soak the liver in cold salted water. Give it about thirty minutes to soak. Rinse it before it goes into the pot. Put the tail fat in a large pot. Cover it well with cold water. Add the halved onions and carrots. Add the bay leaves and peppercorns. Add plenty of salt to the water.
4. Bring the pot up to a full boil. Skim off the foam as it rises. Keep skimming for the first ten minutes. Cover the pot and let it cook on. Give the tail fat about ninety minutes. Add the whole liver to the same pot. Liver needs far less time than the fat.
5. Let it simmer very gently indeed. Do not let it boil hard at all. Take it out the moment it is done. Do not leave it sitting in the pot. Lift both of them out onto a board. Let them rest for ten minutes. They firm up enough to slice cleanly. Keep the broth hot on the stove. Slice the tail fat very thinly. Aim for about three millimetres.
6. Slice the liver the same thickness. Thin slices are essential here. Use a sharp knife and a steady hand. Lay the slices alternately on a platter. Continue that pattern across the dish. Scatter the very thin onion over the top. Grind black pepper over the platter. Ladle a little hot broth over it.
7. Slice it as thin as you possibly can. Set the platter before the honoured guest. Serve warm flatbread alongside it. It keeps two days refrigerated.

Technique

• The host slices the fat and liver, dips slices in the hot broth and offers them directly to the most honoured guest, in the fullest form feeding them by hand; that is a genuine and observed custom marking the standing of the person rather than simply a course of the meal.
• Central Asian fat-tailed sheep store several kilograms of fat in the tail, and it is a prized part of the animal rather than an offcut; fat carried great value in a hard climate, so offering it to a guest offers something valuable, which is the logic of the whole dish.
• Liver is extremely high in vitamin A, which builds up in the body and is genuinely harmful in excess; pregnant people are advised to avoid it entirely, and this dish is very rich, eaten a few slices at a time rather than as a full portion.

Substitutions

• Lamb liver stands in for sheep liver and cooks a little faster.
• The tail fat is cooked whole and sliced only afterwards, since cut pieces render away.

Variations

• The onion is sliced paper thin and is a necessary part rather than a garnish.
• Some hosts serve the broth separately in bowls alongside.
• Similar ceremonial fat and liver dishes are made across Central Asia.

History

Ceremonial dish in which fat and liver are dipped in broth and fed to guests as a mark of respect.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kuiruk-boor?

Kuiruk-boor is a main from Kyrgyzstan: boiled tail fat and liver sliced together and offered to honoured guests. Ceremonial dish in which fat and liver are dipped in broth and fed to guests as a mark of respect.

How long does Kuiruk-boor take to make?

Kuiruk-boor takes 20 minutes of preparation and 2 hours of cooking. The recipe makes serves 8 as part of a meal. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Kuiruk-boor?

Yes, within limits. Lamb liver stands in for sheep liver and cooks a little faster. The tail fat is cooked whole and sliced only afterwards, since cut pieces render away.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kuiruk-boor?

Bring the pot up to a full boil. Skim off the foam as it rises. Keep skimming for the first ten minutes. Cover the pot and let it cook on. Give the tail fat about ninety minutes. Add the whole liver to the same pot. Liver needs far less time than the fat.