Directions
Kukurek is a traditional delicious dish prepared from lamb intestines, cleaned and braided, and is usually found on the Macedonian table during the Easter holidays.It is necessary to clean the intestines well, inside and out, and to boil them in two waters before preparation.
You can find the whole intestines in some butcher shops, braided and cleaned, thus will making your preparation easier.
My grandmother prepared the intestines mostly together with black and white liver and finally fried them in a pan, although I am not a big fan of lamb, for me this was one of the most beautiful dishes that I was looking forward to trying during the holidays.
This recipe is a preparation only of intestines and it starts with boiling, and ends with frying, which gives extra flavor and crunch at the end.
Ingredients
1 Kukurek (lamb intestines)
2-3 carrots
1 head of onion
2 stalks of celery
bay leaves
150 ml of red wine
5-6 cloves of garlic
black peppercorns
salt to taste
lard or butter for frying
Preparation of the “Kukurek”
Immerse the whole intestines in a pot of water and let the water boil. After it boils, drain the water and add new water. Repeat the procedure and after the “kukurek” boils, boil it for about five minutes and discard the water again.
Chop the carrot, celery and onion into large pieces and add them to the kukurek together with a few bay leaves. Add black peppercorns to taste. Cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat. After boiling reduce the temperature to medium moderate and let it simmer for 45 minutes.
After 45 minutes, transfer the “kukurek” to a baking pan and add some of the liquid in which it was cooked.
The water should not overflow, but should be two cm below the kukurek.
Add 5-6 whole cloves of garlic, 150 ml of red wine and 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil to the water. Cover the pan with a lid or foil and let the intestines bake for 45 minutes.
By baking, the inner part will soften further and will receive the flavors and aroma of garlic and wine.
If you wish, you can serve the whole kukurek, which after you have baked it covered, you will take it out on a grill, spread a little lard or butter over the entire surface, add salt to taste and bake it uncovered until it becomes crispy from all sides.
My way of serving ends with slicing the kukurek into 3cm thick rounds after it has been baked in the oven.
Then add enough butter or lard in the pan for frying and fry the pieces, each piece need to be fried on medium heat on both sides until crispy.
You can add salt to taste at the end and sprinkled with dry oregano, red pepper or chili flakes.
Frying it at the end in lard or butter will give this dish a lot more flavor than frying it in oil.
At the end, in the pan in which the pieces were fried, you can also prepare a dressing sauce with which you will cover each piece or the whole “kukurek”.
Add a tablespoon of flour, 1/2 tsp of cilli flakes, 1/3 tsp oregano and 1/3 tsp ground black pepper to the pan with oil.
Fry briefly until the flour and spices acquire an aroma, or a maximum of one minute on low heat.
Then add part of the liquid in which the intestines were baked. Mash the garlic cloves and add them to the liquid. Mix well until nice and smooth.
Pour this sauce over the “kukurek” pieces.
I recommend that you bake a bun in lard with some cilli flakes and enjoy the taste of finely chopped crispy “kukurek”.
Have a good appetite!
