Turkish Thing, Mangal

This is as much Turkish as you can get. It is not called barbeque or something else, this is hardcore "mangal".

You see Turks in their gardens, in the parks, by the side of E-5 for the love of smoking meat. Mangal represents Turkey better than tea (contrary to the old, overly nationalistic American lady mentions). I will get to "The Tea Issue" soon.

There are little tips and techniques that I learned from the master: "Kenan Hocam". He cooks with the precision of a surgeon, simply because he is one, and with all his love.

Fundamentals

Köfte (the meatball): Keep in mind you expose the meat to high temperatures, directly, and for a short time. The more fat content your meat has the better it is. If you just use lamb, a little grated onion, cloves of garlic, bread and seasoning will just be fine. For beef it is better to use some sort of a combination. Beef doesn't really have enough fat content for mangal. For a kilo of mince, 700 beef-300 lamb + 100 gr ox fat (optional but superb results). For a kilo of köfte use 1 large onion, 4-5 cloves of garlic and 2-3 slices day old bread.

Mangal: (As Turkish Language Association states) An open cooking and warming utensil made of cast iron, coppor or brass.

It is not as fancy as barbeque, and usually comes in relatively small sizes 40x60. Notice it is close to the ground, this is the distinct feature of it. Although it seems overly simple it is quite hard to get a good one.

Fire: This is the hardest part. It is quite unlikely that you will get it right (let alone the good temperature, starting the fire) in the first time. There is no trick: practice, practice and practice.

Shit, I can't stop being a smart-ass. Since the kind of meat that we Turks cook is slim in portions and fresh rather than aged, the fire should not be strong. You should not see any flame, only the ember (köz).

If you are using coal, try not to. Find some wood. Anyways since it is easier to get, at least listen this piece of advice. When you are left only with the ember wait for 5 to 10 minutes. Not to much, not to less.

Cooking: Assuming you get the fire right. YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THE SURFACE THAT YOU COOK IS CLEAN. Apply animal fat to the surface (otherwise use the other half of the onion with some oil). Place you meatballs of "Sis" with reasonable spaces in between.

If you are cooking in batches, it is interesting to observe the performance of the fire actually increase at some point. This is mostly because the fat from you meat spills on the fire.

Afiyet olsun.

Ps. For the Sis recipe please visit : Refika'nın Mutfağı