Boulfaf (بولفاف)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Charcoal brazier (majmar) or outdoor grill
• •Metal skewers, 25-30 cm, or soaked wooden skewers
• •Tongs
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the coals

   Prepare a charcoal brazier or grill with medium-hot coals, grey at the edges and alive underneath, not licking with flames. Caul fat melts fast, and flames will scorch it before the liver is ready. If you're using wooden skewers, soak them for 30 minutes while the fire settles.

   A cast-iron grill pan can serve when you have no charcoal, but the Eid taste belongs to coals.
2. 2

   Clean the caul

   Rinse the caul fat gently in cool water, with the vinegar if it needs freshening, then unfold it without tearing the lace. Pat it very dry and cut it into strips about 4 cm wide and 10 cm long. Keep it cool until you wrap, because cold caul fat handles cleanly and clings to the liver.

3. 3

   Set the liver

   Put the trimmed liver on the grill in two or three large pieces. Cook it for 2 to 3 minutes per side, just until the outside darkens, firms, and smells of the coals, while the center is still only partly cooked. This first pass gives the liver structure so it cuts cleanly and does not crumble when you wrap it.

4. 4

   Season by eye

   Cut the warm liver into 3 cm cubes. Toss it with the cumin, salt, black pepper, and the paprika or hot pepper if your household uses them. You want a fine coat on every face, not a crust of spice. Boulfaf is liver, caul fat, cumin, and salt before anything else.

5. 5

   Wrap and skewer

   Wrap each liver cube in one thin strip of caul fat, then thread 4 or 5 wrapped pieces onto each skewer. One layer is enough. Too much fat masks the liver and feeds flare-ups; the right amount melts, bastes, and leaves little browned edges.

6. 6

   Grill to finish

   Grill the skewers over the coals for 5 to 8 minutes, turning often, until the caul fat has mostly rendered, the edges are browned, and the liver is just firm. Move the skewers away from flare-ups as they happen. For safety, the thickest piece should have no raw center and reach 70°C or 160°F on an instant-read thermometer.

7. 7

   Serve at once

   Slide the hot skewers onto a shared platter, dust lightly with more cumin and salt, and bring khobz to the table right away. Boulfaf waits for no one. Tear the bread, catch the juices, and keep one skewer aside for the person who arrives late.

Chef Tips

• •Buy the liver the day you cook it. It should be deep, glossy, and clean-smelling, never dull or sour. Sourcing comes first here; no gesture rescues tired offal.
• •Ask the butcher for caul fat ahead of time. It often sits in the back, not in the display case. If you cannot get it, make grilled liver skewers and call them kebda mechwi, not boulfaf.
• •Keep the seasoning close to cumin and salt. Some households add sweet paprika or a little heat, especially by local habit, but the spice should serve the liver, not cover it.
• •Do not hold cooked boulfaf in a warm oven. The liver tightens and dries. Grill it when people are already near the table.

Advance Preparation

• •Ask for the caul fat one or two days ahead, then keep it well chilled and cook it within 24 hours of buying when you can.
• •You can rinse and cut the caul fat a few hours ahead. Cover it and keep it cold.
• •The liver can be set over the coals, cut, seasoned, wrapped, and chilled up to 3 hours before grilling. Cook the skewers at the last moment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 170g)