Khorovats

History

Khorovats is the Armenian technique of grilling meat (most often pork, lamb or beef) marinated for several hours or overnight in a mix of onion, vinegar or wine, herbs and sometimes pomegranate, before being skewered and grilled over a wood fire.

Unlike many grills that use ready-made charcoal, traditional khorovats demands a genuine wood fire left to burn down into embers, a process that takes patience and know-how; the dish is inseparable from Armenian outdoor celebration meals, often prepared by the men of the family around the hearth.

Ingredients — serves 6

• 1.5 kg meat (pork, lamb or beef), cut into large cubes
• 3 onions
• 100 ml wine vinegar or red wine
• Fresh herbs (thyme, bay leaf)
• Salt, pepper
• Tomatoes and peppers, to accompany

Khorovats, step by step

1. Cut the meat into large, even cubes.
2. Mix the meat with the chopped onion, vinegar or wine, herbs, salt and pepper.
3. Marinate in the refrigerator for several hours, ideally overnight.
4. Light a genuine wood fire and wait for it to burn down to stable embers.
5. Skewer the marinated meat, sometimes alternating with vegetables.
6. Grill slowly over the embers, turning regularly, until the meat is cooked through and lightly caramelized.

Cooking method

Technique: a long marinade followed by slow grilling over wood embers, never over industrial charcoal in the most traditional version.
Traditional equipment: long metal skewers, an open-air wood hearth.
Signs it’s ready: the embers must be stable and flameless before the skewers go on, for even cooking without charring the outside.

Nutrition, per serving

Calculated from the raw ingredient quantities above, divided by six servings.

Grilling over embers rather than direct flame lets a meaningful share of surface fat render and drip away during cooking; the figures above are calculated from the raw meat and will run somewhat lower in practice, depending on the cut and how long it spends over the fire.

Economic context

A large cut of meat marinated overnight and grilled outdoors is occasion food in most Armenian households — the ingredients themselves aren’t exotic, but the quantity and the gathering built around it make khorovats a weekend or celebration dish rather than routine weeknight cooking.

Source: World Bank / FAO, Food Prices for Nutrition database (Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet) v4.0, 2024 data, CC BY 4.0, DOI 10.57966/41AN-KY81. Retrieved 29 July 2026. This figure describes the cost of a healthy diet in Armenia generally — it is not a costing of this specific recipe.

Who this dish suits

What about you?

In your opinion, where’s the best place or restaurant to enjoy great khorovats?

Also worth trying