Strange dessert made from chicken

Meat may not seem like a suitable ingredient for dessert, but that is until diners have tried “tavuk göğsü” – a pudding with chicken breast as the main ingredient.

According to legend, tavuk göğsü was created about 100 years ago, when the head of the Ottoman Empire requested a sweet dessert, but the only food the chef had that day was chicken. He decided to grind the meat and boil it until it dissolved in milk, with the aim of creating a tavuk göğsü that was different from ordinary desserts.

Chicken pudding topped with cinnamon.

Today, the best tavuk göğsü can be found at Istanbul restaurant Özkonak, where chef Hamdi Bey spent 50 years perfecting the recipe. Hamdi is not shy about sharing his recipe for this dessert.

“It’s basically not a dish that can be made at home,” he said. “You need to boil 3 liters of milk and half a kilo of sugar, then choose the best chicken breasts, which are usually bought from the farm, not from the supermarket. Puree the chicken and add it to the boiled milk and sugar mixture, let it cool and pour it into a wooden mold. Continue to heat for about 20 minutes, then pour it into a metal tray and cut the cake into pieces. In addition, the amount of sugar added depends on the type of milk used and the texture of the chicken.”

Chicken pudding is considered a "must-try" dish when visiting Türkiye.

Explaining why it is difficult to make at home, Hamdi said: “The preparation process requires special equipment and tools, so diners often tend to buy it to save time and money.”

Although tavuk göğsü has been around for a long time, the concept of using chicken for dessert is still quite foreign to foreign tourists. “Many people eat half of the cake, and when they find out it is made with chicken, they immediately stop and look annoyed, which is not uncommon,” Hamdi said with a laugh.

According to VNE