After officially living in Armenia for one year now I’ve been able to ask around about the local dishes and learn what they enjoy the most. Last summer when I arrived to Gyumri to begin my two year service in Armenia I overheard my colleagues mention cow head. In Armenian, it’s referred to as kyalla. Naturally, I was very curious since eating the entire cow head is not common in the US. I briefly inquired into it but due to the large size of a cow head it’s designed to feed at least a party of 10 and not something you order like fast food.
Anyhow, I slowly persisted and began to ask around which place offers it and found a local restaurant that serves cow head. I met the owner of Voske Clik (The Golden Cow) named Ashot and he kindly allowed me photograph the entire cooking process at his restaurant. Ashot owns the restaurant and the butcher shop next door to it too. Ashot’s family has been in the restaurant business for many years and I always see it busy in the evening when I walk by since I live nearby. Gyumri was once the meat capital of Armenia due to many meat factories here until the 1988 earthquake destroyed most of the local industries and was rebuilt elsewhere. The know how and knowledge of how to cook the entire cow was still retained though.
The way cow head is prepared in Gyumri is well known in Armenia and Ashot told me that his restaurant prepares 5-6 cow heads daily. Deliveries are made to other cities upon request. Sometimes he has deliveries that go as far away as Russia. When I asked Ashot what made his cow head preparation different to his competition in the city he proudly stated that his cow heads are cooked in a wood burning oven rather than a gas oven. The selection of the cows is also vital to the taste and flavor. He said younger cows are selected but couldn’t tell me the exact age of the cows he preferred since that was a trade secret.
The preparation of the cow head begins the night before. I was able to meet the kitchen staff too and they were a great and interesting bunch of guys. They told me that there are 7 parts of the cow that is very tasty. When they weren’t answering my questions they were busy taking selfie photos with me! The cow head comes from the farm and arrives without any skin and is cleaned. In terms of ingredients not much is used except a brine bath. It’s then placed in the oven and will slow roast until serving time. To order cow head from his restaurant he needs just 24 hour notice.
Luckily for me, I was able to ask my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers if they were interested in eating this bovine dish with me and I got 7 others to join. The price of cow head is 1,500 Armenian dram (3.25 USD) per kilogram and our cow head weighed roughly 8 kilograms. We arrived at the restaurant and asked them not have the cow head already cut up and served so we could see what it looked like in its cooked state. Afterwards, we sent it back to the kitchen to be carved up and I went back there to see the head chef named Artush pick apart the cow head. Artush told me has been working as a chef at the Golden Cow for over a year now and he also spoke English quite well with me. It took him less than ten minutes to clean the entire cow head and put the main cuts on the serving plates. Afterwards, he removed the brains then carefully removed the outer layer of the huge cow tongue and prepared both separately.
The brain was sautéed with butter and salt in the frying pan for just a few minutes and was ready to be served. The tongue was also sautéed with butter, salt, paprika mix, and a tomato based sauce and topped with a little parsley and was ready to go. Artush gave me a little taste before it was sent to the dining floor and it tasted fantastic! The meal was complete once the lavash (Armenian flat bread) and roasted potatoes arrived.
Naturally, everyone there felt comfortable eating the cheek but we were quite apprehensive about eating the brain and especially the eyes. Most of shared the eyeballs and it wasn’t quite my favorite nor was the brain. The texture was just too exotic. The tongue, however, was exceptional! The flavor of the sauce was incredible and the tongue was tender and full of flavor. I actually preferred this compared to the cheeks. After eating sheep head the prior weekend I can definitely say cow head is much tastier.
I’m glad I can cross this off my culinary bucket list and it was a great experience to taste this with my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers. In the process, I think I made some new friends with the kitchen staff of Voske Clik and can’t wait to see what else they have on the menu! I've always been a believer than food is a great opportunity to learn about another culture so leave your concerns behind and try something new and different whenever possible.
Happy traveling.