Lamb kebab - general principles of preparation
A good kebab is not just an appetizer, it is something grandiose. And the cooking process itself translates into a whole ritual. Of course, the dish can be prepared from almost any meat that your heart desires, but lamb skewers, familiar to many by hearsay, cannot be confused with any other. Being properly prepared, it turns out to be very fragrant, juicy and unusually tasty.
There are an infinite number of variations in the preparation of lamb shish kebabs. Starting with the simplest recipes without marinating and ending with more sophisticated, sophisticated methods using the most unusual marinades based on complex sauces, dry wine, peppermint, onions, spices and exotic spices. One way or another, the preparation of lamb kebab marinade is one of the most important and crucial moments. It is from what and how our nutritious basis for mutton is prepared that the final result, and juiciness of meat, and its flavor will largely depend.
Lamb kebab - preparation of products
Of course, the chosen meat will play an equally important role in the preparation of delicious barbecue. With him, in fact, it all begins. So how to choose exactly what we need?
Without a doubt, the lamb meat is considered the most ideal option for up to two or three months, however, such a delicacy can be tasted only in the spring. In addition, tender milk lamb is quite an expensive pleasure. If it is not possible to purchase it, pay attention to the meat of young animals aged 9-12 months. As a rule, it differs in red color, elasticity and snow-white fat. The meat of older counterparts has a dark color and yellow interlayers. In addition, fresh meat has a pleasantly sweet smell - consider this when buying.
Arriving home, cut the lamb into pieces of about 500 grams, rinse thoroughly, clean from tendons, films, cut off excess fat. Now you can cut into cubes the size of a walnut (or more). It is not necessary to get rid of small cartilages and bones, because they also have their piquancy and charm.
Lamb kebab - preparation of dishes and implements
To cook a lamb shish kebab, it would be nice to have a barbecue or electric skewer. But if you want to feel that indisputable connection with nature, that memory that has been laid in our genes since the time of ancient civilizations, when our distant ancestors roasted their hunting trophies on charcoal, build a hearth of non-burning material (stones, bricks) and light a fire.
Dishes for marinating meat should be deep and necessarily non-oxidizable, because we will create an acidic environment for our barbecue. Great for these purposes is a large enameled pan or basin.
Recipe 1: Caucasian Lamb Skewers
Shish kebabs in a Caucasian way - a sophisticated dish, which is simply unacceptable to cook from thawed lamb. This is an art that prefers men's hands! For such a responsible business, only the meat of a young animal will fit.
Ingredients:
- lamb 1 kg
- 4-5 onion heads
- ground pepper
- salt
- dry wine 150 gr.
- vegetable oil
Cooking method:
Clean lamb from unnecessary tendons and films, cut into small pieces. Season them with pepper, salt, mix with chopped onions, drizzle with wine, add vegetable oil and mix again thoroughly. Leave to marinate for a few minutes. Young meat is very tender and quickly absorbs the aroma of spices. If the meat is not very young - leave to marinate for a longer time (3-4 hours).
Next, put the pieces on metal skewers mixed with onions and fry over the coals for ten or fifteen minutes. Turn the skewer over while cooking and sprinkle the pieces with wine. Serve a lot of greens to the prepared barbecue: basil, parsley, green onion, cilantro, etc.
Recipe 2: Lamb Kebab with Yogurt
An unusual combination, isn't it? For this recipe, it is advisable to use unsweetened yogurt. In extreme cases, it can be replaced with thick kefir (fat content of 3.2%).
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of mutton
- a glass of yogurt
- 4 tbsp. l olive oil
- one lemon
- garlic 2-3 cloves
- half a teaspoon thyme
- half tsp rosemary
- mint
- black pepper, salt
Cooking method:
Cut the lamb into approximately equal pieces. Salt, pepper. Mix yogurt with olive oil, thyme, rosemary. Rub the zest, squeeze the juice from the lemon, finely chop the mint. Add the zest, mint and juice to the mixture, mix everything. Pour the pieces of meat with the prepared marinade and marinate for 5-9 hours. Then you can start cooking kebabs on hot coals.
Recipe 3: Lamb Skewers with Kiwi
Original outlandish recipe! For the marinade, along with the generally accepted components, we will use mineral water, but the most unusual in this dish is kiwi.
Ingredients:
- 600 gr. lamb pulp
- half kiwi
- cilantro bunch
- 1-2 cloves of garlic
- half a lemon
- large tomato 1 piece
- 1 large onion head
- sodium glutamate (sodium salt) 1 table. spoon
- 150 gr. vegetable oil
- mineral water 200 gr.
Cooking method:
Cut the lamb into large pieces 2-2.5 cm thick. Cut the onions in half (or quarter) and pass through a meat grinder (garlic squeezer) so that it gives juices and the taste of the marinade. Cut the tomatoes into slices and crush, garlic into large plastics, chop finely.
Mix all the ingredients in a deep bowl, squeeze lemon juice and add sodium glutamate (a natural flavor enhancer related to salts) and mineral water to the marinade. Crush the peeled kiwi and add it to the marinade, add vegetable oil. Mix everything thoroughly with cooked pieces of meat. Leave to marinate for 3-8 hours. Then you can start cooking barbecue.
Recipe 4: Classic Lamb Skewers
For this recipe, you can use a loin, the hind leg of a lamb, preferably a young one. In addition, from such components as the kidneys, liver, heart, you will also get an excellent kebab. The dish is grilled on the grill or electric grill.
Ingredients:
- lamb 1 kg
- 6 bulbs (onion)
- 3% vinegar half a glass
- 4 tomatoes
- tkemali sauce 4-5 tbsp. spoons
- lemon 1 pc.
- dried barberry on the tip of a knife
- melted lamb fat 20 gr.
- salt, pepper, any greens
Cooking method:
Cut the meat, as always, in small pieces, put in a bowl, season with pepper, salt, finely chopped onions, vinegar (lemon juice), mix. Cover, leave for two to five hours to soak. After this time, string the pieces interspersed with slices of onions, tomatoes on a skewer, then grease them with lamb fat and on the grill. Keep the meat over hot coals, constantly turning, it takes 10-15 minutes. To cooked kebabs serve tkemali sauce and a lot of greens. Enjoy your meal!
Lamb kebab - useful tips
For any barbecue, coals made of linden, cherry, oak or birch firewood are most suitable. It is better not to use raw materials of coniferous trees, otherwise you will get kebabs with a characteristic smack of resin. The use of gasoline, as well as other combustible substances, is also unacceptable.
During frying, rotate the skewer regularly to achieve uniform readiness. If the meat begins to dry or burn before the time, grease it with the remaining marinade. Do not forget to sprinkle kebabs from time to time with water or wine acidified with vinegar. This will prevent premature burning and allow the meat to remain juicy inside.
