Lamb kebab is a classic and beloved dish. It is important to know the intricacies and features of the preparation of this Caucasian kebab of lamb in order to properly fry it. The most delicious dish can be prepared only by mastering the secrets of this process. In the article, we will analyze how to cook kebab in a Caucasian way in different ways.
Primitive kebab existed in ancient times - it was our ancestors who enjoyed it as soon as they learned to make fire. During this time, of course, the cooking method has been improved. One thing can be said for sure - barbecue has its own history.
How to choose lamb for barbecue
If you deal with all the subtleties of choosing lamb for barbecue, which are described below, it will not be difficult to find good meat. A very soft and juicy skewer of lamb without a characteristic odor can be made only from a young lamb up to 2 months old. Since animals are mainly born at the beginning of the year, you can cook such a barbecue in the period from March to April. At any time of the year you can cook a real barbecue from an adult lamb. Good meat should not have much fat. The indicator should not exceed 15% of the total mass.
Meat selection: nuances
The more fat is contained in meat, the brighter will be expressed characteristic, unpleasant odor of lamb in our dish. In this case, the meat should not be fat-free and dry. Accordingly, we will take the middle option. When choosing meat, it is important to look at the color of animal fat. White indicates the freshness of the product. If the fat has a yellow tint, it is better to refuse such meat, because it is stale.
Proper lamb meat has a uniform beautiful red color. It should not be scarlet or light red. The dark color also indicates that lamb is not the first freshness. The meat should be resilient and not slippery. If blood oozes from it, it speaks of old age. Do not take meat with a strange smell. Fresh meat has a pleasant smell.
Very tasty and juicy kebab is obtained best from lamb ribs, spinal and sirloin parts. For those who like the smell of lamb, buy a mutton fat tail. Put it on the skewer in small slices between pieces of meat. Fans of such aromas will say thanks. For lamb skewers, chilled meat is most often taken. Frozen for cooking will not work.
Lamb kebab: a classic recipe
There is no person who would not hear about this recipe. Many people like the speed of cooking. For cooking, we need the ingredients:
- 1 kg of lamb meat;
- 0.5 kg of onions;
- 250 ml of white wine;
- sunflower oil;
- salt and black pepper.
Let's take a closer look at the process of preparing a classic barbecue:
- Get rid of the meat from the transparent film, and also do not forget to remove the veins. Cut into medium slices (3-5 centimeters). Do not forget to add salt and pepper to your taste.
- Cut the onion into rings, add to the meat and mix thoroughly.
- Add a little sunflower oil to the marinade and don’t forget about white wine.
- If the meat of a young lamb requires 20 minutes for marinating, then for processing an adult ram time will increase several times (60 minutes).
- It is best to use glass or plastic dishes for marinating barbecue. It is better not to use metal utensils, otherwise it may oxidize. This will lead to poisoning.
- After the meat is marinated, string it on a skewer and put on an open fire.
- You need to fry the meat until golden brown. A quarter of an hour is enough for the meat to be tender, juicy and very tasty.
- Do not forget the skewer on time to turn over and sprinkle the meat with white wine. Carefully watch that the dish does not burn.
The meat is unusually tasty, aromatic, juicy. This dish is best served with a lot of greens and homemade sauce prepared in advance.
Classic Caucasian mutton shish kebab recipe
Tender, delicious, barbecue melting in your mouth is best cooked by true Caucasians. Everyone should try this dish. For cooking, we need the following ingredients:
- 1 kg of lamb pulp;
- 0.5 kg of onions;
- black pepper, salt to taste;
- a large number of green parsley and green cilantro;
- cool water;
- grape vinegar or lemon juice (3 tablespoons).
Cooking process
After peeling the peeled onions, rinse them well with water. Next, chop the onion into rings. The meat is washed in warm water. Pieces of 3-4 centimeters are cut. The smaller they are, the faster the meat will be pickled and tender. But you don’t need to cut too small pieces - such meat is difficult to put on skewers. Next you need to salt, pepper and mix well. We leave it for 20 minutes so that the meat absorbs the aromas of spices.
Special attention requires marinade for barbecue. For him, we mix cold water with 3 tablespoons of grape vinegar. We put the meat in a deep plate of glass or plastic. Add the onion rings. Pour the meat with a pre-prepared marinade and close the lid. Next, you need to put the plate in the refrigerator. Leave our meat for 5-6 hours. During this time, the lamb will have time to marinate. Meat can be put not only in the refrigerator, but also in the shade (when it is cool outside).
Caucasian mutton kebab needs to be cooked for about 20 minutes, while not forgetting to turn the skewer on time. With the remaining marinade in a plate, you can pour meat so that the barbecue does not burn. Such a dish should be served hot with a lot of cilantro and parsley. Grape vinegar in the marinade can be replaced with lemon juice and add your favorite spices to your taste.
Barbecue lamb at home: roast in the oven
This recipe for lamb shish kebab in the oven is suitable for residents of large cities when there is no way to go out of town and cook meat on an open fire or coal. You can make aromatic barbecue at home in the oven. On the palate, the dish turns out delicious, despite the fact that it is cooked non-standard.
For cooking, you need the following ingredients:
- 1 kg of lamb;
- 0.3 kg of mutton fat tail;
- 1 lemon
- 0.5 kg of onion rings;
- black or red pepper, salt to taste;
- coriander, turmeric.
Cooking
Cut the meat into small pieces of 3 centimeters, and the fat tail is chopped into fragments of 1-2 centimeters. Mix it all carefully in a bowl. Rub onions on a fine-mesh grater. Mix the resulting onion gruel, a pinch of ground pepper, salt, coriander, turmeric, lemon juice in a bowl with meat and mix well. Leave the meat to marinate for several hours at room temperature. On bamboo sticks we string pickled lamb. Before sticking meat sticks are better to soak in cold water.
Heat the oven to 270 degrees and place the sticks on the wire rack. Place a baking sheet covered with foil under the wire rack. Place a few pieces of fat tail on it. During cooking, you need to repeatedly turn the sticks so that the meat has a beautiful color on all sides. Hot kebab is served on the table with your favorite sauce and vegetables. If you take into account all the subtleties of cooking lamb meat, which are described in this article, you can get a gentle and fragrant kebab at home.
Marinades
There are a large number of different recipes for marinades for lamb skewers. All options do not count. For marinade, you can take as a basis kiwi, honey, pomegranate, mustard. There are also options for kefir and even with the addition of coffee. Several special ways of marinade for barbecue will also be considered in this article.
Tomato juice and bread marinade
For cooking, we need the following ingredients:
- kilogram of lamb;
- liter of tomato juice;
- 0.5 kilograms of onions;
- 300 grams of black bread;
- salt and pepper to taste;
- spice;
- a few pieces of medium tomatoes.
According to the recipe for lamb shish kebab, cut the lamb into small pieces, add the onion sliced in rings to it. Do not forget to salt, pepper and add your favorite spices to the meat. Mix everything thoroughly and set aside for 5 minutes.
Next, tear the brown bread into small pieces and toss it in the dishes with meat. Without sparing tomato juice, fill them with the contents of the bowl. Mix everything well and put in the refrigerator for 8-9 hours. If there is no refrigerator, then any other cool place will do.
After the specified time has passed, start frying the meat. It takes about 25 minutes to get ready. Do not forget to turn the meat on time so that it does not burn out. To avoid burning, you can use a useful tip: lubricate each piece with a weak solution of vinegar. Serve the dish should be on skewers, as in the photo of lamb skewers (recipe in the article). This is best done with any sauce and onions.
Yogurt barbecue marinade
Shish kebab based on yogurt is very tender and soft. Lamb under such a marinade is worth a try.
To prepare the mutton shish kebab recipe you will need the following ingredients:
- 1.5 kg of lamb;
- 0.5 liters of yogurt;
- 0.5 kg of onions;
- mint;
- basil and cilantro;
- salt and pepper to taste.
Cut the meat into pieces the size of a matchbox, add onions to it, and do not forget about mint, salt, pepper, basil and cilantro. Thoroughly mix the ingredients indicated in the recipe for a delicious lamb shish kebab. Add yogurt and mix again. Put marinated in a refrigerator or any other cool place for 5-6 hours. It is best if the kebab is pickled for about a day. After that, the meat can be fried.
A few important points about cooking
- Do not cut the lamb into too small pieces, as well as too large. If the pieces are small, then the kebab is likely to burn, and if large, the meat inside will be raw. The most optimal option for frying are fragments of about 3-5 centimeters.
- If you need to add garlic to the marinade, be sure to chop it finely. Do not use the press, otherwise the kebab will have a bitter aftertaste.
- If it is required that the barbecue marinate very quickly, then the kiwi marinade will do just fine. In this mixture, meat can be kept no more than 2 hours. But in general, 30 minutes should be enough to prepare for frying.
Do not forget that these are universal recipes: lamb skewers are combined with any spices. This is partly why the dish turns out to be juicy and tasty. Any kebab is best served hot, with lots of herbs, vegetables and spicy sauce.
Enjoy your meal! Choose the best lamb kebab recipe and have fun.