Let's plunge into Central Asian cuisine and cook something unusual. For example, meat in Turkish. Of course, this requires open fire, but you can do without it at home. Turkish meat recipes are presented in this article.
On the Internet you will find many options for its preparation. Some are so bold that they propose to use pork, although it is well known that the Turks do not recognize the use of this meat for food.
In this article, you will find a proven Turkish meat recipe with photos and step-by-step cooking of this spicy dish. We will make a reservation right away that it will not be a kebab, namely meat with spices and vegetables - such as it is cooked in Kars, Ani, Trabzon, in other words, in the Asian part of Turkey, where traditions are sacredly kept and honored.
What meat to choose for the dish?
Naturally, in the first place there will be a lamb or goat meat. And it’s better if the meat is on the bone. The fleshy rib part with a small amount of fat is best suited. Sheep fat tends to cool quickly, and its excess in this dish is completely unnecessary. If you see that the fat is too much, it is better to cut it from pieces. Place it in the refrigerator and, as the case may be, fry the potatoes on it.
Those who do not particularly like this kind of meat, which has a specific taste and aroma, let them use beef or veal. Choose beef flesh with fatty layers. For example, brisket.
Poultry meat is also suitable. When choosing it, stop on chicken thighs.
Meat preparation
How to cook meat in Turkish? There are several distinguishing features. Turkish cuisine requires mandatory marinating meat. Beef is best kept in kefir or sour milk. For pickling lamb, use only table vinegar or lemon juice.
And in fact, and in another case, cut the meat into long and thin cubes. If you have ribs, chop them crosswise into pieces 4-5 cm long. Then dip in the marinade for 10-12 hours. No salt required.
When the pieces of meat are aged, neither wash them off the marinade nor drain the marinade, the meat is stewed directly in it.
What to cook?
To cook this dish, a special frying pan is required, in Turkey it is called "saj" and resembles a cast-iron stewpan.
If you do not have a cast-iron frying pan, take an ordinary one with a thick bottom and high walls. You can even use a low steel pan.
Ingredients
For a classic Turkish meat recipe you will need:
- 500-600 g of prepared mutton or beef meat;
- 200-300 g of onions;
- half the head of garlic;
- 1 hot pepper;
- vegetable oil;
- salt and pepper.
Cooking in a pan
Warm up a layer of oil about a finger thick to the formation of bubbles and with quick movements fill it with marinated and chopped meat. Stir with hot oil, add finely chopped hot pepper and cover. Reduce the heat immediately and simmer for about 30 minutes. Then remove the lid so that the liquid evaporates, and salt the meat and pepper. Stir occasionally.
When not a drop of moisture remains in the pan, add coarsely chopped onions. Constantly stirring, fry the contents and make sure that the corners of the onion straws do not turn black. With perfect cooking, the onion should change color to caramel and become transparent.
It will not be a big departure from tradition if you start to stew with vegetables and onions:
- peeled fresh tomatoes;
- green bell pepper;
- eggplant or young zucchini.
Before stewing, cut all these vegetables into small cubes and add a little salt to them. When their flesh under the influence of salt becomes softer and secretes juice, throw in a pan.
How to serve Turkish meat to the table
Of course, the priority in garnishes for meat dishes belongs to potatoes: boiled, baked, mashed and fried.
But our article suggests paying attention to other options for garnish for meat in Turkish:
- boiled ears of young corn,
- boiled chickpeas chickpeas,
- braised white beans.
By the way, such a framing of a dish is a traditional companion of all meat dishes both in Turkish restaurants and in street canteens.
Our topic cannot be considered complete unless we mention that it is possible to cook meat in Turkish and in the oven. To taste, it is in no way inferior to other options. We move on to the next recipe.
Turkish meat in the oven
We will not dwell on the fact that in medieval Turkey the oven was a hot stone. Heat the oven to 220-240 degrees, this will be enough.
This recipe should be taken seriously: one wrong step, and you run the risk of getting regular baked meat. So, don’t miss out on the details.
Oddly enough, the first to send the onion into the oven. Cut it into large rings, dip in oil and bake until crust. Then remove from the pan.
On the same baking sheet on which onion was baked, put the meat in the marinade and cook in the oven for about 30-40 minutes. Periodically open and pour the heated mixture of fat and meat juice.
We take it out of the oven, sprinkle with baked onions and spread it on a round clay tray.
The side dish is the same: potatoes, beans. But we should not forget that the favorite delicacy of the Turks for breakfast, lunch and dinner is black pickled olives. Instead of bread - small round Turkish cakes from unleavened dough - pita, or simit - a bagel sprinkled with sesame seeds. We will not bore you this time with their preparation. In the modern metropolis, they are baked in every self-respecting shaverme. Complete your dish with them and feel in Turkey.
Afiyet olsun! Which in Turkish means "eat for health."