Despite the simplicity of preparation, it is the lamb shashlik marinade that sets the tone for the dish. As you know, sheep meat has a specific smell and unusual taste. Therefore, you need to think about how to make it remain as tender, and at the same time acquire brightness and the smell of spices and seasonings. But don’t worry: barbecue from a young lamb is made not only in the Caucasus. This is a favorite dish of the inhabitants of the whole Mediterranean. Therefore, there are many recipes for lamb marinade. Let's consider some of them.
The traditional Georgian way is closer to us in mentality. To prepare such a
marinade for lamb skewers, you should chop a pound of ripe tomatoes, 500 g of onions, a large head of garlic. And that’s all - for one kilogram of meat! Spice and seasoning - mainly red pepper - will add barbecue to the kebab. Fold the mutton chopped into pieces in a glass bowl, add the marinade, remember everything carefully with your hands and leave for four hours. If you are anxious to start frying, you can reduce the waiting time to two hours. But then you must constantly knead the meat for better impregnation.
The Abkhazian lamb shish kebab marinade is done this way: pour 3-4 teaspoons of vigorous adjika with a glass of white wine. 2-3 onions, one or two cloves of garlic, salt and spices are chopped into this mixture. We fill it with meat and put the container in the refrigerator (closer to the door so that it does not freeze very much) for the night. And for those who don’t like spiciness in lamb, you can advise this way: pour chopped slices with sparkling mineral water, squeeze lemon juice there, cut the pulp of citrus and add to the meat. This method makes it possible to start frying after three to four hours. But before that, do not forget to salt and pepper the pieces.
Lamb shish kebab marinade also depends on which meat you choose. Up to three months a young lamb does not need preliminary soaking at all. Lamb from 6 months to a year, whose meat is intensely red and fatty veins are white, require preliminary preparation. But she is short-lived. Just put on rings of pulp 4-5 onion rings, sprinkle them with ground black pepper, salt, mix well, fill with an incomplete glass of dry wine and a little olive oil, mash with your hands again and leave for half an hour or an hour.
Even using tea leaves you can cook a delicious and tender skewers of lamb. The marinade recipe is very simple. We make very strong tea (a 50-gram sachet for half a liter of boiling water). Let it brew and cool a little. With this tea leaves, pour the meat cut into pieces and leave for two to three hours. Before you start frying, tea is poured, and lamb is salted and seasoned with spices.
But the best lamb marinade is with natural yogurt and herbs. The sour-milk environment will completely soften the meat, and rosemary, thyme and mint will give the dish an unforgettable aroma. Cut the meat, pepper and salt. In a separate bowl, mix a glass of yogurt (you can replace it with fat kefir) with four tablespoons of olive oil. Add half a teaspoon of the mentioned herbs - dry or fresh. Wash the lemon, cut off the skin from it, and squeeze the juice into yogurt. Rub the zest and add to the common pot. Pour the mixture with meat for 5 hours, or better at night.