How and from what part of lamb is shish kebab made? The best recipes.

For tasty and full, real caucasian barbecue, you will need knowledge of the intricacies of choosing the meat itself (lamb or sheep carcasses), patience and attention. As a rule, all Muslims living in the Caucasus schematically prepare barbecue in the same way. In general, there are many variations of cooking lamb skewers; the history of roasting lamb over an open fire goes back to biblical times. And along the milestones left by Islam in Central Asia and in the East, in Transcaucasia and in the North Caucasus, one can judge the diversity of barbecue. In Central Asia, to this day they prefer to cook whole lamb (carcasses) in a closed tandoor, in Armenia they prefer “karsi khorovats” - pieces of meat are fried on a vertical rack, in a closed tonir or a metal container.

What part of the lamb goes to the barbecue

Let's decide on the choice of meat. Few people know that not every carcass (read - and breed) of a ram goes to barbecue, even fewer people know exactly which parts of the carcass are preferred for barbecue. Without knowing what part of the lamb goes to the barbecue, it is difficult to get tasty and juicy meat at the exit. The fact is that the classic butchering of a ram's carcass often leaves room for the chef's imagination, and the mixed parts of the carcass are used for barbecue and other dishes. But it is necessary to cut the carcass of a ram correctly like this:

The most suitable places for barbecues are highlighted in red. By dividing the carcass into such sections, it is possible to form blanks. For a good and juicy barbecue, you should buy either a young lamb ( total weight carcasses - no more than 8-10 kg), or - a breed of fat-tailed sheep, as shown in the diagram. You can’t use a carcass with visible fat deposits of a waxy (like beef) type for a traditional barbecue - this is a film and a crust of dense and hard fat.

After cutting the meat into pieces of 40-80 grams, you should mix the meat with chopped onion rings at the rate of 1 kg of meat: 1 kg of onion. This is done not only to eliminate the unpleasant (sometimes) smell of grass, but also to marinate meat. Within 5-10 hours, the marinade should stand in a cool dark place, after which you can start the process of frying the kebab.

The readiness of the barbecue is very easy to determine even for a non-professional - fat stops oozing from the meat, hissing on the coals stops. With firewood, the situation is simple. At this point - who is good for anything, but still - you should not use any kind of firewood for barbecue. The wood of fruit trees and vines, the roots of oak and beech, ready-made coal is the best solution. It is best to salt and pepper the kebab before serving.

Ingredients: lamb, onion, pepper, soy sauce, wine, coffee, tea, wine, apple, wine

Lamb is considered one of the least common types of meat in the production and sale, which significantly affects the volume of its consumption by the population. In addition to this, due to widespread rumors that cooked lamb meat has a specific flavor and bad taste, residents, even in the presence of lamb, increasingly prefer the more familiar types of meat for them - poultry, beef and pork.

Eating lamb is definitely worth it, especially for the elderly and children, - representatives of the Caucasian and Asian peoples, who traditionally eat lamb skewers and other dishes from this meat (and are famous for their longevity), and even doctors speak about this. BUT delicious marinade for barbecue, prepared according to the traditions of the aforementioned peoples or simply taking into account the characteristics of lamb, can forever fall in love with even the most sophisticated gourmets.

How to choose the right lamb for barbecue

In order for lamb skewers to be a success, priority should be given to the quality of the meat used. Perfect ham, loin and top part shoulder blades of young lambs (they should be no more than 1 year old) - their light red soft meat has absolutely no bad smell, veins and fatty layers.

An ideal option for barbecue is milk lamb meat, whose age does not exceed 2 months, but treat yourself to such gourmet delicacy succeed only in the spring. It is important to remember that the younger the lamb, sheep and lamb were, the more tender and tastier the barbecue from their meat will be.

It is not recommended to marinate the fresh meat of a freshly slaughtered lamb, lamb or sheep - in order to avoid the rigidity of the kebab, it is worth giving the meat the opportunity to lie down a bit (so that the muscles of the slaughtered animal relax).

In the case of buying lamb in a store, where in most cases it is impossible to find out the real age of the butchered carcass, you should already be guided by the color and smell of the meat, as well as by the degree of its freezing. The meat of an old sheep or an old ram has a dark red hue and a smell that will only intensify during frying (it is with this sign that meat is unsuitable for eating that people like to scare people).

Barbecue prepared from such meat is unlikely to be to your taste because of its dryness and stiffness. Yellow fat and large joints of the same color are also signs of old lamb.

Repeatedly frozen meat is not suitable for barbecue and will fit only for minced meat or soups. It will not be difficult to determine it - the recess formed as a result of pressing a finger on the meat will not disappear and may even fill with blood.
Having finally made sure that the lamb for the future barbecue was purchased in accordance with the indicated recommendations, you can finally start marinating it.

Preparing lamb for marinating

Marinade is a mixture of vegetable oils, aromatic spices and natural substances containing acids, used to give the meat a soft texture and extra taste or for conservation.

For lamb, along with beef and pork, saturated marinades are more suitable. Lamb skewers need to be kept in such marinades for an average of 1 to 12 hours, depending on the degree of stiffness of the meat and its old age. A large number of at the same time, it is better not to add salts or acids to the marinade so that the kebab does not turn out dry during frying.

Lamb does not need to be washed before marinating. cold water- just wipe the piece of meat with a napkin or paper towel. Having removed all films, tendons and excess fat, the future barbecue should be cut into triangles or cubes and placed in a glass or enamelware fat (fat) down - so when frying lamb skewers, the meat will become much more tender.

The specific smell of meat can be easily repelled by pre-soaking in vodka or adding cinnamon and pine nuts to the marinade.
A frozen piece of lamb requires prior defrosting at room temperature.

Marinade for lamb - recipes for tender and tasty shish kebab

Lamb is very fond of marinades, a significant part of which can be used as salad dressings or sauces for meat dishes.
The most famous and common types of marinades are:

classical;
With sea salt;
traditional peoples of the Caucasus and Asia;
lemon (lime can be used instead of lemon);
mustard;
wine (cognac);
pomegranate;
soy;
beer;
vegetable (including tomato);
coffee;
tea;
marinade based on vinegar (including apple, wine, etc.);
marinade based mineral water;
exotic (for example, from kiwi or avocado).

You can marinate lamb skewers in any of the following ways, focusing on your taste.
Sometimes the type of marinade can already be predetermined in advance - for example, any barbecue recipe according to Caucasian traditions does not allow the use of vinegar and mayonnaise in the marinade (only lemon juice, salt, spices and onions).

Classic marinade

Recipe classic marinade- one of the simplest. That is why it is most common on store shelves. For cooking, you need coarsely chopped onion, peppercorns, vinegar and salt. The disadvantages of this pickling option are the unpleasant taste and smell of the finished kebab, which is caused by vinegar.

Sea salt marinade is very common. Any spices to taste are added to the lamb, and before frying the meat is sprinkled with sea salt. This will give the kebab unusual taste and pleasant aroma.

Traditional marinade of the peoples of the Caucasus and Asia

These marinades differ from all others in the presence of seasonings and spices that are unique to the cuisine of these peoples. Adding vinegar, mayonnaise is prohibited. The most popular types of herbs used are cilantro and marjoram. Vinegar is replaced with citrus juice, which also contains an "acidic" component.

mustard marinade

The marinade is made from mustard powder, vinegar, vegetable oil, salt. Can also be used regular mustard pre-diluted with water. french mustard also suitable - unlike the usual, it is not so sharp. Sometimes mustard is substituted peanut butter, which does not adversely affect the taste of the barbecue.

Wine (cognac) marinade

The most delicious marinade of all presented, as the wine goes well with this type of meat. Lamb is poured with dry or semi-dry wine with the addition of oils, herbs and spices. It is possible to replace wine with cognac.

pomegranate marinade

Requires freshly squeezed pomegranate juice, packaged purchased in this case not suitable due to high sugar content. With the help of a mortar, herbs, salt, spices and spices (for example, paprika) are rubbed, after which the finished pieces of lamb are rubbed with the resulting powder. At the very end, pomegranate juice is added.

soy marinade

Ingredients: soy sauce, tarragon, peppercorns, sea (or regular) salt, Provencal herbs. All components are pre-mixed and then added to the meat. You can add onions (including shallots) to taste.

beer marinade

Salt and spices are added to the meat, after which the lamb should lie down for 20-30 minutes. Next, light or dark beer is added (non-alcoholic is possible). Due to the beer, the meat acquires a delicate taste.

Vegetable (including tomato)

Ingredients: tomatoes, Bulgarian red or Green pepper, chili pepper, pine nuts (to taste), a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, salt. All ingredients are passed in a blender until homogeneous mass and then mixed with meat. Garlic can also be added to the marinade if needed.

coffee marinade

Weak freshly brewed coffee cools down to room temperature. Then salt, spices and herbs are added to the coffee. Everything is mixed and poured into the meat, after which it is left to marinate for 20-60 minutes.

tea marinade

Leaf black tea is brewed and cooled. Based on a liter of tea, 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon of salt, spices and spices are added. The mixture should stand for 10-15 minutes, after which it can be added to the meat.

Vinegar-based marinade (including apple, wine, etc.)

In essence, it is similar traditional marinade to which you can add any other type of vinegar. Most original version marinade - based apple cider vinegar which imparts sourness to the meat. If you want a sweetish barbecue flavor, you can add cherry vinegar. Be sure to add vegetable oil.

Marinade based on mineral water

Any mineral non-medicinal water is enriched with a mixture of seasonings, herbs and spices. Simple onions or shallots are added to taste. The meat is infused in this marinade for 1-2 hours.

Exotic (like kiwi or avocado)

For 1 kg of lamb, 200 g of peeled kiwi or avocado is taken, which are rubbed through a sieve or in a blender. In the resulting puree 2 tablespoons of olive oil, spices and salt. In no case should onions be added to this marinade - it is better to cook it separately as a side dish along with olive or vegetable oil, salt and spices.

Marinade for lamb skewers can have a very different and sometimes unusual composition, dictated by taste preferences and the desired result from frying the meat marinated in it. To lamb skewers Grilled vegetables are ideal. Regarding sauces for barbecue, you can discuss for a long time - connoisseurs say that good barbecue does not require any additional sauces to it, while people no longer imagine barbecue without ketchups and sauces.

It is only important to remember that the best and most delicious marinade is not store-bought, but made with your own hands, with soul and health care. By experimenting with different ingredients, you can create your own unique marinade, which is not inferior in taste to restaurant ones.

There is a belief that if a person once tastes lamb and discovers its true taste, he will forever become a fan and connoisseur of this particular meat. No one knows whether this is true or not, but one thing is clear - a person's attitude to lamb is strongly influenced by the impression of the first tasting. old tough meat with a specific smell will forever leave a bad memory of itself, but lamb cooking from a young lamb will be the best day of your life.

The choice of the right lamb entirely depends on what exactly it is desirable to cook from meat and what part of the carcass to purchase for this purpose. You can’t cook soup from one piece of lamb, cook a second course or “wind up” cutlets. Lamb for pilaf should be purchased separately, and for the preparation of first courses, you need to give preference to a completely different piece in the window.

Each piece of lamb for a specific dish

The main secret of cooking delicious lamb is its competent cutting. Each piece of lamb meat is coming for a specific dish, and only in this case it will turn out rich, juicy and very tender. Let's define the main parts of the carcass of a ram:

The neck part is fragrant meat, but requires a long heat treatment. The best cooking option would be stewing or boiling, as well as cooking minced meat (kharcho soup, shurpa, bugloma, cutlets).
Shoulder - this part of the lamb is excellent boiled or stewed (azu, roast, stew, shurpa).
Loin - the most delicious and juicy cut of lamb carcass. The dorsal part of the carcass is ideal for grilling, barbecue, pilaf or shish kebab.
The ham is a delicacy part, most often used for roasting and frying. The ham also makes a wonderful barbecue. You can cook juicy manti from lamb ham or Uzbek pilaf or fragrant stew with vegetables.
Brisket is a fairly fatty meat that is suitable for making dressing soups. Separate part of the brisket - ribs - the ideal part lamb for barbecue on the bone or pilaf.
Shank and shank - the lower part of the back and front legs, respectively. Great for making jellies rich soups and stew (shurpa, shulyum). The legs of a young lamb can be cooked in the form of an original dish baked in a sleeve with vegetables and spicy spices.

The softest part of lamb and very valuable from the point of view of cooking - loin. This is the tender part of the carcass from which fine dining haute cuisine. The name itself comes from the French word "carre", and the French are recognized world gourmets.

The loin is so soft and tender that overcooking can ruin your dish, making it tough and dry. A properly cooked loin should be half-done, very juicy and pale pink when cut.

Lamb loin dishes

Culinary connoisseurs and gourmets, of course, will first of all send a rack of lamb or lamb for barbecue.

ADVICE! This part of the carcass is so soft that you need to pickle it for no more than half an hour, and fry it for only 10-15 minutes.

The best marinades for loin are garlic-cheese, lemon-onion, sour-milk or wine. They will give the meat the desired piquancy, aroma and unique taste.

In addition to barbecue, loin is most often prepared:

roast baked in the oven with potatoes and vegetables;
pilaf;
rolls;
carbonate;
basma;
think and much more.

Experiment with different ways cooking and find your dish, which will become your signature dish.

the most correct, the most real barbecue made from lamb meat - these are the old traditions. It is also not a secret that the cooled lamb loses its taste greatly, so it should only be eaten hot. Therefore, those who know how to make lamb skewers make just enough to eat at a time.

Choice of lamb for barbecue

When choosing sheep meat for barbecue, you need to be able to correctly assess its age. This dish requires only the meat of a young ram, which is much more tender and juicier than meat"veteran". You can quickly fry on coals only lamb meat up to a year old, which has a light red tint. Usually young lamb does not have a specific mutton smell that scares some people away.

The darker the meat looks, the older the animal was, the tougher its meat and, accordingly, the barbecue will be.

What part of lamb is best for barbecue?

Of course, many are interested in which part of the lamb is better to make barbecue. Often for barbecue choose:

ribs;
back pulp;
loin;
clipping.

But the most juicy barbecue obtained from the spinal part of a ram. But it is better not to use a spatula.

From a culinary point of view, the most valuable part of the butchered lamb carcass is the front part of the loin with tender meat on the ribs.

Lamb ham is very popular for cooking shish kebab. But if it is very large, it means that it belonged to an old ram. If the leg is almost devoid of fat, then it may turn out that they are trying to sell goat meat under the guise of lamb.

Lamb barbecue in Caucasian style

Caucasian kebabs are a refined dish that cannot be made from frozen meat. In the Caucasus, every man knows how to make barbecue, because only they are engaged in this art here, they also marinate meat for lamb barbecue. Of course, you will need the meat of a young ram.

Ingredients for this delicious barbecue listed at the beginning of the article.

Cooking

Clean the lamb from films and tendons and cut into small pieces.
Cut the onion into rings.
Season the meat with salt and pepper and stir in the onions.
Add vegetable oil, wine and mix everything again.
Leave the meat to marinate. If it is young, it marinates faster, but it will still take several hours for it to absorb the aroma of wine and spices.
Pieces of marinated meat should be strung on skewers, alternating them with onion rings.
Keep the skewers over the coals for 10-15 minutes, periodically turning them and sprinkling the meat with marinade or wine.
Ready barbecue is usually served with an abundance of greens: cilantro, parsley, dill, basil, green onions.

Classic lamb skewers

If you are interested in what part of the lamb is barbecued in classical performance, then you should know that this is usually the hind leg or loin of a young lamb. You can fry it on the grill, but not on the electric grill, otherwise the recipe will cease to be classic.

Ingredients

1 kg lamb;
6 onion heads;
4 tomatoes;
1 lemon;
4-5 art. l. tkemali juice;
0.5 cups of 3% vinegar;
20 g melted mutton fat;
pinch dried barberry;
pepper, herbs, salt.

Cooking

Cut the meat into small pieces, putting it in a bowl.
Finely chop the onion.
Add salt, pepper, onion and vinegar there, mix everything.
Cover the container with a lid and leave to marinate for several hours.
String marinated meat on a skewer, alternating with tomatoes and onion rings, then grease the composition with lamb fat.
Next, fry the kebab over smoldering coals, not forgetting to turn over, for about 15 minutes.
Ready kebabs can be accompanied by an abundance of herbs and tkemali sauce.

Lamb skewers with yogurt

For this unusual recipe it is best to choose the least sweet yogurt, and in its absence, you can use thick fatty kefir.

Ingredients

1 kg of lamb meat;
1 lemon;
1 glass of yogurt;
4 tbsp. l. olive oil;
2-3 cloves of garlic;
½ tsp rosemary and thyme;
mint leaves;
salt;
black pepper.

Cooking

Cut the meat into equal pieces, pepper and salt.
mix olive oil, yogurt, rosemary and thyme.
Squeeze the juice from the lemon and grate the zest.
Finely chop the mint. Add her, lemon juice and zest to the mixture, mix everything.
The resulting marinade should be poured over pieces of lamb and marinated for 5-9 hours.
This is followed by the usual procedure of roasting on skewers over coals. Even if you don’t know how long to fry the kebab, look at the readiness of the meat, and over time, experience in cooking this dish will come.

Video on how to make lamb skewers

Karski shish kebab

Ingredients

1 kg of lamb meat;
150 g fat tail fat;
3 onion heads;
1 st. l. chopped cilantro and mint;
red pepper and salt - to taste;
juice from half a lemon;
50 ml brandy.

Cooking

Cut lamb into suitable pieces.
Cut the fat tail fat into thin slices.
Combine lard with meat in a marinating container.
Finely chop the onion.
Add onion, mint, cilantro, red pepper and salt to the meat.
Pour cognac and lemon juice there, mix everything and marinate for 6-8 hours in a cool place.
Thread the soaked meat on skewers, separating with pieces of tail fat.
Grill the skewers over coals until tender.
Accompany karski shish kebab fresh vegetables and sauce.

Avar barbecue

It is made only from small lambs that are not yet two months old. This kebab is great because it combines the taste the most tender meat flavored with garlic sauce.

Ingredients

1 kg of fresh lamb;
5 cloves of garlic;
10 almonds;
2 tbsp. l. fresh crumbs white bread;
2-3 onion heads;
1 egg;
½ cup olive oil;
juice of half a lemon;
pepper, salt.

Cooking

The sauce is prepared in advance. Garlic must be combined with almond kernels and grind in a mortar until smooth. Add egg yolk and bread crumbs there and rub thoroughly, slowly adding olive oil.
Add pepper, salt and lemon juice to the resulting sauce and mix again. Store the sauce in the refrigerator for no more than a day.
Cut lamb into pieces, string on skewers, alternating with onion rings.
After roasting on coals, remove the meat from the skewers, pour over the sauce and immediately serve to the table.

Do you like lamb skewers? Do you have a favorite recipe? Share it in

Part one - choose the meat

When to buy and where to buy meat

The best time to buy meat at the market is early in the morning. Restaurant buyers come to the market in the morning. So after 10-11 hours, not very good meat is left on the market.

Piece of lamb for barbecue

For barbecue, it is best to use the front of the lamb: ribs, loin and shoulder blade. From the shoulder blade - the upper part.

If a ham, then only a young lamb from 8 to 12 kg.

How to choose meat for barbecue

First, you need to choose by color. The meat should be pink, not red. When you look at the meat, you can see when it was slaughtered. The lamb must be ripe.

Secondly, the thickness of the bones on the loin should be as thick as the little finger. The thicker the bone, the older the ram. If it is less than the little finger, then there is no meat at all.

A good lamb does not need strong marinades. We must try to preserve the taste of lamb.

The smell of a ram

A young ram does not have that smell that many do not like. The ram must be fat-tailed, preferably from the Caucasus. It has a richer taste. Most of the year they graze in the mountains, eat pasture, grass, choose what to eat. Their meat is sweeter.

Lamb cutting for barbecue

When you buy lamb from the market, you can always ask the butcher to chop the meat. If it is a loin, then it is necessary to alternate there: one bone - two bones - one. The thickness should be at least 1 cm so as not to overcook it. In the market, all professionals will cut it as it should.

The upper part of the ribs can be fried on skewers, and in a pan with onions.

And the shoulder blade can be cut into pieces - it is more interesting to chop along the shoulder blade. No need to remove from the bone and fillet - everything that is fried on the bone is tastier.

AT Soviet time in the Caucasus, when I was just starting out, in the restaurant all the guests asked for loin, ribs. When there were not enough ribs, the cooks rubbed the ribs, put them on a skewer like a loin and served it that way. In my opinion, the shoulder blade is even tastier than the loin.

Marinade

You need to marinate at least. Onion, salt, pepper, coarse pepper from the mill. None ground pepper. You can use a mixture of "5 peppers". For flavor, you can add thyme, thyme. Zira is not. And don't use coriander. Zira and coriander will kill all the taste of meat, and we are talking about the fact that we want to feel the taste of lamb.

The ratio of ingredients in the marinade

For 1 kg of meat 200 g of onion. Cut the onion into rings and mash so that it gives juice. You can add quite a bit of oil.

How long to marinate lamb in onions

It is not necessary to keep the meat in the marinade for a long time. 2-3 hours, three already for old meat. So that onion juice with salt and pepper wrap around the meat. Oil also helps with this. The oil is odorless.