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How To Make Lamb Shish Kebab With This Turkish Takeaway Recipe
A delicious, tender and flavoursome lamb shish kebab that tastes just like your local Turkish takeaway! This easy recipe can be made in the oven or grill.
These lamb shish kebabs taste just as good as they look; they’re one of my favourite Turkish takeaway recipes and quite popular here in the UK too! The lamb shish pieces are marinated in a mixture full of flavour before being threaded through skewers and cooked to perfection.
Serve with kebab shop chilli sauce, garlic sauce and kebab salad for the best combination ever! It makes an easy mid-week meal and a simple yet impress dinner that will please anyone. Perfect to grill in the summer or to cook in the oven during winter; this recipe is one you’re going to love.
I used an indoor grill to make the kebabs: it’s so inexpensive, easy to use and has non-stick grills too! It took only 5 to 8 minutes for the lamb shish to cook using this.
What Is The Difference Between A Shish Kebab And A Kebab?
When you go to your local Turkish takeaway, you’ll most likely come across donner kebab and shish kebab on their menu. In Turkish, shish means skewers whilst kebab means to roast or grill meat.
Donner Kebabs are made by placing marinated meat onto a large skewer that is rotated around whilst roasting. Whilst shish kebabs are made by dicing pieces of meat and placing them onto skewers before cooking them on the grill.
With this fakeaway recipe, you can make Turkish lamb shish kebab just like UK takeaway shops. The marinade mixture is very simple and you can make it in the oven or grill.
Watch How To Make It
What Cut Of Lamb Is Used For Shish Kebabs?
The best cut of lamb for making shish kebab are boneless lamb leg, sirloin or shoulder. Any one of these three cuts of meat will be perfect for making lamb shish. Ultimately, you’ll want a piece of lamb that is not full of fat but has some bits of fat on it.
I used a diced leg of lamb brought from my local supermarket, the lamb meat was diced into small chunks. If you buy a whole leg of lamb, you’ll have more control over how big you want the pieces of lamb to be.
Lamb Shish Marinade
The most important step in this lamb shish recipe is to marinate the meat, this is what will give the shish a delicious flavour.
A mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic paste, onion juice, salt, cumin, black pepper and smoked paprika are mixed together. This is the marinade that will coat the lamb pieces.
In authentic Turkish lamb shish kebab recipes, a juiced onion is a key ingredient for the marinade. Diced onions are placed into a muslin cloth and squeezed. The liquid is then harvested and added to the marinade.
I diced the onions, blended them slightly to form a paste then sieved the juice through. You can see this in my video above.
How Long To Marinate Lamb For Shish Kebab?
The longer you marinate the meat the better, try to let the meat marinate for at least 4 hours, overnight for best results! Cover the marinated meat with cling film and place it in the fridge.
As the meat marinates, it tenderises and absorbs all the flavours.
Recipe Ingredients
Below are the few ingredients needed to make this homemade lamb shish kebab:
- Lamb: I used a diced leg of lamb. Leg, sirloin and shoulder are good cuts of meat to use.
- Lamb Shish Kebab Marinade: The marinade recipe consists of a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil, garlic paste, onion juice, smoked paprika, cumin, salt and black pepper.
How To Make Homemade Lamb Shish Kebab, Turkish Takeaway Style
Below is a step-by-step guide on how to make Turkish lamb shish kebab, full instructions are on the recipe card at the bottom.
Step One:
Place the diced lamb pieces into a large mixing bowl, then add the marinade ingredients and mix together until evenly distributed.
Step Two:
Cover the bowl with cling film and leave to chill for 4 hours. If you can, chill overnight for best results.
Take the meat out of the fridge for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
Step Three:
Thread 4 to 5 pieces of lamb through the skewers. You can add more or less pieces of lamb depending on how big your diced lamb is. Leave a small gap between each piece of meat.
Step Four:
Time to cook the kebabs! The cooking times below will vary depending on your oven or grill and how well or rare you like your meat.
Cooked On The Grill (Barbeque): Heat the grill for 20 to 30 minutes. When the flame has reduced, oil the grill and add the shish kebab pieces. Grill the meat for 8 minutes on each side for lamb shish that is medium done.
Baked In The Oven: If you’re using the oven to cook the shish kebab, preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F, gas mark 6). Place the shish kebabs into a line baking tray and bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. You may want to cook the lamb for longer, depending on how you like your meat.
Indoor Grill: I cooked the kebabs on an indoor grill. It has non-stick plates and heats up very quickly, so it’s easy to use and cook with. If you’re using this grill, cook for 5 to 8 minutes.
Should I use Wooden Or Metal Skewers?
I have both metal and wooden skewers at home but I find metal skewers to be a lot better.
Metal skewers provide a lot less friction than wooden skewers, they conduct heat so will warm the shish from the inside. They also won’t splinter like wooden skewers. Wooden skewers can char or catch fire on the grill causing a burnt smell.
If you do choose to cook the shish with wooden skewers, a great tip is to soak them with water before threading the meat through. This will help to prevent the wooden skewers from burning.
My Top Tips
Whichever way you choose to cook your shish, make sure you take it out of the fridge for at least 30 minutes beforehand. This is so that the meat can get closer to room temperature and have an even cook throughout.
If you’re baking the shish in the oven, line your baking tray with aluminium foil. This will help to prevent the kebabs from sticking to the tray.
To make this shish kebab even better, dice some bell peppers and onions and thread them after each piece of meat. It will look colourful and taste great too.
To prevent the lamb from sticking to the grill, make sure that you oil the grill before placing the lamb shish on it. Don’t miss this step!
What To Serve With This Lamb Shish Kebab Recipe
Lamb shish kebabs go nicely with slightly toasted pitta bread heated on the grill or toaster. You can also have the shish kebabs with the following below:
Turkish Lamb Shish Kebab Recipe
Ingredients
- 300 g Diced Lamb
- ½ Onion (Juiced) See Notes
Instructions
- Place the diced lamb pieces into a large mixing bowl, then add the marinade ingredients and mix together until evenly distributed.
- Cover the bowl with cling film and leave to chill for 4 hours. If you can, chill overnight for best results.Take the meat out of the fridge for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
- Thread 4 to 5 pieces of lamb through the skewers. You can add more or less pieces of lamb depending on how big your diced lamb is. Leave a small gap between each piece of meat.
- Time to cook the kebabs.The cooking times below will vary depending on your oven or grill and how well or rare you like your meat.
Cooked On The Grill (Barbeque):
- Heat the grill for 20 to 30 minutes. When the flame has reduced, oil the grill and add the shish kebab pieces. Grill the meat for 8 minutes on each side for lamb shish that is medium done.
Baked In The Oven:
- If you’re using the oven to cook the shish kebab, preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F, gas mark 6). Place the shish kebabs into a line baking tray and bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. You may want to cook the lamb for longer, depending on how you like your meat.
Indoor Grill:
- I cooked the kebabs on an indoor grill. It heats up very quickly, so it’s easy to use and cook with. Cook for 5 to 8 minutes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Music in video from Uppbeat, License code: 08VBCZFHCZBZDBBY
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