Adana Kebab (hand-minced lamb skewers)

InternationalTurkish75 minServes 4

Adana kebab is one of the best-known dishes of the city of Adana in southern Turkey, where lamb is minced by hand with tail fat until very fine, shaped onto wide flat skewers and grilled over charcoal. It is usually served on lavash bread with sumac onions and grilled peppers and tomatoes, and its version is known for a spicy kick from red pepper. It is said that locals pair it with cold pickled red turnip juice, and that the most skilled grill masters add nothing beyond lamb, fat, salt and pepper.

Origin of the dish: Turkey (the city of Adana, in the south) — A similar, milder kebab is known in the nearby city of Urfa

Ingredients for Adana Kebab

• 700 g lamb from the shoulder or leg, minced very fine
• 150 g lamb tail fat (or lamb fat), minced fine
• 1 tbsp hot red pepper flakes (pul biber)
• 1½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground black pepper (optional)
• 4 wide flat metal skewers
• 1 kg natural charcoal for grilling
• To serve: 4 thin lavash breads
• To serve: 2 red onions, thinly sliced, with 1 tbsp sumac and a handful of chopped parsley
• To serve: 4 long green peppers and 4 tomatoes for grilling

Method

1. Chop the meat and fat together with a sharp knife on a wooden board, then pass them through a mincer once or twice until very fine (or ask the butcher for a fine mince).
2. Transfer to a bowl, add the salt, red pepper flakes and black pepper, and knead with hands dampened in cold water for 5 to 8 minutes until sticky and cohesive.
3. Cover the bowl and chill for at least 30 minutes so the mixture firms up and absorbs the flavour.
4. Light the charcoal and wait until it is covered in white ash. Meanwhile mix the onions with the sumac and parsley and set aside.
5. Wet your hands, take about 175 g of the mixture and mould it around a wide skewer about 25 cm long and a finger thick, pressing it with your fingers so it sticks well and gets light ridges.
6. Grill the skewers over medium embers for 8 to 10 minutes, turning once or twice. Grill the peppers and tomatoes alongside until their skins blister and char slightly.
7. Spread lavash over the skewers for a minute so it soaks up the juices, then slide the meat off with the bread and serve with the sumac onions and the grilled peppers and tomatoes.

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