Kebab. Step By Step Recipe With Photo. Cooking Tips. Photo

2023 Author: Ava Durham | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 07:13

May holidays are a wonderful opportunity to combine useful with pleasant: gardening work and picnics-barbecue. Wherever you spend your weekend - at a summer cottage, in a garden, on a river or lake, even just in the yard - there is a place for a barbecue everywhere. The main thing is desire, good company and knowledge of how to cook a delicious barbecue over the fire. Inspiration and a friendly company for outings into nature will certainly be found, and I will now share with you the recipe for a delicious barbecue.

Kebab ingredients

For 8 large servings:

• 1 kg of meat;
• 7-8 medium onions;
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste;
• 3-4 tbsp mayonnaise.

What is the best meat to choose for a barbecue?

The most delicious shish kebab, juicy and soft, is made from pork, but not from any piece, but from a collar or tenderloin - soft meat with a little fat. It is better to leave the beef for the steak, as it is rather dry. But chicken (thighs, legs) will also make a good shish kebab.

How to marinate meat for barbecue?

Choosing the right meat is not enough - you need to marinate it correctly. I use the simplest spices for the marinade - salt, pepper, white onions and a little mayonnaise. You can add your favorite spices to this basic set of seasonings: garlic, paprika or dried herbs, ready-made seasoning mixes. Fans of unusual tastes can try to season the kebab with ginger or mint.

Sometimes wine is added to the marinade, or lemon juice and olive oil; tomato juice (sauce) or kefir. Each component influences the taste of the dish in its own way. The ingredients in the marinade, such as sour juices and alcoholic beverages, tend to soften the meat; lemon juice and vinegar, in addition, add sourness (do not overdo it); mayonnaise adds fat content, and fermented milk products or tomatoes add softness and juiciness.

Sometimes more exotic ingredients are used for the marinade: for barbecue in Greek - pomegranate juice; in Chinese - soy sauce combined with ginger, honey, dry wine, garlic and pepper. Some people marinate meat in kvass, beer or grape juice. What to choose from this variety, decide according to your taste.

There is also an opinion that dry marinade is best for meat for barbecue, that is, a mixture of spices without adding liquid. How many chefs - so many options. It will be interesting if you, dear readers, share your methods of marinating meat in the comments.

What kind of firewood is needed for barbecue?

The best shish kebab is made on the wood of fruit trees: plum, cherry, apple. The aroma of fruit crops is transferred to the dish, and the shish kebab is delicious. You can also take oak or maple firewood, but conifers are completely unsuitable for barbecue.

It is better to choose branches and logs for a fire of equal thickness and length so that they burn out at the same time. And, of course, the wood must be dry.

How to cook a kebab?

Having dealt with the nuances, we proceed to the actual preparation of kebabs. Rinse the meat, dry it, cut into cubes with a side of about 3-5 cm and place in an enamel bowl. It is better not to use aluminum, as the dishes are oxidized under the action of the marinade. A wooden container is also not the best option, since wood absorbs sap and smell, and we need both to remain in the kebab, and not in the dishes.

Peel the onion, wash and cut into rings 2-3 mm thick.

Combine meat and onions, salt and pepper.

Add a little mayonnaise, mix thoroughly and leave the kebab for at least 2 hours at room temperature (you can also overnight).

While the meat is marinating, we make a fire so that the coals have time to burn out.

The general principles of the barbecue are as follows: its depth should be about 15-20 cm; the layer of coals at the bottom is about 5 cm, and the kebab should be placed at a height of 15 cm above the coals. You can adjust the height during the cooking process, focusing on the appearance of the kebab: if the meat is not fried, then you need to rearrange it lower, and if, on the contrary, it begins to char, then raise it higher.

How to understand when it's time to put a barbecue on the grill?

Hold your hand over the coals at a height of 15 cm. If you can only stand it for a couple of seconds, it's too early. And if the hand can withstand the heat for 4-5 seconds - it's time. Poultry needs a lower temperature than meat - the aging test lasts 10 seconds.

We string the meat on skewers, placing the pieces along the fibers and alternating with onion rings. Baked onions are my favorite ingredient in a kebab! And if you add tomato mugs, slices of eggplant, slices of bell pepper to the "company" - the barbecue will be even brighter and tastier. String more tightly so that meat and vegetables are soaked in the juice and flavor of each other during cooking.

And to make it easier to string, you can grease the skewer with sunflower oil. But be careful - take care of your hands!

We place the kebabs over the coals and cook, turning over from time to time. If the heat is not enough, you can periodically fan the coals by waving plywood or something similar. If, on the contrary, the heat is too strong, we raise the kebab higher, and when the flame breaks out, we slightly spray it with water.

How to determine the readiness of the kebab?

Kebab preparation time is approximately 25-35 minutes. To understand if the meat is ready, you need to cut one piece of kebab and look at the juice. If it is reddish, we continue to cook, the kebab is still raw in the middle. A pinkish tint is a medium degree of roast, and a clear juice means that the kebab is ready.

We remove the skewers from the grill onto a dish or tray and immediately serve hot, decorating with vegetables and herbs. Bon Appetit!