Lamb Shashlik is a Caucasian cousin of Turkish Shish Kebab, and for us, it is a must-cook BBQ item! The meat is cut into thin slices, then left to marinade in a light water-based marinade for hours to create wonderfully juicy and tender meat, when cooked. The lamb is threaded on metal skewers and cooked on high heat on a BBQ grill! Perfect served with spicy tomato relish, especially Georgian Adjika!
BBQ season is officially open for us! Yes, we have finally got round to barbequing some meat, some vegetables and have it all with a glass of wine in the sun in our garden! It felt amazing! Being in the sun, feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin was always in my TOP 5 biggest pleasures in life. But after a year of lockdown, and only being outside when walking our dog, it felt extra special.
Shashlik used to mark the beginning of summer when I was growing up. Whilst other families had burgers and hotdogs, we always had shashlik as a summer bbq. We had a small portable grill that we’d pack up and drive to the nearest lake to have a family BBQ party by the water.
We used leg of lamb for this recipe, but beef and pork works well too (pork cooks quicker though).
How to Marinate and Cook Lamb Shashlik?
Bone the leg of lamb, cut off any large bits of fat and any sinew. Cut the lamb into thin (approx. 1cm thick) pieces, the size of about 4x4cm. Place the lamb pieces in a bowl. Add the salt and pepper, oil and juice of a lemon. Then mix well, ideally with your hands massaging the meat as you go.
Add the quartered red onion and bay leaf, and mix to distribute. Then pop everything in an airtight box, pour 100ml of water over and place in the fridge to marinate for at least 6 hours, or overnight.
When ready to cook, get the coals hot on your BBQ. Skewer the pieces of lamb snuggly, alternating with a piece of onion every couple of pieces of lamb.
Place the skewers of lamb on a BBQ and cook for 15-20 minutes, turning often. The meat should be lightly charred and the meat fully cooked. Take the skewers off of the heat and leave to rest for a few minutes.
Serve with your favourite BBQ side dishes, like Grilled Baby Potatoes, Spicy Carrot Slaw and Georgian tomato relish, Adjika.
For other BBQ ideas, visit our Summer Recipes section, where you will find a variety of summer BBQ meat, side dish and summer salad recipes.
Lamb Shashlik – Central Asian Lamb Skewers
Equipment
- BBQ Grill
- Metal Skewers x 4
Ingredients
- 500 g lamb leg
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 red onion
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 100 ml water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon juice only
Instructions
- Bone the leg of lamb, cut off any large bits of fat and any sinew.
- Cut the lamb into thin (approx. 1cm thick) pieces, the size of about 4x4cm.
- Place the lamb in a bowl. Add the salt and pepper, oil and juice of a lemon. Then mix well, ideally with your hands massaging the meat as you go.
- Add the quartered red onion and bay leaf, and mix to distribute. Then pop everything in an airtight box, pour 100ml of water over and place in the fridge to marinade for at least 6 hours, or overnight.
- When ready to cook, get the coals hot on your BBQ. Skewer the pieces of lamb snuggly, alternating with a piece of onion every 2-3 pieces of lamb.
- Place the skewers of lamb on a BBQ and cook for 15-20 minutes, turning often. The meat should be lightly charred and the meat fully cooked through. Take the skewers of the heat and leave to rest for a few minutes.
- Serve with your favourite BBQ side dishes.
Notes
Nutrition
