Back in the early 2000s, a familiar Armenian cook shared with me his secrets for cooking pork shish kebab. Today I want to reveal some secret techniques for frying meat and surprise readers with one of my favorite kebab recipes, the main advantage of which is that portioned pieces of meat do not need to be kept in the marinade for a long time.
Secrets of juicy kebab
1. In order for the pork kebab to turn out appetizing and the meat to have a beautiful golden crust, it must be cooked over medium heat over hot coals.
2. The optimal weight of each piece is 50-60 g.
3. The best meat for barbecue is pork neck. The tenderloin from the neck part of a pork carcass contains the finest fatty streaks, which melt when in contact with coals and make the meat unusually juicy.
4.For every kilogram of pork, 20 g of salt is required.
5. In order for the meat to have a subtle piquant taste, you need to put spices in it. The main secret of adding seasonings is their moderate amount. Too many different ingredients in a barbecue spice mixture can ruin the final taste of the product.
6. The best seasonings for marinade per 1 kg of meat:
- freshly ground black pepper – 1 whisper;
- paprika – 1 pinch;
- dried basil – 1 tsp;
- dried citron – 1 tsp.
7. Onions cut into half rings, rings or quarters give the meat a special taste, softening it due to the spicy components of the vegetable.
8. An amazingly beautiful golden brown crust on meat is obtained by adding vegetable oil to it at the rate of 35 ml for each kg of product.
9. In addition to oil for the marinade, regular drinking water is used - 60-70 ml for each kilogram of kebab.
10. After salt, spices, onions, vegetable oil and water are added to the meat, it must be thoroughly kneaded with your hands.
11. Before skewering the meat, it must be kept in the oil-spicy mixture for only 10 minutes.
12. To avoid burning onions, it is better to fry them separately, in a hot frying pan with vegetable oil.
13. When stringing portioned pieces between them, be sure to leave a gap of about 1 cm. Pieces pressed tightly together do not fry completely.
14. Frying time for pork is 15-20 minutes. During the cooking process, it is better not to leave the grill, carefully making sure that individual pieces of meat do not burn.
15. Medium-intensity heat in a barbecue or grill must be maintained using a blower.
16.Turn the meat over, exposing the pieces with different sides to the burning coals, to fully fry the inside and obtain a crust of uniform color.
This kebab is served with Armenian lavash, baked potatoes, fresh sliced vegetables, bunches of parsley, basil and coriander.
During the cold season, you can prepare a salad from fresh seasonal vegetables, such as Chinese cabbage, celery, carrots and leafy greens, seasoning the dish with soy sauce and unrefined sunflower oil.
Regular tomato sauce, for example, “Krasnodarsky”, as well as spicy chili ketchup or homemade adjika, helps to emphasize the taste of barbecue.
Enjoy your meal!
