Barra kebab with salad
6 servings
240 minutes
Shashlik barra-kebab with salad is a traditional dish of Arab cuisine that combines rich spice aromas and the natural juiciness of lamb. Its roots go deep into Eastern traditions where meat is carefully marinated with onion, lemon, lime, and spices to achieve tenderness and rich flavor. The addition of salted pork fat and tail fat gives the shashlik unique juiciness, making it incredibly tender. The dish is cooked over coals, allowing the meat to develop an appetizing crust and smoky aroma. A salad of radish, onion, and tomatoes dressed with wine vinegar and olive oil highlights the spiciness of the meat and refreshes the taste. It is an ideal treat for friendly gatherings and family celebrations, offering a sense of Eastern hospitality and warmth.
1
First, prepare the meat - two shoulders of young lamb. A simpler option: the back of the lamb without the lower third of the shank. Remove all membranes, veins, and bones, as well as fat, from the meat with a sharp thin knife. Cut the remaining flesh into small cubes with sides of 3–3.5 cm.
- Mutton: 1 kg
- Salted pork fat: 300 g
2
Prepare the marinade. Peel 3 large onions and grind them through a meat grinder. Squeeze lemon and lime. Add finely chopped fresh cilantro, a large pinch of crushed cumin, a pinch of pepper, and a little salt (if the fat is well salted, then it's not needed). Place the meat in the marinade, mix well, and refrigerate for about four hours.
- Onion: 4 pieces
- Lemon: 1 piece
- Lime: 1 piece
- Coriander: to taste
- Ground cumin (zira): to taste
- Ground black pepper: to taste
- Salt: to taste
3
Now take pork fat (brisket or belly — with meat streaks), salted with garlic, and fat in a 3:1 ratio. Cut into thin squares of the same size as the meat, but 4-5 mm thick (the fat can be thinner). Sprinkle the slices of fat and brisket with cumin and pepper, and also send them to the refrigerator.
- Fat tail fat: 100 g
- Salted pork fat: 300 g
- Ground cumin (zira): to taste
- Ground black pepper: to taste
4
Salad. Clean the radish and grate it. Slice the onion into thin half-rings. Mix radish with onion, add vinegar, olive oil, pepper, and salt, stir. Let it sit for 2 hours. Meanwhile, chop a large tomato like the onion. Drain the marinade and mix in the tomato, then refrigerate the salad.
- Green radish: 1 piece
- Onion: 4 pieces
- Wine vinegar: 3 tablespoons
- Olive oil: 1 tablespoon
- Ground black pepper: to taste
- Salt: to taste
- Tomatoes: 1 piece
5
If there is concern that the meat may be tough, an hour before cooking the shashlik, you can peel one small kiwi and mash it in your hands, mixing it into the meat with the marinade.
- Carbonated water: 0.5 l
6
Before cooking, the future shashlik should be kept in fresh air for five minutes. Grill over hot coals first on one side, then on the other (the distance from the meat to the coals should be about five centimeters) for 8–12 minutes depending on the desired doneness. A minute before it's ready, remove each skewer, sprinkle with cold carbonated water, and return to the coals.
7
Place the salad on a large plate, sprinkle with finely chopped green onions, arrange the skewers with shashlik on another plate, and serve.
- Green onions: 3 pieces