One of our readers, Sercan Bey, wrote the Adana Kebab recipe in the most detailed way possible for us. He explained it so masterfully that I was amazed.
All I have to do is read it and share it with you.
Thank you for sharing his vast knowledge and experience with us.
Happy reading and applications :)
Ingredients for Adana Kebab (Detailed Description) Recipe
Adana skewer:
- Definitely not Aluminum or Steel. Iron skewer will be the best choice. Care should be taken to ensure that it is well-maintained and clean as it may rust.
- Steel and Aluminum get too hot and dry your meat from the inside!
Armor :
- There is no kebab from meat that has been ground in a meat grinder. A well-honed, sharp armor is a must for pulling your flesh. The large double handle Antep Forged Armor makes your work easier.
- Available in steel armor. The most important thing here is that the armor you use is sharp. Otherwise, your meat will be crushed and you will get tired.
1 kg Lamb Meat:
- Definitely not milk lamb! Preferably, it will be a male animal between the ages of 1-2, the meat will be mixed with 750 g of the arm and 250 g of the back parts, and the nerves will be removed as much as possible.
- It should neither be low-fat nor too-oily. It makes your job easier to cut the cubes with a knife as sharp as possible without entering the armor. (If you are looking for maximum flavor, the animal to be selected for this job must be slaughtered at least 10 days ago.
- Sacrificial ram meat is very suitable for this job. After the meat is cut, it should be rested in a cold environment of 5-6 degrees for 7 days. After the first resting, it is useful to rest the meat, which is cut into pieces and cut into cubes, at the same temperature for 1-2 more days.
Tail oil:
- Generally, 250 – 300 g tail fat is used per kilogram of lean lamb meat. Depending on the fat condition of the meat, you can use 50-100 gr less fat. The trick here is to never use less lard. Because what makes kebab kebab is the tail fat put in it.
- When you prepare the mixture, it may seem too oily to you. Don't be deceived! Almost half of most kebabs you eat out are tail fat! When you see uncooked, bottled Adana kebabs in any kebab shop, you can see that they have a redder color than your mix. This color is not the color of the meat, but the color of the red pepper put into it. (For maximum flavor, use the tail fat of the animal you are using for meat.)
Hot red pepper:
- 1 kg of meat, one third of a glass of red pepper flakes, If desired, a teaspoon of isot can be added. (For maximum flavor, lightly roasted root pepper (the raw material of red pepper flakes) can be used instead of chili peppers.) If chili peppers are to be used, they should be soaked in the glass one day beforehand. I will write the details below.
Enough Salt:
- A little coarsely ground sea salt adds flavor to the flavor of your kebab. Salt ratio in kebab should be adjusted very well. The salt of the kebab should not be missed because it will be healthy! In fact, it would be beneficial if it was a little saltier than normal.
Nail pita:
- It will be necessary to remove the fat while cooking the meat. While the excess oil is cooking, it drips onto the coal and ignites the fire or extinguishes it completely. It's good to have it fresh. It can be obtained from a lahmacuncun shop.
As you can see, the ingredients are quite simple (meat, lard, pepper and salt.) Nothing else goes into the kebab!
How to Make Adana Kebab (Detailed Description) Recipe?
- Grind the nerves and rested meat into minced meat in armor. Do not crush the meat and do not leave it at room temperature for too long. You don't need to grind it into minced meat, it's good to leave it fresh. After pulling the meat in the armor, put it in a container and put it back in the refrigerator.
- Pull the tail fat in the armor in the same way as the meat.
- Put the ground meat and tail fat in a bowl.
- Squeeze the juice of 3/1 glass of soaked red pepper flakes and mix it into the meat. It is useful to soak it the day before. (The original recipe uses root peppers. If you have such an opportunity, you can use half the same amount of roasted and cooled root peppers by pulling them into the armor again.) Tip: You can miss the pepper a little, but definitely don't overdo it. The flavor of the meat is spoiled.
- Mix enough salt into the meat.
- Knead all the ingredients. Take care not to crush the meat while kneading and never wet your hands. After kneading, it is useful to pass the meat through the armor once again. But it doesn't matter too much. Even if you don't.
- Keep the thoroughly mixed ingredients in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
- Attach the waiting material to the skewers. If you have successfully followed the entire recipe so far. There will be no question of your meat not staying on the skewer while it is cooking. Get peace of mind when bottled meats. Take enough meat to fill your palm and stick it so that the bottle is the same thickness everywhere. Seal the bottom and top of the meat with the bottle firmly to the bottle. Don't be too thick. Don't be too thin. One part should not be thick and one part should not be thin. You will improve yourself in this business over time. Tip: Wet your hands minimally or not at all. I know the meat will stick to your hands. But remember that every time you wet your hands, the meat absorbs this water. The meat, which is bottled by using excess water, will be boiled when it is thrown into the fire right after and the taste of your kebab will be lost. It may be helpful to use a glove. If you can't do anything, let your meat rest for 6 hours after inserting the bottle so that the excess water drains off the meat.
Cooking:
- It is beneficial to use abundant and high quality coal. (oak charcoal may be preferred) Place your skewers on the coal that has become embers. Cook both sides of your meat evenly, turning it frequently.
- Once in a while you need to remove the oil from the kebab. Take the skewers between the pita bread several times - on a flat surface - to absorb the oil without pressing too much. (Do not try to absorb the fat of the meat with the pita in the slanted plate, the skewer should not be bent at all while removing the fat.)
- Your meat is cooked when it turns dark on the outside. Do not over dry. Pull your skewers between the pita you soaked in oil before.
All that's left is to eat with pleasure :)
A must-have is the onion salad with sumac. Mint, tomato, parsley, roasted green pepper, roasted tomato. Ezme salad, Gavurdagi salad go well.
V. Sercan Bahtiyar