Kebab is a common name for various skewered meat dishes from Turkey. Marinated meat is placed on a skewer and grilled slowly over hot coals. It is a symbol of Turkish cuisine, a legacy of ancient times of the Ottomans when soldiers who camped in tents skewered the meat on their swords and cooked them over an open fire.
Today, skewers are made either from wood or metal, with wide, flat surfaces that help in holding the meat in place. They are also easy to flip over the coals. The key to a great kebab is in the marinades which differ from region to region, but they usually contain olive oil, lemon juice, onion, garlic, salt and pepper and Turkish spices such as cumin, hot pepper flakes, and paprika.
The dish is quite spicy in the end, and the meat used is usually lamb or beef. There are numerous varieties of kebab dishes, such as shish kebab, adana kebabi, urfa kebabi, beyti kebab, and the famous Döner kebab, where the shavings of this turning kebab are stuffed in a soft tortilla and eaten with various condiments, sauces, and salads.
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This recipe for traditional gyros is adapted for at-home preparation. Pork tenderloin is the main ingredient, and extra softness is achieved by marinating the meat in a blend of herbs, oil, vinegar, and honey. The meat is prepared in a frying pan and served inside a pita bread with tzatziki, onion, and tomato. Tzatziki can be substituted with yogurt or with mustard and mayonnaise sauce.
This recipe suggests preparing gyros with a mixture of ground pork and beef and is adapted for at-home preparation. The meat is baked in the oven, and the main trick is to grind it three times so it absorbs as much flavor as possible.
The following is the traditional Greek pork souvlaki recipe. The meat is marinated in a simple marinade of just onion, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, pepper, and salt for a minimum of five hours, then skewered and grilled. Don't forget to soak the skewers overnight because soaked wood has a lower chance of catching fire.
The following recipe gives instructions on how to make souvlaki with a yogurt marinade. The marinade is seasoned with tomato purée, smoked paprika, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper and is used not just as a marinade but as a sauce to serve the meat with. The meat of choice is pork shoulder.
Although not traditional, fish souvlaki is becoming more and more common in Greece today. The following recipe makes for four servings of fish souvlaki, each accompanied by pita bread, cherry tomatoes, and yogurt sauce. To make souvlaki easier to eat on the go, wrap each in parchment paper, but be careful how you fill the pita bread. Add the toppings only to the top and middle part of the pita bread so that when standing vertically, the juices and the toppings do not fall out.
This recipe explains how to make original Lebanese shawarma in a way adapted for at-home preparation. Instead of being grilled on a rotating skewer, the meat is first sautéed in a pan and then cooked with water. This recipe suggests serving the shawarma wrapped in a classic pita bread together with tahini-based sauce and fresh vegetables.
This recipe shows how to make shawarma at home without a rotating cone. After marinating overnight, the meat can be prepared on an electric grill or in an oven, and if you wish, you can partially replace a part of the beef with lamb — preferably, choose a piece that is not completely lean. Also, the recipe suggests serving shawarma wrapped in pita bread together with French fries, among other things, which, although not traditional, is a very common practice these days.
This recipe shows how to make a light but flavorful chicken shawarma. Other than in marinating the meat, the key is in using dark chicken meat, such as thighs, because it has a higher fat percentage than the lean parts such as breasts, resulting in more succulent and flavorful meat.
The following is the recipe for the Turkish version of the döner kebab sandwich. This classic dish brings together tender ground beef infused with yogurt, thyme, and a hint of spice, resulting in flavorful slices of döner kebab. Layered with crisp pickled cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, and tangy onion sumac salad, all nestled between halves of soft döner bread, this sandwich offers a delightful blend of textures and tastes. And don't forget the crispy potato fries for the perfect finishing touch. The recipe is courtesy of Refika Birgül, a food writer and television presenter with a massively popular YT channel, Refika's Kitchen.
The following is the recipe for the German version of the döner kebab sandwich. This mouthwatering dish combines tender ground beef seasoned with yogurt, thyme, and a touch of spice, resulting in flavorful slices of döner kebab that are sure to please. Layered between soft döner bread, you'll find a medley of textures and flavors, from crisp lettuce to tangy pickled cucumbers and a refreshing çoban salad, plus the creamy red and white sauces that tie it all together. This German döner kebab sandwich is a delicious taste of German street food that you can enjoy anytime, perfect for a casual meal at home or a gathering with friends. The recipe is courtesy of Refika Birgül, a food writer and television presenter with a massively popular YT channel, Refika's Kitchen.
A classic Adana kebab is made from a young male lamb’s meat that has been naturally grown and fed. Ideally, 75% of the meat should come from the lamb’s shoulder and 25% from the ribs. Traditionally, Adana kebabs are served with grilled tomatoes and peppers and onion salad with sumac on the side. This recipe is adapted from the official Türkiye Culture Portal website.
Adapted from the Sultan's Kitchen: A Turkish Cookbook by Ozcan Ozan, this recipe gives instructions on how to prepare a basic şiş tavuk with a marinade of yogurt, lemon juice, and garlic.
Adapted from the Everyday Lebanese Cooking by Mona Hamadeh, this recipe gives instructions on how to prepare şiş tavuk with chicken and vegetables, in this case, peppers, but you can use other kind as well such as onions and tomatoes, and even mushrooms.
Urfa kebabs are known as the non-spicy variant of the Adana kebab. Both dishes are prepared in largely the same way, but Urfa kebabs are often seasoned only with salt and served with grilled tomatoes and green peppers, onions, fresh parsley, and lemon. This recipe is adapted from the official Türkiye Culture Portal website.
Much like dürüm Adana kebabs, beytî kebabs are also wrapped in lavash, but they are cut into finger-sized slices, topped with tomato sauce, yogurt, and sautéed peppers and tomatoes.
Adapted from Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, this recipe shows how to prepare different types of şiş tavuk: Lebanese, Turkish, Moroccan, and Iranian.
The following recipe gives instructions on preparing şiş tavuk with a marinade, which also has tomato paste that helps tenderize the meat even more. Although the recipe does not state so, leaving the meat to marinate in the refrigerator for a few hours, but ideally, overnight is advised.
In addition to Urfa pepper flakes, this Adana kebab is seasoned with cumin and sumac. Since it is a recreation of the Adana kebab recipe for those outside Türkiye, this recipe excludes the use of tail fat, which is often hard to come by. The recipe is courtesy of J. Kenji López-Alt, food writer, cook, and New York Times best-selling author.
This recipe gives instructions on how to make İskender kebap in a way adapted for at-home preparation. The dish needs to be done in stages. Making the döner is the most time-consuming because the meat needs to marinate overnight, and then it needs to freeze so the meat is easier to slice. Once that is done, the rest of the dish can be prepared on the same day. This recipe makes for 10 portions, but if you want to make fewer portions, just slice less meat and keep the rest in the freezer until you want to prepare İskender kebap again.
The following is a recipe for the authentic tombik döner sandwich. To make the döner, tender ground beef infused with yogurt, thyme, and a hint of spice, resulting in flavorful slices of meat. The döner meat is layered with crisp pickled cucumbers, crispy potato fries, juicy tomatoes, and tangy onion sumac salad inside a pide bread, the recipe for which is also provided. The recipe is courtesy of Refika Birgül, a food writer and television presenter with a massively popular YT channel, Refika's Kitchen.
The following is the authentic cağ kebabı recipe. Pieces of lamb rib and leg of lamb meat are marinated in salt, pepper, and onion mixture and then stacked onto a rotisserie skewer and grilled over an open fire. The meat should marinate for 24 hours, so take that into account when deciding to prepare this dish.
Unlike traditional İskender kebap, this recipe shows how to make one with steak and not with döner meat. The meat needs to freeze first for easier slicing; then, it needs time to thaw once sliced, so take that into account when planning on making this recipe.
The following is the traditional mtsvadi recipe, adapted from the official tourism website of Georgia (georgia.travel). The pork is marinated in a mixture of onions and pomegranate juice and grilled over embers.
The following is the traditional recipe for Çökertme kebabı consisting of crispy thin fried potatoes topped with tender and seasoned beef, a garlicky yogurt sauce, and a tomato sauce. This version is a bit upgraded, meaning it features more spices than a classic version. The recipe is courtesy of Refika Birgül, a food writer and television presenter with a massively popular YT channel, Refika's Kitchen.
This recipe for traditional gyros is adapted for at-home preparation. Pork tenderloin is the main ingredient, and extra softness is achieved by marinating the meat in a blend of herbs, oil, vinegar, and honey. The meat is prepared in a frying pan and served inside a pita bread with tzatziki, onion, and tomato. Tzatziki can be substituted with yogurt or with mustard and mayonnaise sauce.