Lamb Shashlyk Skewers
People avoid lamb because of its smell, but that lives almost entirely in the membranes and the hard surface fat — trim them and you are left with clean, sweet meat. Vinegar has no place here: acid tightens the fibres and dries the meat. What works is plenty of onion juice, oil and cumin, which was made for lamb.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Rest
- 8 h
- Total
- 8 h 40 min
- Servings
- 6
- Level
- Medium
- Per serving
- 520 kcal
Ingredients
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What to use instead
Young lamb needs only 4 hours of marinating, as it is tender already.
Makes: 6 skewers
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Trim the meat
Cut away the membranes and the hard yellowish fat — that is where the strong smell sits. Leave the soft white fat, which keeps the meat juicy.
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Step 2: Cut into cubes
Cut the lamb into 4 cm pieces across the grain. Smaller ones dry out over fierce heat before they can brown.
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Step 3: Make onion juice
Blitz three onions to a pulp and squeeze it through a sieve — the juice goes into the marinade, not the pulp, which burns on the fire.
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Step 4: Marinate
Rub the cumin between your palms to wake it up, then mix it with the meat, onion juice, oil, coriander and pepper. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
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Step 5: Salt before grilling
Take the meat out 30 minutes ahead, salt it and toss. Salting earlier only draws out the juices.
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Step 6: Thread the skewers
Thread tightly, alternating leaner pieces with fattier ones: the melting fat bastes everything next to it.
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Step 7: Grill
The coals should be ashed over. Keep the skewers 12 cm above them for 13–15 minutes, turning every 3 minutes.
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Step 8: Serve
Rest the meat for 5 minutes, scatter with rings of the fourth onion and parsley and squeeze over the lemon.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Don't cook lamb through: keep the centre pink or it turns dry.
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Variation
A spoon of dried mint or sumac in the marinade — both are classics with lamb.
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Swap
Young lamb needs only 4 hours of marinating, as it is tender already.
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Storage
Cooked skewers keep 2 days; reheat only in foil in the oven, never in a microwave.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 6 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 520 kcal | 3,120 kcal |
| Protein | 41 g | 246 g |
| Fat | 37 g | 222 g |
| Carbohydrates | 5 g | 30 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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