From Georgia with love

From Georgia with love. Recipes for real Caucasian shish kebab

Shashlik comes from the Caucasus. More precisely, different countries can argue about its origin, but it came to us, in Russia, specifically from the Caucasus Mountains. Therefore, the ideal kebab, the most faithful and tasty, is the one from Georgia, Dagestan or Armenia. We have collected tried and tested kebab recipes from Caucasian chefs or in the Caucasian style. There are a lot of herbs, spices, etc. vegetable oil. Specifically, it is one of the favorite marinades in the Caucasus.

We asked chefs native to the Caucasus about what Caucasian kebab is.

“Not a single Georgian feast is complete without shish kebab,” says Mamiya Jojua, chef of the Kazbek restaurant . — As a rule, it is necessary to cook it in nature; this creates a whole ritual: making meat, marinade and lighting a fire. One of the brightest recipes is Kakheti-style shish kebab - sliced beef marinated in reddish adjika, served with baked vegetables and Georgian sauces.

When making barbecue, you should limit yourself to very ordinary ingredients: salt, reddish and black pepper, onions and vegetable oil, says Eka Jikia, chef of the Acha-Chacha restaurant. “Such a simple recipe will help reveal the real taste of meat. Almost everyone marinates meat with lemon, kiwi, coriander, thyme and other various spices and fruits. Some people do this to emphasize the catchy taste of spices and seasonings, while others do it to hide the low quality of the product. In Abkhazia, and in the Caucasus as a whole, they do not use complex combinations in marinades. And I support this one hundred percent,” she says.

Veal shish kebab

Recipe by Badri Lemonjava, brand chef of Megobari restaurant

1 kg veal
200 g onions
20 g rock salt
Dark crushed pepper
Reddish ground paprika
200 ml vegetable oil

Step 1. Cut the veal into small pieces and place in a basin.

Step 2. Chop the onion, add it to the meat, along with spices and salt.

Step 3. Pour in oil, stir and leave to marinate for 3 hours.

Step 4. At this time, light a fire and wait for the burgundy coals to appear.

Step 5. Thread the meat onto a skewer and place it on the grill. We often turn the meat over so that the kebab is perfectly baked, but remains juicy.

Step 6. After cooking, remove the meat from the skewer. You can serve it on pita bread with a variety of sauces to choose from.

Pork neck shashlik

Recipe by Garik Manukyan, chef of the Khmeli&Suneli restaurant

1 kg pork neck
500 ml pomegranate juice
1 kg onions
6 g ground coriander
6 g ground paprika
4 g dark ground pepper
10 g salt

Step 2. Place the chopped meat in a marinating container, add salt and pepper, add coriander and paprika, leave for a while so that everything is absorbed.

Step 3. At this time, peel the onion, chop finely and mix with the meat.

Step 4. Add pomegranate juice to the meat in small portions, always mixing well. The juice should be distributed moderately throughout the mass.

Step 5. Cover the meat with a plate or lid and marinate for 6-10 hours.

Step 6. Fry the pieces of meat on the grill.

Traditional Caucasian kebab

Recipe by Pavel Pantet, chef of the Caucasian Captive restaurant

1 kg beef slices
300 g onion
12 g salt
Dark ground pepper

200 g tomatoes
70 ml water
5 g dry adjika
1 tooth garlic
Salt and sugar
bunch of cilantro
Spices (khmeli-suneli, utskho-suneli, coriander)

Step 1. Cut the cooked, cooled beef into medium portions, approximately 4 cm each. If the pieces are small, the meat may turn out dry or overcooked, and large pieces may be raw inside.

Step 2. For the marinade, cut the onion into thin half rings. Add salt and dark pepper, stir vigorously until juice appears.

Step 3. Mix the resulting marinade with pieces of beef and let sit for about an hour.

Step 4. Fry the meat over coals. It is important that the coals are moderately heated “to a grayish color.” Then it will be possible to achieve uniform roasting of the meat.

Step 5. Fry until done, depending on the desired degree of doneness.

Step 6. Prepare the sauce: blanch the freshest tomatoes, remove the skin and puree in a blender.

Step 7. Add water, salt, sugar, adjika, finely chopped garlic, spices to the resulting tomato mass and cook for 15-20 minutes over low heat.

Step 8. Cool the sauce and combine with finely chopped cilantro.

Lamb loin on charcoal

Recipe by Grigory Meneshyan, chef of the Khachapuria restaurant

300 g lamb loin
10 g salt
2 g dark pepper
2 g coriander
10 ml sunflower oil

Step 1. Prepare the marinade for the loin: add salt, pepper, and coriander to the sunflower oil.

Step 2. Carefully rub the marinade over the lamb loin and leave to marinate for an hour.

Step 3. Grill for 25 minutes, turning occasionally.

Step 4. Serve with fresh herbs.

Pork chalagach in Armenian style

Recipe by Igor Ten, brand chef of Zharovnya restaurants

320 g pork loin on the bone
30 g reddish onion
40 g salsa sauce
cilantro leaves
Dark peppercorns
15 g mayonnaise
5 ml lemon juice
1 pita bread
30 g pickled onions

Step 1. Prepare the marinade by mixing mayonnaise, salsa, salt, pepper, 15 grams of red onion and lemon juice.

Step 2. Marinate the pork in the prepared mixture for 2 hours. Grill until cooked through and golden brown.

Step 3. Place the loin on pita bread, garnish with the freshest cilantro leaves, salsa sauce and pickled red onions.

Veal kebab with thyme

The creator of the recipe is Fuad Aliyev, brand chef of the Zafferano restaurant chain.

1 kg veal
100 g onion
13 g salt
3 g dark pepper
5 g thyme

Veal kebab: individual production, recipes

Young veal has an indescribably tender taste. It can be a wonderful substitute for such common types of meat as pork and chicken. Dishes made from it turn out to be very fragrant, soft, and most importantly, not dry. After reading this article, you will learn how to cook veal kebab.

Main aspects

The best kebab comes from the freshest chilled meat. Steamed veal contains quite a lot of blood (the internal environment of the human and animal body) , so it is not at all suitable for these purposes. Meat that has already been in the freezer at one point is also not suitable for frying over a fire. In this case, it loses most of the nutrients, and the dish made from it is not juicy enough.

To ensure that the meat is moderately fried, it is cut into approximately similar five-centimeter pieces. It is equally important not to over-salt the veal. Otherwise, it will give out all the juices and be dry. As for the marinade, today there are a huge number of different options for its production. But here there is one fundamental point. It is not recommended to use vinegar for these purposes. It is better to replace it with kefir or any other suitable product. To make the skewer pierce the meat more easily, the end is strung not across, but along the fibers. It is important to ensure that there is little free space between the pieces that can be filled with onion rings.

In order to prepare a juicy and tender veal kebab, the recipe for which will be discussed in this publication, you need to pay special attention to the choice of firewood. For example, coniferous trees emit resin, which impairs the taste of the dish. Therefore, they should not be used to make a fire on which meat will be fried. It is best to stock up on birch, linden, apricot, plum or cherry branches for these purposes.

During the frying process, it is important not to leave the meat unattended for a minute. Otherwise, it may burn. If a flame suddenly breaks out in the fire during production, it must be extinguished immediately. It is also necessary to twist the skewers from time to time so that the pieces of meat strung on them are moderately cooked.

The veal shish kebab is removed from the coals only after a beautiful golden crust appears on it. To check the readiness of the meat, make a small cut on it. If clear juice comes out of it, then it’s time to serve the kebab. Lavash is usually used as a side dish, as well as any boiled, baked or fresh vegetables. If desired, various hot sauces are served with the shish kebab, which perfectly highlight the tender taste of the meat.

Option with kefir marinade

Using this recipe, you can prepare a very tasty kebab that both adults and children will enjoy. The drink imparts unusual juiciness and softness to the meat. And the presence of spices makes it the most fragrant. Before you go into the forest, check that you have put all the necessary products in your backpack. Now you will need:

Two kilograms of veal pulp.
Seven onions.
A liter of kefir.
Half a bunch of cilantro.

To marinate a delicious veal kebab, additionally bring table salt and spices with you.

Method of action

Remove the film from previously washed and dried meat and cut it into portions. After this, it is placed in an enamel container. They also send there for previously peeled and cut into rings onions. All this is salted, seasoned with spices, poured with kefir and mixed.

The future veal kebab, the recipe for which is discussed in this article, is covered with a lid and left in a cold place under pressure for twelve hours. After this, the marinated meat is threaded onto skewers, alternating it with onions, and fried until cooked. During cooking, the veal is occasionally sprinkled with hot water. The completely finished dish is decorated with cilantro and served to the table. It mixes well with the freshest vegetables. In addition, you can serve it with virtually any sauce, including ketchup, tkemali or adjika.

Option with vegetables

This is not only a very tasty, but also an incredibly healthy dish. To prepare it, you need not only to stock up on certain products, but also time. Would you like to find out how to marinate veal for barbecue? Make sure you have everything you need on hand. In this case, you have at your disposal:

Bell pepper – 2 pcs.
A kilogram of veal.
One ripe tomato and one eggplant each.
A tablespoon of vinegar (optional, because it’s better to do without it).
Onion head.

In addition, you need to stock up on aromatic pepper, table salt and spices. The amount of these seasonings mainly depends on the taste preferences of the cook and his family.

Manufacturing development

Before all this, you should take care of the veal. The meat is washed in cool water, dried with cardboard towels, and, if necessary, cleaned of films and veins. The product prepared using this method is cut into portions and placed in a deep container.

After this, washed slices of vegetables, salt, pepper and spices are sent to the meat. The future veal kebab, the calorie content of 100 grams of which is about 72 kcal, is poured with water mixed with a tablespoon of 70% vinegar, covered with a lid, pressed down with something languid and left for three or four hours.

After this time, the marinated meat and vegetables are threaded onto separate skewers and fried over coals. They are cooked separately due to the fact that veal takes even longer to bake than tomatoes or eggplants. With all this, it is necessary to occasionally pour the marinade poured into a bottle over the food. Serve ready-made kebab with pita bread, tomato sauce and herbs.

Option with beer

Meat marinated according to this recipe will be particularly soft and have a light bready smell. During the frying process, all the alcohol will completely evaporate, so this dish can be given to children very quietly. In order for you to get a real Caucasian veal kebab, you need to go to the market in advance for the freshest products. With all this, the list you compiled should include:

A kilo of veal pulp.
Half a liter of dark beer.
A teaspoon of pink or aromatic pepper.
Onion head.
Salt.

Process description

To ensure that your guests enjoy the veal shish kebab you prepare, you don’t need to add salt to the kebab marinade. In all other respects, this recipe is not very different from other similar options.

Place the previously washed and chopped meat into a suitable saucepan. Chopped onions and crushed peppers are also sent there. All this is poured with beer and put in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

After this time, the meat is removed from the marinade, placed on skewers, added a little salt and sent to the coals. To ensure that the pieces come out juicy and moderately cooked, they are turned over from time to time. Ready-made veal shish kebab is served with the freshest vegetables, herbs or red wine.

Option with lemon juice

Meat marinated using this method can be easily recognized by its special, unique taste. So that your family can try this dish, you need to prepare all the required ingredients in advance. In this case, you should have:

A kilo of veal pulp.
A quarter glass of lemon juice.
Two hundred ml of snow-white semi-dry wine.
Three heads of onions.

To prevent your grilled veal kebab from coming out bland and tasteless, you need to add additional table salt and spices.

Sequencing

Before all this, you need to deal with the meat. It is washed under running cold water, dried with cardboard towels, cut into medium pieces and placed in a suitable saucepan. Shish kebab seasoning and lemon juice are added to the same bowl. Mix everything well and put it in the refrigerator for half an hour.

After 30 minutes, add onion ground in a meat grinder to the container with meat. Everything is thoroughly mixed and returned to the refrigerator. While the veal is marinating, you should start preparing the fire and grill. After the burnt wood has turned into coals, you can start frying the meat. To do this, lightly add salt, string it on skewers and send it to the grill. During frying, the future veal kebab is occasionally poured with snow-white semi-dry wine and often turned over. Thanks to this, the meat will have time to cook moderately and be imbued with a pleasant grape smell.

How to marinate veal and barbecue it

Shashlik is a common dish of the Caucasian peoples, which, with age, increasingly occupies its place of honor on the tables of the peoples of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland and other countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

What exactly is shish kebab? These are coarsely chopped and marinated pieces of meat, which are then strung on a skewer and fried over hot coals.

Now we would like to offer you to cook veal kebab. After all, veal differs from other types of meat (pork, beef, lamb, etc.) in its special juiciness and tenderness - so the kebab turns out simply wonderful!

Ingredients	Quantity
veal (cut) –	3 kg
Bulgarian onion (large) –	1 kg
spice mixture “For barbecue” –	100 g
rock salt –	1 tbsp.
aromatic pepper -	10 peas
laurel -	7 leaves
vinegar -	250 ml
sunflower oil -	100 ml
Production time: 60 minutes	Calorie content per 100 g: 250 Kcal

Making veal shish kebab with onions:

Prepare a container for marinating. It is better if it is a large enamel pan with a lid;
Cut the chilled veal into portions of similar size (4x4cm). Sprinkle the meat with the spice mixture and salt. Add aromatic peppercorns, as well as bay leaves, and then carefully stir all the ingredients, trying to “rub” the spices into the meat with your hands;
To make shish kebab, it is better to choose large onion heads, because its rings will also be strung on a skewer next. Cut the peeled onion into rings, and then add it to the meat, stir everything again and, covering the container with a lid, leave for 6-8 hours - the meat needs to marinate properly;
After the designated time has passed, the meat should be poured with vegetable oil and wine vinegar. Then mix well again and leave again in a cold place for 1-2 hours;
In the meantime, start preparing the coals (there is still just enough to light a fire and bring the charcoal to the desired condition);
Start threading ingredients onto a skewer, alternating pieces of veal with onion rings;
Place the skewers over the smoldering charcoal and, turning constantly, fry the kebab until cooked (when you cut a piece of meat, clear juice should come out of it);
Serve the finished veal kebab to the table directly from the fire, complementing it with the freshest vegetables and your favorite drinks.

Caucasian style veal shashlik

An ordinary Caucasian-style veal kebab is exactly the dish that anyone should definitely learn to cook! After all, you literally won’t taste the most tender, juicy and fragrant meat!

Young veal itself is distinguished by its tenderness and piquancy of taste, and wine and herbs, which are traditionally used for marinating, further complement it and emphasize the real, rich taste and smell of real Caucasian kebab, which is simply impossible to tear yourself away from!

veal shoulder or sliced – 4 kg;
dry reddish wine – 1 l;
onions (large) – 6 pcs.;
rosemary, suneli hops, cilantro - 1 tsp each;
thyme - to taste;
mint - a small pinch;
table salt - to taste;
pepper mixture - to taste;
vegetable oil – 200 ml.

How else can you marinate veal for barbecue?

As the first rays of May begin to peek through, the picnic and barbecue season opens, which, perhaps, has been expected all winter. They start from all sides

the enticing smells of grilling kebabs and freshly cut grass can be heard. So, let’s look at some more delicious recipes for marinating veal kebab, which will definitely leave everyone in ecstasy!

On mineral water

highly carbonated mineral water – 1.5 l;
mayonnaise (67%) – 380 g;
salt – 25 g;
mixture of aromatic and black pepper (ground) – 3 tsp;
spices “For shish kebab” (without salt) – 50 g;
onions – 5 pcs.

Production time: 10 minutes.

Calorie content per 100 g: 57 kcal.

This amount of marinade will be enough to marinate 3 kg of meat. Mix mayonnaise, salt, a mixture of peppers and spices in a deep container;
Peeled onions need to be chopped as finely as possible, as a standard - it is better to pass it through a press or a meat grinder (you can use a blender). Add onion mixture to mayonnaise;
Coat the chopped pieces of veal on all sides with the prepared sauce, then pour in mineral water and immediately close the lid. Leave the meat in the marinade for a day;
Meat for making shish kebab, marinated according to this recipe, comes out indescribably juicy, one might even say “melting”, because mineral water breaks down the meat fibers during the marinating process, and the onion juice then saturates them. Be sure to try it, you won’t regret it!

Read how to prepare tartlets with reddish fish.

How to cook sterlet baked in the oven with vegetables, cheese and herbs - our recipes will make the dish even tastier.

Take note of the recipes for regular and savory kefir muffins.

Kefir

Ingredients for making:

drink (2.5%) – 1 l;
Bulgarian onion – 2 heads;
salt - to taste;
green cilantro - a bunch.

Production time: 10 min.

Calorie content per 100 g: 45 kcal.

Wash a bunch of cilantro, shake off excess water, and then finely chop;
Bulgarian onions need to be cut into half rings, and then lightly rinsed with your hands - the onion should release juice.
Mix onion, cilantro, salt and drink in a deep bowl;
Dip chopped young veal (2 kg) into the prepared marinade, stir and let stand for 8 hours.

Tip: to make a delicious kebab, you need to choose specifically chilled meat. Because the one that was pre-frozen loses its juiciness, and the steamed one has a lot of bruises.

Beef and veal shish kebab

Beef is not the most obvious thing that comes to mind as a raw material for making kebab. To prevent the meat from coming out dry, it is better to fry it in a huge piece, in the form of a steak. But, for example, in Georgia, mtsvadi kebabs are often prepared specifically from beef, for which the meat is put on a skewer not in separate pieces, but in long, thin tongues. Beef withstands heat unsurpassedly, does not crumble into fibers, and marinades made from reddish wine and pomegranate juice help it become softer. Warm veal, on the contrary, is perfectly suitable for frying on a skewer or on a grid. She doesn’t ask for any softening, except maybe a little white wine and dark or reddish pepper, just for taste. And to give the slightly spineless veal some extra color, use the freshest sauces - with notes of orange, herbs, and exotic fruits.

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