Adana Kebab
A minced-lamb kebab registered with a real Turkish geographical indication by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office in 2005, a genuine, specific national designation, not to be confused with a separate EU-level registration Adana holds for a completely different product, şalgam turnip-juice drink. Real Adana kebab is genuinely distinct from the site's existing Döner and İskender: döner is thin-sliced meat shaved off a vertical rotating spit, and İskender isn't even a separate meat preparation at all, it's a plated dish of döner meat over bread with tomato sauce and yogurt. Adana kebab, by contrast, starts from hand-minced young lamb, traditionally chopped with a rocking zırh knife rather than a grinder so the mixed-in lamb tail fat stays in visible flecks rather than emulsifying smooth, roughly three parts shoulder meat to one part rib meat, seasoned with red chili and chopped sweet red peppers, then molded onto wide flat skewers and grilled over charcoal.
Ingredients
- 600g lamb shoulder, coarsely minced
- 150g lamb tail fat (or extra fatty lamb), coarsely minced
- 2 sweet red peppers, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp red chili powder or paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- Flat metal skewers
Steps
- Coarsely mince or hand-chop the lamb and fat so the texture stays loose, not smooth.
- Mix in the chopped red peppers, chili powder, and salt by hand until just combined.
- Mold the mixture onto wide flat skewers, pressing firmly so it holds together.
- Grill over hot charcoal, turning occasionally, until charred outside and cooked through.
- Serve over flatbread with grilled tomatoes and peppers.