Homemade Adana Kebab
The famous hand-minced lamb kebab of Adana, spiced with pepper paste and chilli flakes and grilled on wide skewers. Here is how to get it right at home.
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Ingredients
600g minced lamb, minimum 20% fat, ideally coarsely minced
100g lamb tail fat or lamb breast fat, very finely chopped (optional but authentic)
1 red bell pepper, finely grated and squeezed very dry
1 tbsp mild red pepper paste
2 tsp hot pepper flakes
1 tsp isot (Urfa chilli) flakes
1.5 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 red onions, thinly sliced, for the sumac onion salad
2 tsp sumac
1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
4 large tortilla or lavash-style flatbreads, to serve
Instructions
- 1
Combine the lamb, chopped fat, grated pepper, pepper paste, hot pepper flakes, isot, salt and black pepper in a large bowl. Knead firmly for 8-10 minutes until the mixture is sticky and holds together when pressed.
- 2
Cover and chill for at least 1 hour. A cold, well-rested mixture grips the skewers far better and will not fall off over the heat.
- 3
Divide into 4 portions. With wet hands, mould each portion along a wide flat skewer, squeezing gently with your fingers to create the classic ridged shape about 1.5cm thick. No flat skewers? Shape the meat into long flat sausages for the grill instead.
- 4
Prepare a BBQ with white-hot coals, or heat a grill pan until smoking. Cook the kebabs for 3-4 minutes per side, turning once, until charred outside and just cooked through.
- 5
While the kebabs cook, warm the flatbreads over the grill for a few seconds and toss the sliced onions with sumac, parsley and a pinch of salt.
- 6
Lay the cooked kebabs on the warm bread so it soaks up the juices, slide them off the skewers, and rest for 2 minutes.
- 7
Serve with the sumac onions, grilled tomatoes and green peppers, and a glass of ice-cold salgam or ayran.
Adana kebab is one of Turkey's proudest exports: seasoned minced lamb pressed along wide flat skewers and grilled over glowing coals until the fat drips and the outside blisters. In its home city the recipe is protected, made only with hand-minced lamb and tail fat, but a very convincing version is well within reach of a UK kitchen or garden BBQ.
Two things matter most. First, fat: ask your butcher for lamb mince with at least 20 percent fat, ideally with some lamb breast or tail fat worked in, because that is what keeps the kebab juicy and helps it grip the skewer. Second, the chilli: a combination of hot pepper flakes, dark smoky isot and sweet red pepper paste gives Adana its signature colour and slow-building heat.
Traditionally the kebab is served on warm flatbread that catches the juices, with sumac onions, grilled tomatoes and long green peppers. The classic drink alongside is salgam, the fermented turnip juice of Adana, or a cold ayran, both of which you can order from Turkish Online Market along with every spice in this recipe.
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