Spicy Adana Kebab

About This Recipe

Adana kebab is the national pride of Adana, Turkey — a city that takes its kebab very seriously. The meat must be hand-minced (never machine-ground), mixed with tail fat and biber salçası (red pepper paste) for authentic flavour. Grilled over charcoal and served with flatbread, sumac-onion salad and roasted peppers.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 500 glamb shoulder(hand-minced or coarsely ground)
• 200 gbeef (80/20)(hand-minced)
• 2 tspTurkish red pepper flakes (pul biber)
• 1 tbspred pepper paste (biber salçası)(available at Turkish/Middle Eastern stores)
• 1 tspcumin
• 1 tspsumac
• 1 tspground coriander
• 1.5 tspfine sea salt
• 1large red onion(half grated, half thinly sliced for salad)
• 2green chillies(whole, for grilling)
• 1ripe tomato(halved)
• 2lavash flatbreads

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the meat

   If using a butcher, ask them to mince the lamb shoulder twice through a coarse plate. Combine lamb and beef in a large bowl.

2. 2

   Season and knead

   Add grated onion (squeeze out moisture first), pepper paste, pul biber, cumin, coriander, sumac and salt. Knead the mixture with your hands for 5 minutes until it becomes sticky and homogenous. The protein strands need to bind so the kebab holds its shape.

   Chilling the mixture 30 minutes makes it easier to mould onto skewers.

3. 3

   Shape the kebabs

   Divide mixture into 8 portions. Using flat (sword) skewers or soaked wooden skewers, mould the meat around the skewer, pressing firmly into a long sausage shape. Wetting your hands helps.

4. 4

   Grill over high heat

   Grill over charcoal or on a preheated cast-iron grill pan over maximum heat. Grill 3–4 minutes per side, turning once. Grill chillies and tomatoes alongside.

5. 5

   Rest and serve

   Rest kebabs 3 minutes. Serve on lavash, with sliced red onion tossed with sumac, parsley and a pinch of salt, roasted chillies and tomatoes.

Variations

• •

  Urfa kebab: made with Urfa biber (darker, smokier chilli) instead of Adana-style pul biber — milder and earthier.

• •

  Karışık (mixed grill): serve adana alongside köfte and chicken shish on the same platter.

Storage

Uncooked kebabs can be refrigerated on skewers, covered, up to 24 hours. Do not freeze raw.

Frequently Asked Questions