True Caucasian Shashlik Recipes

TRUE CAUCASIAN SHASHLIK

Steps:

• Cut lamb into 2-inch cubes; toss with onion and garlic in a bowl.
• Cut fat from lamb into slivers.
• Combine pomegranate juice with salt and pour over lamb (meat and fat), set in a cool place (but NOT cold like refrigerator) and marinate 4-12 hours.
• After marinating lamb, pat each piece dry as you place it on 6 long skewers, interspersing lamb fat slivers with meat cubes; put a cube of bread at the end of each skewer to hold the meat on the skewer.
• Brush each skewer's contents with oil and sprinkle with pepper to taste.
• Grill (traditional) or broil 12-20 minutes from very high heat, turning once and basting with any juice that runs off, until meat is cooked through.
• Slip meat directly off skewer onto plate, one plate for each person being served.

GRANDPA NICK'S GEORGIA SHASHLIK

Steps:

• Cut lemon in half and juice. Cut 2 rinds into chunks.
• Place lemon juice and rinds into a large glass or ceramic bowl with red wine, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper; mix well. Add lamb and toss to evenly coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or up to 18 hours.
• Remove lamb from the marinade and shake off excess. Discard the remaining marinade. Thread lamb on to skewers.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Cook skewers, turning occasionally, on the preheated grill until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the meat reads at least 130 degrees F (60 degrees C) for medium, about 15 minutes.

TENDER BEEF KABOBS (SHASHLIK)

Steps:

• Combine all of your marinade ingredients in a large glass or plastic bowl (do not use aluminum) and stir to combine.
• Slice meat and transfer it into the marinade bowl, stirring well to coat. Marinate beef in the refrigerator 6 hours, or overnight (the longer the better), stirring 3 times while marinating to make sure meat is evenly marinated. Sometimes after long periods of refrigeration, the oil in the marinade can firm up a bit; it will liquify again if you let the marinated meat sit at room temp 30 minutes before skewering.
• Soak bamboo or wooden skewers at last 30 min before skewering. After the meat is done marinating, slice veggies and skewer them with meat onto Bamboo skewers. Brush/ pour remaining marinade over skewers.
• Grill steak kabobs over med/high heat for about 8-10 minutes or until you've reached the desired doneness, rotating every 2-3 minutes for even grilling. Remove kebobs from grill and let them rest at least 5 minutes before eating. If you cut into them right away, they will juice out and end up dry.