Kebabs At Home
While the delicious taste of flame-licked meat is as old as fire itself, it wasn’t until the Middle Ages that marinated lamb and other delicate cuts were skewered to make what are now known as shish kebabs (loosely, sword and roasted meat). They came from the Levant, spread through the Ottoman Empire and eventually to India, Europe and the United States. While the route was circuitous, kebabs shouldn’t be daunting, according to chef Armen Martirosyan, whose parents founded the famed Armenian grill Mini Kabob of Glendale, California.
First, source the skewers from a Middle Eastern market or online. Wooden ones need to be soaked for a few hours. Pros choose the wide, flat metal skewers that allow larger cuts and even ground meat kebabs to adhere better.
For ground-meat kebabs (lule to Armenians and Lebanese and koobideh to Iranians), mix 80 percent beef, lamb or chicken with 20 percent fat and add salt, pepper, plus chopped cilantro, parsley, tomato paste, onion powder and diced onions to preference. For primal cuts, Martirosyan recommends a high-quality steak, even Wagyu beef, though filet mignon and flap meat work great too. The key is to brine the meat overnight in a simple salt solution before cooking. Form the skewers while keeping your hands moist with cold water.
Grill over charcoal for the best flavor, though gas grills work well too. Turn the skewers as the meat chars. Kebabs are usually served with blackened vegetables, which should be cooked separately as they take longer. Prepare the meat cuts on high heat, like a steak. They’re done when you feel like it’s done to your liking. Cook ground meat through like a burger.
Fluffy basmati rice, and mouthwatering spreads like hummus, baba ganoush, and garlicky toum sauce round out the meal.
Martirosyan prefers to eat kebabs by breaking apart flatbread, then throwing in some sliced onions and fresh herbs. However you eat them, there’s nothing more satisfying than slipping off freshly grilled meat onto a platter surrounded by vegetables, rice, flatbread and spreads. After you eat like a sultan on a breezy patio, cap off the kebab feast with a special cigar.
