I first tried Adana kebab in Istanbul back in 2019 during a solo trip and absolutely loved the simplicity of these skewered kebabs. Adana kebab (or kebap as it's called in Turkey) is a finely chopped ground meat skewer made with a mix of lamb and beef that's seasoned with regional red pepper (such as Kapia) and aleppo chili pepper. My recipe is easy and keeps to the authentic style of preparation.
Where is Adana Kebap from?
Adana Kebab is a culinary pride of Türkiye and named after its fifth-largest city- Adana. It is traditionally prepared with high-quality hand chopped lamb and beef with the fat from sheep's tail. Turkish chefs say that using the fat from the tail of the sheep makes the kebab super tender as the fat renders out on the coals. The use of spices is minimal and sparing at best and an authentic recipe traditionally contains finely minced sweet red peppers called Kapia and a bit of dried Aleppo chili pepper for some smoky heat.
Authentic Method of Preparation:
The authentic preparation of Adana Kebab involves a meticulous process where the meat is finely minced with the help of a long knife called Zırh Bıçağıt. It has a long, narrow blade with a slightly curved edge, specifically designed for chopping meat really fine. Then, it's seasoned with a combination of simple spices like Kapia peppers, Aleppo chili for heat, garlic and freshly ground black pepper. Once the meat is seasoned to perfection, it's carefully shaped onto long, flat metal skewers, known as "shish." These skewers are common throughout Middle Eastern cuisine.
Watch how to make Adana Kebap
Ingredients & Spices Needed for Adana Kebab
Adana Kebab relies on a minimal spices to let the meat's natural flavors shine. This may be a bit hard for the Asian palate to fathom but Middle Eastern cuisine keeps the meat forward in most of the dishes.
- Lamb and beef: The recipe calls for 50% lamb and 50% beef for the best tasting Adana kebab. But you can totally just grab all beef or all lamb if you prefer. Make sure to get at least 20% fat. If you can find fat from sheep's tail, I envy you.
- Kapia pepper: This is a red pepper from the same family as capsicum or bell pepper. It is a sweet pepper with no heat.
- Pul Biber/Aleppo pepper: These are dried Turkish chili that are coarsely ground and flaky in texture. It adds a smoky gentle heat to the kebap.
- Aromatic: Garlic helps intensify the flavors and I put this in everything.
- Salt and black pepper: This is to taste.
Can I add Cumin and Coriander to Adana Kebaps
Short answer- of course you can. Having said that, I'm a huge advocate of keeping to authentic styles of cooking where possible; it's the only way to pay homage to a people and their food. Traditional Adana Kebab does not rely on heavy spice blends like cumin, coriander, garam masala. If you want to add more spices, then try my popular Seekh Kebab.
How to make Adana Kebabs
1. Buy meat from the butcher
- Ask your butcher to grind the meat only once to keep it coarse. I usually do 50% lamb and 50% beef. Lamb has a strong aroma so I like to add some beef to balance it out.
- Fat from sheep's tail is a key ingredient for Adana Kebab. This usually isn't available at my local butcher so I just have them add the normal 20% fat to the above.
2. Mixing the Ingredients
- Traditionally, a curvy knife called Zırh Bıçağıt is used to finely chop the single ground mince. I use my chef knife and run it through the meat for a few minutes.
- Add your finely chopped red peppers (make sure to squeeze out the moisture) and the dried spices and keep running the knife to mix it all together. You will not knead this like other kebabs.
3. Shaping the Kebabs
- Wet your hands with water to prevent the meat from sticking and divide the meat into 5-6 balls.
- Take each ball and slide it over a flat skewer then press it down with your thumb and forefinger to create the characteristic indentations in the kebab.
4. Cooking Methods
Charcoal
- Heat your charcoal grill until the coals are fiery and glowing. I use my outdoor grill so you can just set that to the highest temperature.
- Place the skewers on the grill and cook, turning occasionally, till the kebabs develop a nice crust and are cooked through. On the outdoor grill, I set the skewers on two bricks to keep the kebabs elevated and close the top until I need to flip.
Oven
- Preheat the oven to 450°F .
- Place a grill over a baking tray to keep the kebabs elevated and bake for 15–20 minutes, flipping halfway through. For the last 5 mins, you can either turn on the broiler to create a crust OR if you feel adventurous like me, you can hold the kebabs directly to the flame on the stove to create a smoky crust. Please be cautious here!
Stove-Top
- Heat a cast iron or frying pan over medium-high heat.
- Lay the kebabs in the pan and cook till done. You can increase the heat to develop a char.
Serving Suggestions
Traditionally, Adana kebaps are served with lavash, which is a soft thin flatbread eaten all over the Middle East, and a sumac salad made with sliced red onions, parsley, sumac and salt. I also add a mint chutney to go with it because I find that kebabs need some dip.
Tips for Perfect Adana Kebab:
- Quality Ingredients: The key to the best-tasting kebabs starts with good-quality meat. Ask your butcher for half lamb and half beef and to run it single grind.
- Lean to Fat ratio: Kebabs taste the best when you have at least 20% fat in the mince. This will ensure your kebab doesn't fall off the skewer. I cannot stress this enough!
- Squeeze out the red pepper: Liquid will make the kebab fall off the skewer. You MUST strain the chopped red peppers using a cheesecloth or kitchen towel.
- Cooking Technique: If you have an outdoor charcoal grill, nothing beats that. Absolutely nothing. But if you don't, the oven will do.
How to Shape Skewers and Cook Adana Kebab:
- Soak Wooden Skewers: If using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for at least 30 minutes before assembling the kebabs. This prevents them from burning during grilling. If you want to mimic the flat skewers called "shish" that are traditionally used, then place 3-4 bamboo skewers next to each other and wrap them together in an aluminum foil securing the edges really well. This method doesn't require soaking as the aluminum foil will prevent the skewers from burning.
- Creating the Signature Indentation: With your thumb and forefinger, gently press down the kebab ball along the length of the skewer and create indentations by pressing your thumb every couple inches into the meat. You can flip and make the same indentations on the other side.
- Uniform thickness: Aim for the same thickness and size across all the kebabs to ensure they cook evenly. If you mess up the indentations, you can re-do it too!
- Best cooking method: I grill the kebabs in my outdoor grill. The oven does tend to dry them out a bit so make, if using the oven method that you keep an eye sure you don't overcook.
Turkish Adana Kebab with red pepper and sumac onion salad
Ingredients
Adana Kebab
- 1 lb lamb and beef with 20% fat (ideally from the fat from sheep's tail of available)
- ¾ red bell pepper, finely chopped use 2-3 kapia peppers if available to you
- ½ red or green chilli optional for heat
- 4 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1-2 teaspoon red chili flakes use Aleppo chili if available to you
- ¾ tsp paprika
Sumac Salad
- 1 red onion thinly sliced
- ½ cup parsley chopped
- 1-2 teaspoon sumac
- salt to taste
- squeeze of lemon or lime
Instructions
Method for Kebab
- Ask your butcher to mince your meat once, which is called a “single grind.”
- In your meat, add the spices and your strained red peppers. Straining is important to remove as much moisture to ensure your kebab doesn’t fall off the skewer. Use a sieve and press the chopped peppers down if you don’t have a cheesecloth. You can also use a paper towel like I did in the video.
- Instead of kneading the dough, we want to use a knife and chop it up real fine, which is traditionally the method used to prepare Adana kebab.
- If you can't be bothered with the above, just mix it with your hands until the web of fat runs through the meat and you're able to scoop up the meat in one massive mound.
- Divide the meat into 6-7 golf ball sized rounds and thread onto flat skewers. Wet your hands with water to massage the meat down the length of the skewer and create indentation marks with you thumb and forefinger.
- If you don’t have skewers, you can wrap 3-4 bamboo skewers in aluminum foil to mimic the flatness of the skewers traditionally used for Middle Eastern Kebabs.
- Cook on a charcoal grill or outdoor gas grill preheated to 450F for 11-15 mins. If using the oven, preheat it to 450F and cook for 15-18 mins. Towards the last 4-5 mins, I turn on the broiler setting of the oven to deepen the color of the kebabs.
Method for Salad
- For the salad, thinly slice onion and massage with some salt to soften them and then add parsley, sumac and salt. You can add a drizzle of olive oil and squeeze half a lemon to brighten the flavors. Serve this salad alongside the kebab on warm Lavash flatbread.
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