INGREDIENTS
- 2 kg (4.4 lb) ground beef (brisket) with 25% fat
- 200 g pastirma (cured beef)
- 26 g sea salt (preferably fleur de sel)
- 2 g black pepper
- 4 tbsp peppermint
- 8-10 garlic cloves
- 150 g onion
- 3 g sumac
- 2 g coriander
PREPARATION
Use mince from Beef brisket that contains at least 25% fat. When you start preparing your kebabs’ mixture, mince must be cold. Therefore, you should place it in the freezer for 1 hour before kneading. Grate onions on the largest holes of a grater and save their juices, too. Finely chop the garlic, the peppermint, and the pastirma. And all the spices inside a mortar and bash them well until powdered. Add the salt last.
Start preparing the mince. Add grated onions, garlic, and peppermint and knead well. Next, sprinkle the spice mixture gradually. Add and knead well each time. In the end, mix pastirma in with its coating that contains the spices, and especially the çemen paste with its intense scent. Knead well to spread them evenly throughout the mince. Refrigerate for 18-24 hours. Knead again a couple of times during this period.
COOKED ON amber.q A
COOKING
Our first task is to light the charcoals. Pile up the charcoals inside the fire cabin of your charcoal grill. Place the kindling on top (alcohol-soaked cotton) and light the fire. Charcoals light up upside down, from top to bottom, easily, quickly, and without smoke. Until they are fully lit, there is plenty of time to prepare the kebabs and skewer them on the wide spits, made especially for kebabs, or on the spits made for rotation. You can as well skewer the kebabs in advance before lighting the charcoals. In this case, you have to place them skewered inside the fridge, without them touching.
When the charcoals are fully lit, spread them inside the fire cabin and grill on high heat. Turn the spits regularly and rather quickly at the beginning. When they get a nice color -but not the brown color of a well-done roast- remove from the grill. You can also grill pita bread, tomatoes or some peppers, too. Serve pastirma-kebab on pita bread with grilled tomatoes and sliced onions. Sprinkle a pinch of sumac on top.
This dish is the best choice, as an appetizer, to accompany a glass of wine or a cold beer. A good company is always what makes everything even tastier!
Happy grilling everyone!
