Mix coarsely minced lamb with 20 percent fat, grated onion juice, Turkish red pepper flakes and salt. Rest an hour, then press firmly onto wide flat skewers. Cook over hot coals 4 to 5 minutes a side, turning once, until just cooked through.
Hot bed, skewers resting on the rails rather than on a grate so the meat never touches metal below.
Method
Get the fat right
Adana needs around 20 percent fat, and traditionally lamb tail fat. Ask the butcher for shoulder minced coarsely with fat left in. Lean mince will not bind to the skewer and will be dry and crumbly.
Onion juice, not onion
Grate the onion and squeeze the juice into the meat, discarding the pulp. You want the flavour and the enzymes without the water and the texture, which would stop the mix binding.
Knead properly, then rest
Unlike burgers, this mix wants working. Knead it for a good five minutes until it becomes tacky and starts to cling to the bowl. That protein development is what makes it stay on the skewer. Rest it in the fridge for an hour.
Mould onto wide flat skewers
Wet your hands, take a handful, and press it firmly along a wide flat skewer in a long even strip, squeezing gently to grip. Wide skewers are essential: round ones let the meat rotate and drop off.
Cook hot and fast, turn once
Rest the skewers across the rails so the meat hangs clear of any grate. Four to five minutes a side over hot coals. Turn once only, when the first side has set and released.
Serve on flatbread
Slide the meat off onto lavash or flatbread so the bread catches the fat, with sumac-dressed onions, grilled tomato and a grilled green chilli.
Notes worth knowing
- If the mix will not stay on the skewer it is too lean, too wet, or was not kneaded enough. Knead it more and chill it harder.
- Pul biber is milder and fruitier than cayenne. Substituting ordinary chilli powder changes the dish considerably.
- Wide flat Adana skewers are cheap and worth buying if you make this more than once.
Common questions
What is the difference between Adana and Urfa kebab?
The same technique and shape. Adana is made with hot pepper, Urfa without, so Urfa is the mild one. Both come from the cities they are named after.
Can I use beef?
You can, but lamb with its own fat is what gives Adana its character. If you use beef, keep the fat percentage high and expect a cleaner, less distinctive result.
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