VegetablesEmber Baked Aubergine Baba Ganoush
The smoke is the dish. Baba ganoush made in an oven is a different, lesser thing, because aubergine flesh absorbs smoke better than almost any other ingredient.
SkewersAdana Kebab, Turkish Lamb Skewers
Hand-minced lamb with tail fat and red pepper, moulded onto wide flat skewers. The fat content is not negotiable and it is why this tastes like nothing you can buy.
SkewersGrilled Lamb Koftas
Spiced minced lamb moulded onto skewers, the Middle Eastern cousin of the Turkish kebab. The trick is kneading the mince until it is tacky so it grips the skewer.
VegetablesCharcoal Grilled Flatbread
A live fire is the best oven a flatbread will ever meet. Two minutes over the coals and it puffs, blisters and takes on a smoke you cannot fake indoors.
Turkish grilling uses wide flat skewers laid across a narrow trench, with no grate under the meat at all. That format is why kebabs are moulded rather than cubed: the mince has to grip the metal and hang clear of the fire.
Fat content is the technical crux. Adana wants around 20 percent, traditionally lamb tail fat, and the mix is kneaded until tacky so it binds. Lean mince simply falls into the coals.
At a glance
| Recipe | Method | Grill temp | Cook time | Pull at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ember Baked Aubergine Baba Ganoush | Cooking in the embers | 290°C (550°F) and above | 25 min | 95°C (205°F) |
| Adana Kebab, Turkish Lamb Skewers | Direct heat | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 10 min | 70°C (160°F) |
| Grilled Lamb Koftas | Direct heat | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 12 min | 70°C (160°F) |
| Charcoal Grilled Flatbread | Direct heat | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 12 min | Puffed and charred |
Techniques used
Direct heat. Food straight over the coals. Fast, fierce, and finished before the inside overcooks. Cooking in the embers. Food laid directly on the coals. No grate, no barrier, maximum char.
Cookers these suit
Drum smokers. Foukou rotisseries. Kamado grills. Kettle grills. Korean table grills. Portable grills.