Mix minced pork and lamb with grated onion, parsley and cinnamon. Soak caul fat, cut into squares, and wrap tablespoon portions into small parcels. Cook over medium coals for 15 to 20 minutes, turning often, until the caul has rendered away and the outside is crisp.
Medium, evenly spread coals. Caul fat drips and flares, so keep a cool corner to move to.
Method
Order the caul fat ahead
Caul fat is the lacy membrane from around the pig's stomach and it is the entire point of the dish. Most butchers can get it with a few days' notice. Soak it in warm water with a splash of vinegar for 20 minutes to soften and separate it, then lay it out flat and cut into rough 12cm squares.
Squeeze the onion, seriously
Grate the onion and then squeeze it hard in a cloth until it is almost dry. Wet onion makes the mix loose and the parcels fall apart on the grill. This is the step people skip.
Mix, but do not overwork
Combine the meats, dry onion, parsley, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Mix until just combined. Overworking makes them springy. Fry a teaspoon of the mix to taste for seasoning before you wrap fifty of them.
Wrap into parcels
Put a heaped tablespoon of mix on each caul square, fold the sides in and roll into a small cylinder, seam side down. The caul sticks to itself and needs no skewer. Rest them seam down on a tray for 30 minutes to set.
Cook medium, turn often
Over medium coals, seam side down first. Turn every couple of minutes for 15 to 20 minutes total. The caul will render, flare and largely disappear, leaving a crisp browned skin. Move them off the heat when flames get up, do not douse the fire.
Serve hot with lemon
Straight off the grill into warm pitta with tomato, onion and parsley, or on a plate with lemon. They go leathery as they cool, so serve them the moment they are done.
Notes worth knowing
- If you genuinely cannot get caul fat, the mix still makes decent kebabs shaped around flat skewers, but it is a different dish and you lose the self-basting.
- Cinnamon sounds odd to British ears and is not optional. It is the flavour that makes sheftalia taste Cypriot.
- Some families use only pork, some half and half. Both are traditional and the lamb adds noticeable depth.
Common questions
What is caul fat?
The thin lacy membrane of fat surrounding a pig's internal organs. It looks like a net, melts almost entirely during cooking, and bastes whatever it is wrapped around. It is cheap and most butchers can order it.
Why do my sheftalia fall apart?
Nearly always wet onion or over-wet mince. Squeeze the onion dry, and rest the wrapped parcels seam side down for half an hour before they go near heat.
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