Making a juicy shashlik is not a difficult task if you know a few simple secrets, the key ones being the choice of meat and the right marinade.
To prepare a fragrant and tasty shashlik, it is important to choose high-quality meat and marinate it correctly.
Making a juicy shashlik is not a difficult task if you know a few simple secrets. Together with the culinary expert of the online publication "BelNovosti" chef Yulia Arkhipova, we will tell you about them.
Which shashlik is the softest - choice of meat
When choosing meat for shashlik, you should take into account that different types of meat have different toughness, and therefore different cooking rules.
Pork is ideal for shashlik, and to make the shashlik soft, you should choose between: neck; tenderloin; loin. Also pay attention to the ratio of fat and meat in the selected piece - it should be 1 to 4, respectively, so that the dish is not too fatty.
It's difficult to get a soft kebab from beef and lamb, so if you don't want to experiment and want to get (almost) guaranteed good results, stick to time-tested pork.
Not everyone eats pork, lamb is difficult because you need to look for young lamb meat to avoid a strong specific smell, and beef is best left for other dishes because of its toughness.
And here chicken comes to the rescue. Its meat is traditionally considered the most tender. It takes less time to cook. Chicken thigh is ideal for grilling - it is fatty enough to remain juicy. Shish kebab from hams will turn out excellent. But brisket is a rather dry product, and it can be “saved” by marinade and “duty” at the grill so as not to overcook it.
What to marinate meat for shashlik in - the best recipes
Marinade for meat is the basis of your future shashlik. After all, it is on it that the taste of the dish depends.
The simplest, classic version of a marinade for pork is onion. Lots of onion: 2-3 kg of onion per 1 kg of meat. To marinate, you need to: wash and cut the meat into future pieces of shashlik (roughly 5 * 5 cm, but not too small); chop the onion (into rings, but some can be finer, especially when there is little time for marinating); if desired, add pepper and other seasonings to taste; place it all in a bowl, mix (or lay out in layers) and leave for several hours (overnight is ideal) in a cool place like a refrigerator. Add salt just before frying so that it does not draw juice from the meat, this advice applies to all recipes.
The next day you can safely start frying and get a juicy, delicious shashlik. And when putting it on a skewer, alternate the meat with onions (that's why it was cut into rings).
Many people add mayonnaise, but it can kill the taste of the meat, and is quite fatty in itself, and here the meat is clearly not low-fat - take care of your health. By the way, we have already told you what you can't marinate meat in and why vinegar is not the best option for a marinade.
You can also marinate pork in wine. This, by the way, is the answer to the question of how to make meat soft for shashlik. For such a dish you will need: meat - 2 kg; dry red wine - 200 ml; wine vinegar (do not overdo it with vinegar) - 2 tablespoons; onion - 2-3 heads; dried cilantro (if you like, of course) and coriander - 25 grams; hops-suneli - 50 grams; salt and pepper (ground, preferably red) - to taste. Cooking as usual - cut the meat into pieces convenient for you, and the onion into rings, mix dry spices, put it all in a container, add vinegar and stir. Then pour in wine, add pepper and put in the refrigerator for several hours. By the way, there will be no alcohol in the finished dish, so children can too.
Chicken marinade can be sped up. Kefir marinade in a ratio of about 1 part kefir to 2 parts meat is suitable for chicken. Onions and other spices are added to it, then everything is mixed. The chicken is marinated in this marinade for a couple of hours.
Chicken is also perfect for a honey marinade! You'll get a flavorful, slightly sweet, and incredibly delicious kebabs if you use:
- chicken fillet - 1 kg;
- honey - 60 gr.;
- garlic - 3 cloves;
- mustard peas - 2 teaspoons;
- lemon - 1 pc.;
- olive oil - 2 tablespoons;
- salt - to taste.
The garlic needs to be crushed, the lemon juice squeezed out and mixed with the rest of the ingredients. The chicken, cut into pieces, is added to the marinade and left for a couple of hours.
Tips on how to avoid dry shashlik
To ensure that the shashlik is not dry, it is important to choose the right meat, a good marinade and cooking method.
Shashlik should not be grilled over an open fire - it will burn before it is cooked. The heat should come from the smoldering coals, the white coating on them is the ideal time for cooking. Do not forget to turn the meat so that it is cooked evenly, but do not do it too often - the shashlik can become dry.
Another tip for making your shashlik soft and not dry: it's better to use fresh meat rather than defrosted, and to prefer meat from young animals.
It is also important to choose the right firewood. Birch, oak, apple and linden are best. Coniferous firewood and waste such as old fences, pallets, furniture, etc. cannot be used.
How can you make a tough shashlik soft if it is already cooked? This is also possible. For example, you can stew the cooked meat in water in the oven for about an hour. You can also try holding the meat over the coals for a few minutes, stringing pieces of lard between them. Lemon or kiwi juice in a 1:1 ratio can also soften the meat.
Earlier we wrote about how to cook delicious potato pancakes .
Expert: Julia Arkhipova
