Turkey Shish Kebab

PREPARATION OF THE MEAT AND MARINADE First, proceed with preparing the marinade. The marinade ingredients are 5 parts yogurt, 2 parts lime juice, 1 part chestnut honey for one sachet of saffron. Take a large non-reactive bowl (glass or pyrex) and pour the lime juice, just warmed over the fire, to dissolve the honey 1. Once well dissolved, add the yogurt 2 and the saffron 3, taking care to mix everything well 4.

Then, cut the turkey breast 5, trying to obtain cubes all of the same size (6-7) to allow for even cooking.

Place the cubes in the marinade 8, massage them for a few seconds 9, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

PREPARATION OF THE DIPS
THE LABNEH To prepare the labneh 10, puree the garlic 11 and combine it with chopped fresh mint, salt and pepper 12, and yogurt 13,

lime juice 14, then mix vigorously. Place the labneh in a small bowl and cover the surface with a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil 15, which will add flavor and delay oxidation. Refrigerate the labneh and let it rest.

THE BABA GANOUSH (MUTABBEL) To prepare the baba ganoush (or muttabel), roast the eggplant over the fire until the outside is completely charred and the inside is soft and yielding. Split it in half and scoop out the flesh with a spoon 16, being careful not to scrape too much of the charred parts. Place the flesh in a mortar if you wish to grind it by hand or in a glass to use an immersion blender. Add lime juice 17, a generous amount of tahini 18 along with a splash of extra virgin olive oil,

chopped garlic, mint (add only at the end if using the mixer), salt, and pepper 19. Mash 20 or blend everything to combine the ingredients. You can choose to achieve a coarse texture or a smooth emulsion. In this case, we preferred a coarse texture to give the dish rusticity 21.

THE MUHAMMARA Finely chop the sweet and spicy peppers, being careful not to reduce them to mush, as the seeds and skin will add a rustic note. Add cumin 22, just a bit of salt, lime juice, oil 23, and mix vigorously 34.

THE COOKING OF THE SHISH TAOUK Once the dips are prepared, you can proceed with preparing the skewers. It is preferable to use good quality steel skewers, wooden skewers, or bamboo skewers carved into a fork. The latter are recommended as single ones, in the presence of fatty liquids, tend to rotate the meat on itself when attempting to turn them to cook them on the other side. If bamboo skewers are not available, two parallel skewers can be used instead to allow the kebab to be turned more easily. In any case, if using wooden skewers, it is advisable to soak them for some time to prevent them from catching fire during cooking. Start by removing excess marinade and alternate the meat cubes, onion slices, and a bay leaf on the skewer (25-26). In this way, each piece of meat will have one side in contact with the onion and the other with the bay leaf. The heat will release essential oils that will flavor the cube. Once all the skewers are complete, place them on the grill 27.

THE SETUP OF THE COALS AND COOKING This method is called “direct grilling,” in short, it is the classic barbecue. The food is cooked by placing it on a grill “directly” over the glowing coals. It is advisable to arrange the lit coals to leave an area without coals. This will be our safety zone where we can move the food in case the heat is too high. To further protect the ends of the skewers, it is good practice to fold an aluminum foil sheet in three and place it on the grill so that the skewer does not burn. The photo is very explanatory 28.
The temperature should be very high, but there should be no flames on the coals. A layer of surface ash indicates that the coals are ready to cook. At this point, we introduce the American variant: smoking. We chose staves from discarded barrels where Cabernet Sauvignon was aged. The wood is completely infused with the aromas of wine and “cellar,” which will be released along with the smoke from the Slavonian oak wood (a very hard, precious oak whose smoke is very pleasant) from which they are made. They are currently unavailable on the market (but will arrive soon) in our country, but of course, we managed to procure them. Perhaps it is possible to obtain them from some producer, but it is not easy. Alternatively, regular oak chips will do just fine, but even omitting the smoking will yield equally surprising results. Soak a piece of stave and let it absorb some water to prevent it from catching fire instantly. However, this type of wood is practically waterproof, so it is advisable to place it in a location in the brazier where any flames do not risk burning the skewers.

Once smoke production begins, align the skewers over the coals and start cooking 29. From this moment, it is important to monitor the cooking to ensure that the meat cooks, there are nice grill marks, but nothing burns. Usually, there will be hotter and cooler areas. Some skewers will therefore take color before others. Once the hotter areas are identified, move the skewers that are more advanced in cooking to the cooler areas and vice versa to allow for even cooking. Once the desired color is achieved, move the skewers to a cooler place on the grill and continue for a few more minutes until the meat, when tested with a fingertip, offers resistance but is not completely hard 30. The bay leaves will burn completely, and this is not a negative thing. They will significantly contribute to providing the classic “grill flavor” to the meat.