Shashlik (Шашлык) is a type of shish kebab commonly found in Russia and the former Soviet republics. It was likely brought to Moscow from Central Asia in the 19th century. Today, it’s a popular summer food cooked over an open fire at social gatherings. It’s traditionally prepared with lamb, but chicken, pork, and beef variations are becoming increasingly prominent. With summer in full swing throughout the country right now, I thought it would be a great time to share this tasty dish!
There are a few tricks that I came up with when developing this recipe that I think are pretty sweet. While the dish is traditionally marinated in either vinegar or lemon juice, I found that the combination of lemon juice and apple cider vinegar gives the meat a tangy and subtly sweet flavor. Secondly, leaving the salt out of the marinade and saving it for the last stage of the recipe provides for a really great complementary texture to the tender and juicy meat.
You’ll Need:
1/2 lamb shoulder (2 lbs)
2 medium onions, blended
6 cloves garlic, blended
4 bay leaves
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
juice of 1/2 lemon (2 tsp)
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp oregano
1 tsp sea salt
I had my eye on this beautifully-marbled lamb shoulder from Lava Lake Lamb for a while now, and it was the perfect cut of meat for this dish. It’s such a versatile cut of meat that I actually only used half of it (two of its four pounds) so that I could save the rest for another creation!
Don’t forget that I’m giving away a $100 Lava Lake Lamb gift card this week; it’s easy to enter! See here for details.
Cut the lamb into 2″ chunks, and place in a ziploc bag.
In a blender or food processor, blend the onion, garlic, and water. Combine with the bay leaves, apple cider vinegar, pepper, oregano, and lemon juice and pour everything into the ziploc bag. Marinate in the fridge for four hours.
After four hours, skewer the lamb pieces (if using wooden skewers, soak them for 30 minutes first) and warm up your grill on med/high heat.
Grill on direct heat, rotating the skewers with a pair of tongs every few minutes, and sprinkle the salt over the skewers as they cook.
When you have a hard time looking at the skewers because they are so delicious, remove them from the grill. Should take about 10 minutes altogether.
Let the shashlik rest for five minutes and serve. This dish is commonly served outdoors in Russia, with fresh, lightly-salted vegetables like tomato, mushrooms, or cucumbers as its only accompaniment. Enjoy!
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Um, yes. I think it is high time I had lamb again! This looks so simple, and simply delicious.
I lived in Kazakhstan for a few years and the only food I miss is the Shashlik – Thanks for the recipe and reminder.
love the way you made the marinade, absolutely flavorful and delicious ^^ these shashlik russian shish kebabs will go great with a huge bowl of vegetable salad!
Reblogged this on thewordpressghost and commented:
Shashlik!
From the land of the original Barbarians (I think), comes the shish ka bobs of choice for MILLIONS.
Everyone, HAVE you tried Shashlik?
If not, the Domestic Man shares a really great recipe with us.
Ghost.
looks so delicious! Great!
This looks great. I don’t know anything about Russian food, but I just started working for a company with a large Russian engineering team that loves to BBQ. I am going to have to ask them to make this now.
Kalen, definitely have them cook you up some! Or even…make your own using this recipe and surprise them! :)
We were in Kazakhstan a few years ago & miss Shashlik. We had pork, chicken, beef & lamb. Do you think the marinade would go well with other meats (or have you tried it with other meats) like beef & pork? Thanks!
Eileen, they most definitely will work well with other meats! I’d love to hear how they turned out.
I sure will Russ & thanks for getting back to me! We’ll be making these tomorrow!
I was a Peace Corps volunteer in the Republic of Moldova. Shashlik was the specialty of one of the restaurants in town, and I probably ate it at least once a week. Thank you for a recipe that will let me reminisce a little this coming weekend!
Stormy, thanks for sharing! Glad I was a part of your trip down memory lane :)
I truly loved eating this when I live in Russia!!! They layered the huge chunks of lamb between chunks of onion and you always paid by the weight. One HUGE Shashlik would cost about 4 bucks and it was traditional to eat it with ketchup. Hahaha!! I’m so happy you shared this as I have yet to find anyone here in the states come close to the taste and delicate texture.
Alisha, my pleasure! Glad you found the recipe.