NOTE: An updated version of this recipe appears in my cookbook, The Ancestral Table.
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!
The Domestic Man 
Liked the Domestic Man on Facebook!
LikeLike
Um, yes. I think it is high time I had lamb again! This looks so simple, and simply delicious.
LikeLike
I lived in Kazakhstan for a few years and the only food I miss is the Shashlik – Thanks for the recipe and reminder.
LikeLike
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!
LikeLike
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.
LikeLike
looks so delicious! Great!
LikeLike
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.
LikeLike
Kalen, definitely have them cook you up some! Or even…make your own using this recipe and surprise them! :)
LikeLike
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!
LikeLike
Eileen, they most definitely will work well with other meats! I’d love to hear how they turned out.
LikeLike
I sure will Russ & thanks for getting back to me! We’ll be making these tomorrow!
LikeLike
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!
LikeLike
Stormy, thanks for sharing! Glad I was a part of your trip down memory lane :)
LikeLike
I remember these from Moldova as well. In Orhei, they would add sour cream to to the lemon juice marinade, and it was incredibly delicious. They would also marinade overnight. Have you noticed a difference with a longer marinade?
LikeLike
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.
LikeLike
Alisha, my pleasure! Glad you found the recipe.
LikeLike
I marinated this over night and will cook it this evening for some Kazakhs. Hopefully they’ll consider me one of them when they taste it! :) thanks for this recipe
LikeLike
My wife is from Russia. She told me all about this when we were dating. We had it in Baltimore at an Uzbek restaurant while visiting Russian friends. We are having it tonight at our home in Missouri. Thank you for sharing.
LikeLike
Kelby, thanks for sharing! Let me know how it turns out.
LikeLike
I love Shashlik’s. They are my favorite summer food. My Grea -Grandparents from Russia used pickeling spice instead of vinegar. They put lemon and onions to marinate for at least 2 days . The flavor is out of this world and does not taste like lamb at all. You know that mutton taste.
LikeLike
I lived for a year with friends from Azerbaijan here in the US. The husband would make shashlik for us. It was a special treat and we would always beg for more! Here’s an interesting side note: a friend of mine from Turkmenistan said that many times, women wouldn’t make shashlik because their changing hormones from month-to-month compromised the meat in some way! So he would never let me marinade the meat.
LikeLike
Wow, that’s interesting! Thanks for the insight.
LikeLike
These Shashlik look amazing! Is it too much of a sin if we also add some tzatziki on the side?:)
Great work Russ, these will definitely be a hit in one of our next BBQs:)
Thanx for the wonderful recipe.
Panos and Mirella
LikeLike
Glad you liked it, and good call with the tzatziki – I have a recipe for it in Paleo Takeout!
LikeLike
Ahhh, if you could only find Lamb Tail fat in North America, these would be Heaven!!!!!! Great recipe though!
LikeLike
I had the best shashlik somewhere at this little roadside restaurant outside Almaty, Kazakhstan. Open grills and great food. I’ve made this recipe before and loved it and am making it again tonight.
LikeLike
I made these the other night. Honestly, the best shasklik I’ve had since leaving Russia back in 2002. Tasted just like I remember – delicious! I used both chicken (thighs and breast) and pork (pork butt), and both worked great. Thanks for the recipe!
LikeLike
this recipe is a joke. Only people from Russia cook like that.
Uzbeks NEVER use vinegar – onion, coriander, cumin, a little of black pepper, SALT – since meat is marinated for at least a day – salt instead of driving moisture out – tenderizes the meat, chili powder may be.
That recipe is just as “authentic” as fries called “French”, or half sour pickles believed to be Jewish invention, but came from Poland…
Wonnabies….
Speaking of Голубцы – that is Hungarian dish… as well as Gulyash and Parikash
LikeLike
You are absolutely correct. Got the recipe from an authentic Uzbek when I worked there. Crushed Cumin, Coriander and sliced onions with a dash of brandy to marinade overnight. Skewer meat and hard fat alternating. Dust with flour mixed with paprika and roast on open fire. Eat it with raw onion slices soaked in vinegar with bread baked in a tandoori oven (hot dog buns or hamburger buns also works). And Vodka cilled in the deep freeze is a must!
LikeLike
I grew up eating shishliki, as it is called in our little area of Saskatchewan. We marinade the meat with larger chunks of onion, lemon juice is optional. Just let it sit for 3-7 days, stirring it daily or turning the Ziploc bag over. The shishliki is ready to be skewered and cooked when the onions are translucent. About 3-7 days. I’m trying this variation of yours today though!
LikeLike
would like to serve this with plov , a Russian pilaf I had in kazakhstan….any recipes for that…thanks, Jo
LikeLike
I made this tonight and the lamb shoulder roast was so so tough…..is there a better cut of Kamba to use that is tender?
LikeLike
I meant ….is there a better cut of lamb to use that is not so chewy?…..I normally braise lamb shoulder….well my hubby does , and he was extremely sceptical of cooking shoulder even though it was marinated for 7 hours on the barbecue !!!…he was right, it was so tough…..suggestions??
LikeLike
I have had shaslik in Tajikistan, Russia (Mykop), and in Kyrgyzstan. Loved them all. Take off the grill, fold a flat bread around them, add onions….very good
LikeLike
Calling shashlik ‘Russian shish kebabs’ would be like calling Jollof Rice a ‘British’ dish, simply because the latter had at some point brutal’ occupied the former (afore subsequent’ withdrawing), ’tis wrong from an historical point of view, wrong from a culinary point of view, and just rather lazy, or uniformed.
LikeLike
Russian Shish Kebabs – Shashlyk has nothing to do with Russia. They borrowed this cultural product from the peoples of Central Asia. Just like pilaf from Uzbeks, borscht from Ukrainians, dumplings from Chinese. Such a statement can only be made by someone who is not familiar with the history of Central Asia.
LikeLike