Middle East

Kebab / Place of origin

The Middle East is a geopolitical term that commonly refers to the region spanning Arabia, Asia Minor, Egypt, Iran, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The term came into widespread usage as a replacement of the term Near East beginning in the early 20th century.

One of the most well-known skewered foods around the world is the shish kebab. The earliest literary evidence for the Turkish word şiş (shish) as a food utensil comes from the 11th-century Diwan Lughat al-Turk, attributed to Mahmud of Kashgar.

Lahmacun: Turkish Style Pizza. Menemen: Turkish Egg Delicacy. Şiş Kebap: Turkish Seekh Kebab. Döner: Turkish Sub. İskender Kebab: Strips Of Lamb

Frank Epperson was just eleven when he left a glass of water and powdered soda mix outside with a mixing stick in it—and came back the next morning to find it frozen solid.

1670s, variant of dialectal skiver (1660s), perhaps from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse skifa “a cut, slice” (of bread, etc.), Swedish skifer “a slate,” which are related to shiver (n. 1) “small piece.” skewer (v.) 1701, from the noun.

The term kabob, or kebab, refers to meat cooked on a skewer. This technique likely originated in Persia, but has been leveraged in culinary traditions across the world. The purpose behind skewering meat and veggies is to enhance the flavor profile

recipe:

MARINATED GREEK LAMB SOUVLAKI RECIPE (SKEWERS) WITH PITA AND TZATZIKI

in 40 minutes or less, Barbecue Recipes, Beginner, Fried, Main Courses, Mainland Greece, Most Popular, Our hand picked recipes, Simply souvlaki, Traditional Greek Taverna Recipes

Marinated Greek Lamb Souvlaki recipe (Skewers) and Tzatziki / Lamb Kebab

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Perfectly moist and crispy succulent Greek lamb souvlaki skewers (Lamb kebab)! Get the fire started.. It’s barbecue time this weekend with this amazing Greek lamb souvlaki recipe!

Souvlaki is one of the most popular street foods in Greece and for good reason! Juicy and well seasoned meat garnished with cooling tzatziki sauce, served or wrapped in a delicious crispy and fluffy pita! Well, one couldn’t ask for more!

Although I just love the classic Greek chicken and pork souvlaki skewers, I think you will agree that there is nothing better than the smell and deliciousness of a charcoal barbecued lamb souvlaki! Except for a traditional Moussaka! It’s a shame that nowadays lamb souvlaki is commonly substituted with pork skewers, as a much cheaper alternative.

But if you like me, just love lamb, here is a very easy to follow Greek lamb souvlaki recipe with fluffy pita bread and creamy tzatziki sauce to make your own homemade juicy lamb souvlaki skewers from scratch! .

Greek lamb souvlaki recipe – Preparing the marinade

The most important step in making the perfect, traditional Greek lamb souvlaki (Greek lamb kebabs) is nothing else but the marinade!

Lamb Souvlaki & Tzatziki recipe video!

Marinated Greek Lamb Souvlaki recipe (Skewers) with Pita and Tzatziki

For this traditional lamb souvlaki recipe, the meat is first marinated to soak up all the wonderful Mediterranean flavours and then grilled, to get all crunchy, nicely coloured and juicy.

Select some good quality lamb leg or shoulder and season with a selection of Greek herbs like oregano and fresh thyme, coat with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice and flavour with garlic and chopped onions.

Tip: Marinading your lamb souvlaki in the fridge for at least 4 hours will allow the aromas to infuse the meat and give it the desired flavours.

Of course the best option is to grill the lamb souvlaki (skewers) on a char-coal barbecue, to get them all crispy and smokey. However they also work great on a grill pan or in the oven, if you don’t have the time or space for a proper barbecue.

Cooking time varies greatly, mostly depending on how well done you like your meat. Most Greeks are not big fans of medium-rare, hence most tavernas offer the lamb kebab well done.

Lamb Souvlaki recipe – Serve your lamb Kebabs (skewers) the traditional Greek way

The best way to serve your traditional Greek lamb souvlaki is nothing other than with some delicious traditional Greek pita. Finding the original Greek pita can be quite challenging as most supermarkets stock only the arabian style ones but you can most likely find them at your local Greek deli or amazon (here and here).

However as we all know, nothing compares to home-made, so you can also make your own homemade pita bread with this super easy recipe.

Of course tzatziki is the preferred sauce to garnish your Greek lamb kebabs and we have included one below. Don’t forget to season with some salt and paprika, sweet or spicy if you like an extra kick.

Another delicious alternative of this lamb souvlaki recipe is to serve the lamb kebabs with roast peppers and tomatoes and a full spoon of yogurt seasoned with a pinch of cumin, salt, pepper and lemon zest.

Grill the peppers and tomatoes on a gridle pan over high heat to get them all nicely coloured and finish in the oven along with the lamb kebabs for extra flavour.

So go ahead, prepare his traditional lamb souvlaki recipe for your friends and family and enjoy over a glass of cold beer and with a refreshing Greek feta salad, or a Greek Orzo Salad (Orzo feta salad)!

Looking for some more inspiration?

Why don’t you also take a look at my favourite lamb recipes, which I’m sure you’ll love as well!

Lamb kleftiko , cooked in parchment paper
Spicy minced lamb kofta kebab (giaourtlou)
Marinated Greek lamb chops with roast potatoes
Honey glazed Greek roast lamb with potatoes

Love Greek souvlaki? These super easy recipes are for you!

If you just love Greek souvlaki, then give these recipes a try and let me know what you think!