Adana Original · Hand-Minced Skewer

Adana Kebab

Name: Adana Kebab recipe
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: For the kebabs: 600 g lamb mince with about 20% fat (ask a butcher for fatty mince, or mince some lamb breast or shoulder with its fat), 1 small red pepper (about 100 g), 1 small onion (about 80 g), 2 garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon hot red pepper paste (acı biber salçası) or tomato purée, 2 teaspoons Turkish hot chilli flakes (pul biber, or Aleppo pepper), 1 teaspoon sweet paprika, 1½ teaspoons fine salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon olive oil for brushing; To serve: 4 flatbreads or lavash (shop-bought is fine), 4 tomatoes, 4 long green peppers or 2 sweet peppers, 1 tablespoon olive oil, ½ red onion, thinly sliced, 1 teaspoon sumac, a pinch of salt, a handful of flat-leaf parsley, 1 lemon cut into wedges; Ayran (optional): 300 g plain yogurt, 300 ml cold water, a pinch of salt (or buy ready-made)

Photo: Anatolianpride / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Turkish regulation actually protects the name — a kebab can only be labeled "Adana Kebab" if it meets specific standards for meat, fat ratio, and hand-chopping, similar to a geographic indication for wine.

Hand-minced lamb mixed with tail fat and hot pepper is packed onto wide iron skewers and grilled directly over charcoal, arriving smoky and char-streaked over a bed of lavash with grilled tomatoes and peppers. Adana kebab is the spicy one; its milder twin is the Urfa kebab.

Why it's made this way: Adana's position on the fertile Çukurova plain, prime for both livestock and hot pepper cultivation, gave rise to a kebab style defined by its spice and rich lamb fat, distinguishing it sharply from milder kebabs elsewhere in the country.

What is Adana Kebab?

Adana kebab is a spicy minced lamb kebab from the city of Adana in southern Turkey. Lamb and lamb tail fat are chopped by hand with hot red pepper, packed onto wide, flat iron skewers and grilled over charcoal. It is typically served on flatbread with grilled tomatoes and peppers, sliced red onion with sumac and parsley, and often a glass of ayran. Adana kebabı has been registered in Turkey as a geographical indication (an 'indication of source') since 2004, and the registration sets out how it is meant to be made.

Its milder neighbour is the Urfa kebab, which is made in a similar way without the hot pepper. The traditional version relies on tail fat and hand chopping for its juicy, tender texture. Most home kitchens do not have tail fat or a charcoal fire, so the recipe below is an honest approximation using fatty lamb mince.

How to make Adana kebab at home with fatty lamb mince

Serves 4 · prep 30 min · cook 20 min

Ingredients

For the kebabs: 600 g lamb mince with about 20% fat (ask a butcher for fatty mince, or mince some lamb breast or shoulder with its fat), 1 small red pepper (about 100 g), 1 small onion (about 80 g), 2 garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon hot red pepper paste (acı biber salçası) or tomato purée, 2 teaspoons Turkish hot chilli flakes (pul biber, or Aleppo pepper), 1 teaspoon sweet paprika, 1½ teaspoons fine salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon olive oil for brushing
To serve: 4 flatbreads or lavash (shop-bought is fine), 4 tomatoes, 4 long green peppers or 2 sweet peppers, 1 tablespoon olive oil, ½ red onion, thinly sliced, 1 teaspoon sumac, a pinch of salt, a handful of flat-leaf parsley, 1 lemon cut into wedges
Ayran (optional): 300 g plain yogurt, 300 ml cold water, a pinch of salt (or buy ready-made)

Method

Grate the red pepper and onion on the fine side of a grater, or chop them extremely finely, then squeeze them hard in a clean cloth to remove as much liquid as you can. Excess liquid is the main reason mince falls off the skewer.
Put the mince in a large bowl with the squeezed pepper and onion, crushed garlic, pepper paste, chilli flakes, paprika, salt and black pepper. Knead with wet hands for 5 minutes, until the mixture is very sticky and almost paste-like. This kneading is what makes the mince cling to the skewer.
Cover and chill for at least 1 hour, or up to 12 hours, so the flavours develop and the fat firms up.
Divide the mixture into 4 portions of about 150 g. With wet hands, press each portion around a wide, flat metal skewer into a long, thin shape about 22–25 cm long, 3 cm wide and 2 cm thick, pinching and ridging it with your fingers as you go. Do not use thin round or wooden skewers, which will not hold the weight. Chill the skewers while you prepare the grill.
Light a charcoal barbecue and let the coals burn until covered in white ash, with a very hot grill. Alternatively use a very hot griddle pan or an oven grill at its highest setting, with the skewers resting across a roasting tin.
Meanwhile put the tomatoes and peppers on the grill and cook them for 8–10 minutes, turning, until the skins blister and char. Brush with the 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
Brush the kebabs lightly with oil and grill for about 8–10 minutes in total, turning gently every 2 minutes, until browned and charred in places. Lamb mince is only safe when cooked all the way through: the centre should reach 71 °C (160 °F) on a thermometer and show no pink.
Rest the kebabs for 3 minutes. Toss the sliced onion with the sumac, a pinch of salt and the parsley. Slide the meat off the skewers onto the flatbread and serve with the grilled tomatoes and peppers, the onion salad and lemon.
For the ayran, whisk the yogurt, water and salt together until smooth and chill until needed.

Tips

Fat is essential. Lean lamb mince gives a dry, crumbly kebab that will not stick to the skewer.
Keep everything cold. Warm mince and warm hands make a soft mixture that slides off.
Wet your hands, not the mince, when shaping, and press firmly so there are no air gaps.
Do not move the kebabs for the first 2 minutes on the grill, so the crust can set and hold them to the skewer.
Use a thermometer. Charred outsides can hide an undercooked centre.

Regional versions

Adana kebab is also eaten wrapped in lavash with tomato, onion and sumac as a quick wrap, rather than served on a plate.
The Urfa kebab is the milder version, made without the hot pepper.
Cooks sometimes add a teaspoon of ground cumin or a little finely chopped parsley to the mixture, though many traditional makers use only meat, fat, pepper and salt.
Shaped kebabs can also be cooked in a heavy frying pan over high heat, turning for 10–12 minutes until cooked through.

Questions

What is Adana kebab made of?

Traditionally hand-chopped lamb and lamb tail fat with hot red pepper and salt, shaped onto flat skewers and grilled over charcoal.

Why is Adana kebab so spicy?

It is seasoned with hot red pepper, which is what separates it from the milder Urfa kebab.

Can I make Adana kebab without a grill?

Yes. A very hot griddle pan, a heavy frying pan or an oven grill works. You will get less smoke, but the texture is still good. Cook until the centre reaches 71 °C (160 °F).

Why does my mince fall off the skewer?

Usually the mince is too lean, too wet or not kneaded enough. Use fatty mince, squeeze the vegetables dry, knead until sticky and chill before grilling.