How to cook Armenian lula kebab. Lula kebab at home

To make the lyulya tasty, buy lamb that is bright red in color. He will confirm that the product is fresh. Don’t even go near the brown-burgundy meat, as it has been stored for longer than expected. Lard should be white; its yellow color eloquently indicates that the product is stale. With such ingredients, kebabs will have an unpleasant smell and taste.

Necessary:

1.5 kg lamb;
100 g fat tail fat;
2 large or 3 medium heads onions;
a bunch of cilantro;
salt, pepper to taste.

How to cook:

If you have an extra half hour left, you can make minced meat.

First, wash the lamb, separate the films, if any. Using a sharp knife, cut the meat into thin slices.

Stack 3-4 on top of each other, use a culinary ax to chop them lengthwise and then crosswise to form small squares.

Do this with all the slices. Take a large wooden board and use a hatchet to turn the pieces into mince.

If you want to cook faster, put a rack with large holes on your meat grinder.

Twist the meat, change the grill to a fine one, pass fat tail fat through it, followed by peeled, washed onions.

Wash the cilantro, chop it quite finely, put it in the minced meat, add salt, add pepper, and mix with a spoon.

Proceed to the next step.

Take the minced meat in both hands and lift it above the table.

Drop onto a large wooden board or directly onto your work surface.

Collect the scattered pieces and repeat the manipulation.

Do this for about 10 minutes, as a result the minced meat should stop falling into pieces and become a single whole.

If you find it difficult to work with so much minced meat with spices, divide it into 2 parts, beat one first and then the other.

Now put the minced meat in the refrigerator for 40 minutes.

At this time, you can prepare the grill. Remove the minced meat; if it has released juice, drain it.

Form thick sausages 10 cm long, slightly pointed at both ends, thread them onto skewers, and fry over coals for about 20 minutes.

If you are cooking at home, preheat the oven to 220°C, place wooden skewers greased with vegetable oil on a special grill or baking sheet covered with foil.

Let the meat “set” at this temperature for 5 minutes, then lower it to 200°C and cook for another 25-30 minutes.

Lula kebab in Georgian

Necessary:

700 g each of beef and pork with fat;
1 onion;
2 cloves of garlic;
half a tsp. cumin and coriander seeds;
1 tbsp. dried barberry;
pepper, salt to taste.

How to cook:

Rinse the meat, separate the fat from the pork. Through a meat grinder fitted with a grid with large holes, grind the beef and lean pork.

Through a wire rack with small pieces of fat and coarsely chopped onion.

Squeeze the garlic through a press, add these ingredients to the meat.

Heat coriander and cumin seeds in a dry frying pan.

After 1-2 minutes they will begin to exude their aroma.

After 4 minutes, turn off the pan, crush the seeds, add to the minced meat along with salt and pepper.

What is lula kebab? Translated from Turkic, lula means “pipe”, and kebab is translated from Arabic as “fried meat”. Therefore, lula kebab is a meat dish that is common in the Balkans, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. It looks like a tube fried meat, strung on a skewer, cooked on the grill. Thanks to its juiciness and excellent taste, lula kebab is known all over the world. Cooking it is a whole art, which you can master, armed with the tips and recipes presented below.

If you want your Lula kebab to melt in your mouth at home, then use the following tips for the cooking process:

• To prepare minced meat, you need to choose fresh meat that has not been frozen. Determine the degree of freshness by smell and color. Residents of eastern countries prepare lula kebab using the back of young lamb. However, you can take any other type of meat or use several types at once for minced meat.
• The best way to make minced meat is this: cut the meat into 1-1.5 cm slices, place it on a hard wooden board, chop the meat with a hatchet along the grain, then across it. Afterwards, the meat needs to be collected in the middle, turned over, leveled, and chopped again. If this process is too labor-intensive for you, then use a meat grinder with a large grid. However, you need to be careful and monitor the operation of the device: if a film or a large piece of meat gets stuck and you continue to turn the handle, the meat grinder will begin to squeeze out meat juice, and the minced meat will turn out to be too wet and will fall off the skewers.
• The next important condition for preparing delicious lula kebab is the addition of fat tail fat. This affects the viscosity of the finished mixture. The amount of fat should be at least a quarter of the total amount of meat. The consistency should not be pasty. Therefore, the lard must first be freed from films, cut into plates, then into strips, and then chopped very finely with a sharp knife. To make this easier for you, lightly freeze the lard.
• Before turning the meat into minced meat, it is important to get rid of veins and films that can spoil the lula kebab. A juicy and tender dish should melt in your mouth, and not get stuck due to hard lumps of veins.
• An obligatory component is onion. It must be finely chopped with a knife, but not twisted in a meat grinder, otherwise it will spoil the viscosity of the minced meat. It is important not to overdo it with onions: use no more than a third of the volume of meat, otherwise onion juice will prevent you from forming lula kebab.
• Minced meat is prepared without bread, eggs, starch or other thickeners. Lard plays the role of a binding component; you also need to season it with cumin, black pepper, salt in moderation, and herbs.
• The next secret to making lula kebab is kneading and beating the minced meat. You need to do this for 20 minutes, no less. You will notice how protein begins to be released, which gives viscosity and plasticity, and the fat will be better distributed throughout the meat. It is necessary to beat and knead the mass until you obtain a homogeneous mixture that does not stick to your hands.
• When the minced meat is ready, it must be placed in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours so that the fat hardens. It cannot be frozen. At this stage, you can roll up sausages in portions, wrap them in film, and put them in the refrigerator.
• To shape and thread, prepare salted warm water to wet your hands and cold wide skewers. Do not make sausages that are too thick, otherwise they will not bake well. Carefully form the minced meat around the skewer so that it fits snugly without creating a void.
• Lula kebab is fried over coals. In this case, the skewers need to be quickly turned over so that the minced meat is browned on all sides and the juice is baked inside. Do not pour water into hot coals, otherwise the dish will absorb smoke. To ensure air circulates and the kebab cooks evenly, use a fan.

How to make lula kebab at home: recipes with photos

Knowing the secrets of lula kebab, you can start preparing this dish at home. What makes this dish especially attractive is its simplicity: the minimum available set of ingredients, amazing juicy taste. Therefore, every housewife can safely include this dish in the family diet, because you can cook it not only over coals using the classic method, but also in a frying pan, oven, convection oven, electric barbecue grill, microwave, or multicooker.

Classic lamb on the grill

Lula kebab classic recipe at home - this is aerobatics among meat dishes, which are prepared by using a barbecue. To form a good bond between the meat and lard, the minced meat must be beaten for a long time. This recipe is considered traditional for Azerbaijan. Required components:

• fat tail – 700 g;
• lamb – 700 g;
• salt - to taste;
• ground black pepper - to taste;
• onion – 1 pc.

Step-by-step cooking master class at home:

• We pass the lamb and fat tail through a meat grinder.
• Peel the onion and cut into very small cubes. Mix the meat and onion, add salt and pepper to taste, and mix the minced meat thoroughly.
• Place in the refrigerator for an hour.
• Wet your hands with water and roll into small cutlets.
• Place 4 cutlets on a skewer and press them around with your hand to form a dense, unified mass.
• Fry on the grill, turning several times.

Chicken on skewers in the oven

Chicken lula kebab is difficult to cook at home in the oven by weight, since the minced meat is not dense enough. Therefore, the best way is to bake lying on a wire rack or baking sheet lined with foil. This simplified version of the dish turns out very tasty and juicy. Required components:

• minced chicken – 600 g;
• flour – 2.5 tbsp;
• onions – 2 pcs.;
• hard cheese – 50 g;
• butter– 50 g;
• dried oregano, parsley, basil - to taste;
• black pepper, salt - to taste.

Step-by-step cooking recipe:

• Grind the cheese on a grater. Finely chop the onion. Mix minced meat, flour, cheese, dry herbs, onion, salt and pepper, softened butter.
• Mix well and beat the minced meat. Soak the skewers in cold water for 20 minutes.
• Roll into cutlets with wet hands. We string them onto a skewer and press them down to form sausages.
• Place on a wire rack or baking sheet lined with greased foil. Cook at 200 degrees for about 20 minutes, remembering to turn over so that all sides are browned.

Pork and beef in a frying pan

Mixed minced meat for lula kebab should consist of 30% pork, 70% beef. The first type of meat gives the dish softness and fat, while the latter gives juiciness and fibrousness. A common method of preparing this dish at home is frying it in a pan. If you strictly follow the instructions, the result is no worse than on the grill. Required ingredients:

• butter – 2 tbsp;
• minced pork and beef – 1 kg;
• onion – 1 pc.;
• eggs – 2 pcs.;
• dry herbs - to taste.

Step-by-step preparation at home:

• Mix the minced meat with pepper, salt, dry herbs, raw eggs, chopped onion, soft butter.
• Knead thoroughly meat mass, we beat back. Soak the skewers in cold water for 20 minutes.
• We form cutlets, string them onto skewers, and press them with our hands until they look like sausages.
• Fry, preheating the oil, on all sides until golden brown.

Armenian pork in lavash with cranberry sauce

Armenian lula kebab is for true connoisseurs of Caucasian cuisine. It's juicy, tender, hearty dish served in an unusual way - in pita bread and with sauce, like stuffed shawarma. Sweet and sour sauce Ideally sets off the fat content of meat, giving it a richness of taste. Required components:

• lamb ham – 1 kg;
• onions – 2 pcs.;
• vodka – 2 tbsp;
• salt, black pepper - to taste;
• lavash - for serving;
• cranberries – 1 cup;
• red currants – 1 cup;
• nutmeg ground – 0.5 tsp;
• grated ginger – 1 tsp;
• juice of one orange;
• sugar – 2 tbsp.

Preparation step by step:

• We wash the meat, dry it, remove films and veins, and cut into small pieces. Grind to mince in any way convenient for you.
• Peel the onion and cut into small cubes. Mix meat, onion, salt, pepper, vodka. Knead, beat, leave for a couple of hours in the refrigerator.
• We make sausages, string them onto skewers, and fry them over coals until crusty.
• For the sauce, grind red currants and cranberries in a blender. Add to berry puree Orange juice, nutmeg, sugar, ginger. Place on the fire and after boiling, boil for 10 minutes.
• Wrap the lula in pita bread, pour sauce over it or dip it.

Beef in a slow cooker

Lula kebab is traditionally cooked over a fire. However, at home, if you have a kitchen aid such as a multicooker, making the dish is much easier. This recipe is based on ground beef, where fat is added for juiciness and tenderness. Required ingredients:

• onions – 2 pcs.;
• fat – 150 g;
• beef – 500 g;
• salt, black pepper - to taste;
• ground cumin – 0.5 tsp;
• zira – 0.5 tsp;
• vegetable oil- for frying.

Step by step instructions:

• Grind the beef through a meat grinder, mix with chopped fat and onions. Add salt, pepper, cumin, cumin.
• Knead thoroughly, beat, leave in the refrigerator for an hour.
• Form sausages with wet hands. Fry in a multicooker, preheating the vegetable oil, in the “Frying” or “Baking” mode.

Homemade veal in an air fryer

You can prepare lula kebab at home using a device such as an air fryer. Using it is a pleasure, since cooking does not take up the housewife’s time and effort. The dish comes out juicy, aromatic and very tasty. Required ingredients:

• veal fillet – 500 g;
• garlic – 5 cloves;
• onions – 2 pcs.;
• fat – 150 g;
• salt, ground black pepper, cumin, cilantro - to taste.

Step-by-step cooking process:

• Grind the meat in a meat grinder, mix it with chopped garlic, onions, fat, and spices.
• Mix the minced meat thoroughly, beat it, leave it in the refrigerator for an hour and a half.
• Soak wooden skewers for half an hour in cold water.
• We form cutlets, string them onto skewers, press them with our hands, making sausages.
• Place on a greased air fryer rack.
• Cook at 260 degrees, on the middle rack, high fan speed for 20 minutes.

How to fry a frozen semi-finished product on a grill

An option for the laziest is semi-finished lula kebab. It tastes far from home-cooked, but if you don't have time, you can use it. It is recommended to choose only high-quality semi-finished products. Required ingredients:

• vegetable oil - for frying:
• semi-finished lula kebab – 6 pcs.

Step-by-step preparation:

• Semi-finished products need to be defrosted.
• Grease the grate with oil. We lay out the blanks between the rods.
• Fry, turn once to the other side, until golden brown.

How to cook in the microwave with grill

If you don’t have the opportunity to go into nature and enjoy campfire lula, cook it at home in the microwave from minced chicken. According to the presented recipe, the dish comes out very juicy, tasty, aromatic. Skewers must be used not round, but flat. Required components:

• ground paprika – 0.5 tsp;
• onions – 2 pcs.;
• parsley – 0.5 bunch;
• salt, ground black pepper - to taste;
• garlic – 2 cloves;
• chicken fillet– 600 g.

Step-by-step cooking master class:

• Grind the chicken fillet in a meat grinder, mix with finely chopped onion, garlic, parsley, salt, black pepper, and paprika.
• Knead the minced meat thoroughly, beat it, throwing it forcefully onto a cutting board at least 20 times. Place in the refrigerator for half an hour. Soak the skewers in cold water.
• We form sausages and string them onto skewers. Bake in the microwave at medium power until fully cooked.

On skewers in an electric kebab maker

On the grill you can cook a dish with amazing taste - Uzbek lula kebab. However, at home, this device can be successfully replaced by an electric kebab maker. This kitchen assistant greatly facilitates the work of every housewife. Serve this meal with potatoes or other side dishes. Required components:

• lamb – 500 g;
• tail fat – 150 g;
• salt, pepper - to taste;
• onions – 2 pcs.

Recipe:

• Grind the meat in a meat grinder.
• Finely chop the onion and fat with a sharp knife.
• Mix meat, fat, onion. Beat the minced meat intensively and leave it in the refrigerator for an hour.
• We make cutlets, string them onto skewers, and squeeze them with our hands to get the shape of a sausage.
• Fry in an electric kebab until done.

Turkey diet recipe

Judging by the reviews, many people like turkey meat due to its tenderness, juiciness and sweet taste. Cooked lula kebab with such meat is considered dietary option. The process is not at all complicated, and the result will pleasantly surprise you. Required components:

• turkey fillet – 450 g;
• soy sauce– 2 tbsp;
• vegetable oil – 1 tbsp;
• protein – 1 pc.;
• garlic – 2 cloves;
• salt, pepper - to taste;
• onion – 1 pc.

Step-by-step preparation scheme:

• Grind the meat through a meat grinder. Chop the onion and garlic with a knife. Mix minced meat, vegetable oil, soy sauce, onion, garlic, salt, pepper and protein.
• Mix thoroughly, beat, put in the refrigerator for an hour. Soak the skewers.
• We form sausages, string them, place them carefully on the grill. Fry on all sides until browned.

Calorie content of the dish

Georgian or other oriental lula kebab has a rich composition of vitamins, minerals and other useful substances. The product contains organic acids, carbohydrates, fats, proteins, dietary fiber, vitamins A, PP, groups B, C, E, iron, calcium, potassium, zinc, chromium, fluorine, copper, etc. Depending on the type of meat used To prepare this oriental dish, its calorie content changes:

• lamb lula kebab – 340 kcal per 100 g;
• pork and beef – 240 kcal;
• beef – 210 cal;
• chicken – 143 kcal.

Video recipes

A well-prepared lula kebab is the king of all kebabs and barbecues. It can be made from lamb, chicken, veal, marbled beef. At first glance, the cooking process is simple: finely chop the meat, mix with onions and fat, form into cutlets, skewer and fry. However, not everything is so easy! The main secret is the correct threading on skewers, which is not so easy to do. In addition, there are subtleties in preparing minced meat. And you will learn about them by watching the YouTube videos below about preparing lula kebab from famous gastronomes.

Recipe from Stalik Khankishiev

From minced meat

Of three types of meat on charcoal

Recipes for preparing spicy Lula-Kebab in Armenian

1. Lula Kebab can be made from beef, pork, or poultry, but in the classic version only lamb is used. Don’t be lazy, go around the market and take fresh and not old lamb. The quality of the dish will depend on your choice of meat. Old lamb will be tough and take longer to cook, causing the dish to dry out before cooking time.
2. To prepare Lula-Kebab, use only a sharp knife; it is advisable not to use a meat grinder. Lamb must be cleaned of film and tendons. Rinse and finely chop with a knife. Peel the onions, rinse and chop very finely. Place the onion and meat in a cup. Add vodka, salt and pepper. Mix and taste.
3. Now is the most difficult stage. Place the finished minced meat on the table and begin to knead and beat it very thoroughly. This must be done so that the maximum amount of protein can be extracted from the meat. The minced meat, in this case, will become very viscous, which will allow it to sit firmly on the skewer and not fall apart during cooking over the coals. Spare no effort and try to spend at least 15 minutes on this procedure.
4. Place the finished minced meat in a saucepan or cup, cover with a lid and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. As in the case of kebab, lula kebab must ripen and marinate in its own juice.
5. We recommend preparing lula kebab using varieties of fruit trees, as we have already discussed in one of our articles. Fruit firewood not only provides the necessary stable heat, but also gives the dish a special subtle fruity aroma. We make small sausages from minced meat, the size of large sausages and a little larger in diameter than sausages. Thread onto skewers and place over the coals. During cooking, turn the skewer frequently and avoid open flame.
6. Juicy Lula-Kebab from lamb in Armenian style ready. And this dish is served to the table in this way. The bottom of a wide tray is laid out with bright green lettuce leaves. Thin is placed on the salad Armenian lavash. We place skewers with hot, juicy, incredibly aromatic Lula Kebab on the pita bread. Sprinkle a variety of fresh herbs on top. Decorate the sides of Lula-Kebab with bright slices of fresh cucumbers, tomatoes and bell pepper. Serve Lula Kebab or Caucasian sauce in a separate bowl. Use this dish immediately after cooking; after additional heating, Lula-Kebab loses many of its unique taste properties and almost all its aroma.

“Kebab” is a word that found its way into European languages, and into our lexicon too, straight from Farsi, the language of the ancient Persians and the literary language of peoples such as Turks and Azerbaijanis. This word has a fairly broad meaning and is translated as “fried meat.” There are a great many variations of dishes prepared in the world under this collective name, and taking the trouble to list them is not an easy task. In Armenia, most types of kebabs cooked on the grill are called “khorovats”, but for the dish we are about to introduce you to, they use the word “kebab” or the Turkish “lulya kebab”.

Armenian kebab is a small elongated sausage made from minced lamb with fat tail fat, onions and spices, put on skewers and baked on the grill.

In order to prepare kebab correctly, you need to remember a few essential rules, without which you are unlikely to get a real Armenian kebab - juicy, aromatic and tasty.

First of all, buying meat for kebab - and it should be lamb, and only lamb! - pay attention to the fact that the meat comes from a young lamb, but not too lean. You should take those parts from which you can cut off more flesh: naturally, the tenderloin (but it will not be enough), also the back part with the legs.

In order for your sausages to stay securely on the skewers and not accidentally fall on the coals (this happens quite often for beginners), and also to ensure that your meat is tender and flavorful, you will definitely need fat tail fat. Do not try to replace it with regular fat, cut from the same lamb or (God forbid!) lard. It is tail fat that has the properties necessary for high-quality kebab: firstly, it has good viscosity and, due to this, “glues” the lamb together; secondly, fat tail fat is not as dense as regular fat, and, being a natural lining between pieces of meat, makes the kebab juicy and plump. Ask for fat tail fat from butchers who specialize in selling lamb.

Under no circumstances should you cook kebab from minced meat! Don't confuse kebab with cutlets! This is the biggest mistake of many people who start cooking kebab without preparation, at least theoretically. For kebab, the lamb is not ground in a meat grinder, but is first cut into small pieces with a knife, and then chopped on a thick meat cutting board using a cleaver or a large knife, and it is important to change the direction of chopping each time - as if chopping “crosswise” . It’s faster and more convenient to chop lamb with two knives at once, if you can do it and have the strength. The finer you chop the meat, the more securely it will stay on the skewer and the better it will bake on the grill.

In my Armenian family there was no tradition of cooking kebab - we mainly made kebabs (or khorovats) from lamb, pork, chicken or sturgeon on skewers or on a grill. But at home we have made kebab more than once, and it’s not a bad dish, I tell you. Especially in order to somehow diversify country barbecues.

(for 8 people)

Ingredients for kebab:

• 2 kg of young lamb pulp, finely chopped into mince
• 400 g fat tail fat, finely chopped
• 400g thin, long (approx. 15cm) strips of lean pork belly
• 2 large yellow onions, peeled and finely chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
• 1 tbsp. hot pepper chili, finely chopped
• 1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves
• Half tbsp. cumin
• Coarse sea salt

Ingredients for the sauce:

• 4 large pink tomatoes
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• Coarse sea salt

Preparation:

Lula kebab

For 800 g of lamb: 40 g of tail fat, 2 onions, 100 g of green onions, 1 teaspoon of barberry, 1 lemon, 360 g of flour for lavash; salt, pepper, herbs.

Turn the lamb flesh without tendons through a meat grinder several times along with fat tail fat, add raw chopped onions, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Stir the resulting minced meat and keep it on ice for 2-3 hours (marinate), then form it into short sausages, 2 pieces each. per serving. Thread them onto skewers (skewers) and fry on a grill over coals. To serve, remove the sausages from the skewer and wrap them in a thin flatbread. wheat flour(lavash), place on a dish or plate.

Serve with green onions and lemon wedges. Decorate the dish with sprigs of herbs. Separately, you can serve barberry - dried ground or fresh.