Summertime is for grilling and eating outside. It is a time when all cooks – savvy chefs and backyard stars alike – whip out their best recipes for grilled meat/fish/vegetables and impress their family and friends.
And so today I will share with you a recipe of grilled pork that has converted neigh sayers, i.e. people who say they don’t like one thing but it turns out that they have never eaten it prepared deliciously. And one that has proven (yet again!) that good things can come from things prepared simply.
Shashlik, or grilled pork bites, comes from Caucasian cuisine. It is very popular in and around Georgia, Armenia, Uzbekistan and other countries of the region. Each of them takes pride in their traditions in preparing shashlik from choosing the right cut of meat to the variety of recipes (and there are as many recipes as there are people) on how to marinate it.
Shashlik is prepared from pork or lamb meat that is cut up into bite sizes. The meat can be marinated or not but traditionally it is cooked on skewers over wood coal. Usually, it is slowly cooked in a special “stove”, if you will, which looks a bit like a deep rectangular tray with slots to hang the skewers on. The wood is burned down inside it and then the cooking begins. It truly takes lots of practice to make a good and juicy shashlik.
Before I dive in, here are some fun facts. Georgians do not marinate their shashlik. They believe that high-quality meat does not require marinating and spice it only with salt and pepper.
Armenians marinate theirs the night before with thyme and basil.
One of the ways Uzbeks marinate shashlik is in green tea.
Shashlik is a really popular dish in Lithuania. Although not traditional to the country, it has been adopted during the Soviet times and is made during family and friend get-togethers, at campsites and restaurants.
As far as I remember, guys are the ones to stay by the fire and cook shashlik while sipping beer. But to tell you the truth, since I live in America it is hard to ask my husband to make something he did not grow up with in a way that I know how to make:)
Speaking of which, I have had to figure out how to cook shashlik because gas grills are more popular here than the above-mentioned wood burning “shashlik stoves”.
But as the saying goes, when there is a wish there is a way. The “how” is very different from the traditional way, but the what – the shashlik and the marinade – I think are pretty decent if I do say so myself.
So without further ado, here is a recipe of a “shashlik” that you can make on your grill today.
Shashlik is a wonderful addition to your summer barbeque
- 4.5-5 lbs pork butts preferrably boneless
- 1 onion medium, diced
- 2 tbsp smokehouse maple spice
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 tbsp apple cider vinegar medium, diced
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Cut the pork butts into bite size pieces
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Place the pork pieces in a large bowl and add the smoked applewood seasoning, diced onion, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and oil. With your hands, make sure the meat is covered with the above ingredients.
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Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator. It can marinate from anywhere between 30 minutes and 24 hours.
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Preheat the grill to 400 F
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Take out the meat and string it on the skewers. The bites should touch each other.
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Place the meat on the skewers on the grill, cover and let it sear on for a couple of minutes to lock in the juices. Then turn the skewer so the other side gets a chance to do the same.
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Turn down the heat to low (around 350F) and cook for additional 20-25 minutes.
- You can make the seasoning in a separate bowl, mix it well and then pour over the pork. I usually do everything in the same bowl but it is totally up to you.
- Try to make sure that the pork bites are approximately the same size because that way they will all cook evenly.
- Serve with fresh vegetables or fresh vegetable salad and rice.
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Have you ever tried shashlik?
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