Yogurt-Marinated Lamb Kebab
Cubed lamb, yogurt-garlic marinade, sumac onion and warm pita.
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Don't skip the rest. 3 minutes off-heat after grilling makes the difference between juicy lamb and dry lamb - the juices redistribute instead of running out the second you bite in.
Ingredients
Everything below makes 4 servings.
- 1½ lbboneless lamb shouldertrimmed and cut into 1.5-inch cubes
- ½ cupplain whole-milk yogurt
- 5garlic clovesgrated or pressed (3 for marinade, 2 for yogurt sauce)
- 1lemonjuiced (about 2 tbsp), plus wedges for serving
- 1 tbsptomato paste
- 3 tbspolive oil2 tbsp for marinade, 1 tbsp for sumac onion
- 1½ tspground cumin
- 1 tspsmoked paprika
- ½ tspAleppo pepper (or red pepper flake)
- 1 tbspground sumac
- 1 mediumred onionthinly sliced (for sumac onion garnish)
- ¼ cupfresh parsleychopped
- 4pita bread
- 1½ tspkosher salt
- ½ tspfreshly ground black pepper
In the app these rescale to however many people you're feeding.
Nutrition
Per serving, as written.
- 660calories
- 40gprotein
- 38gcarbs
- 38gfat
Swaps move these numbers. A different protein or base changes them.
Instructions
Knife work first, then the stove. Nothing below asks you to chop while something burns.
- Trim lamb of large fat caps (leave a little for flavor) and cut into 1.5-inch cubes. Pat dry.
- Grate or press 5 garlic cloves - set aside 3 garlic cloves for marinade, 2 garlic cloves for yogurt sauce.
- Thinly slice red onion. Juice lemon. Chop parsley.
- If using wooden skewers, soak in water 20 min so they don't burn.
Marinate
In a bowl, whisk yogurt and olive oil and lemon juice and tomato paste and 3 grated garlic cloves and cumin and smoked paprika and Aleppo pepper and salt and black pepper. Add lamb cubes, toss to coat. Cover and marinate at least 30 min (or up to 24 hr in fridge - overnight gives the most tender result).
30 min · hands offBuild sumac onion and yogurt sauce
Toss sliced red onion with sumac and a pinch of salt and olive oil and chopped parsley - let sit 10 min to soften. In a separate small bowl, stir remaining yogurt with 2 grated garlic cloves and pinch of salt for the dipping sauce.
10 min · hands offSkewer
Thread lamb cubes onto skewers, leaving a tiny gap between each piece (so the heat gets all sides). Don't pack too tight - that's how you end up with steamed lamb instead of charred.
4 min · hands onGrill
Heat grill or grill pan to medium-high. Grill skewers 3-4 min per side, turning to get color on all 4 faces - total 10-12 min. Lamb should be medium (pink center, 145 F internal). Pull, let rest 3 min - resting keeps it juicy.
11 min · hands onWarm pita and plate
Warm pita 30 sec per side directly on the grill (or 1 min in a dry skillet). Slide lamb off skewers onto pita, top with sumac onion, dollop with garlic yogurt sauce. Squeeze a lemon wedge over the top.
3 min · hands onMake it yours
Every swap here is one Maui already knows how to make, including what it does to the timing.
Leaner than shoulder - don't over-grill; pull at medium-rare.
Cook to medium-rare, 3 min/side - beef toughens past medium. Saves about 3 minutes.
Cook 1.5 cups basmati with toasted vermicelli and butter while lamb marinates. Adds about 20 minutes.
Warm lavash 30 sec/side on the grill at the end.
What keeps
Marinate up to 24 hr - yogurt tenderizes overnight. Grilled lamb keeps 3 days; reheat gently in a covered pan with a splash of water (high heat dries it out).
Skewer day-of.
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