Turkey kebab - 11 most delicious marinades to keep the meat tender

Which part to use for shish kebab?

Turkey is great for barbecuing; it is juicier than chicken. In addition, turkey absorbs marinades well and bakes well over coals.

First of all, you need to decide which part of the bird you will use to prepare the kebab. The fact is that the cooking time for a dish, for example, from a drumstick, differs from the time for baking a kebab from wings. Therefore, it is better to string identical parts of carcasses onto skewers.

But which part to choose is a matter of taste. You can cook it from thighs and drumsticks, from breast fillets, from poultry caps and giblets. But at the same time, you need to remember that the meat on the breast is leaner, and the fillet from the thighs contains a significantly larger amount of fat.

Turkey meat needs to be cut correctly. You don’t need to chop it too small, the pieces will dry out over the coals and instead of shish kebab you will get croutons. Therefore, the pieces should be quite large. So, a good cutting option is a cube with a side length of 5 cm.

It is necessary to marinate the sliced ​​turkey so that the meat is tender. In addition, during the marinating process, the meat is imbued with the taste and aroma of spices. You need to keep the meat in the marinade for at least 4 hours, but you can marinate for a longer time, for example, many people prefer to pour the marinade over the meat in the evening and cook the kebab in the morning or afternoon, that is, after 8-14 hours. Of course, when marinating for such a long time, the meat must be stored in the refrigerator.

Interesting facts: In Rus', meat was cooked over coals in ancient times. But this dish was called not shish kebab, but spun meat. Twisted ducks, hares, and chickens were served at the royal table.

Product features and grilling methods

There are many different recipes on how to cook turkey on the grill. But not everyone knows what needs to be done to make cooked meat tasty. The fact is that the product from this bird has almost no fat and, if you fry it on the grill, like regular meat, it quickly dries out and becomes tough even before it is ready.

To avoid such trouble, it is recommended to cook it in a whole piece under pressure. This way the bottom will cook evenly and the top won’t dry out. To do this, you can use a brick previously wrapped in foil.

A simple recipe with mineral water and vinegar

To begin with, here is a simple and quick marinade recipe for turkey barbecue. If you simply marinate the meat in vinegar, the taste will be too strong. But if you mix vinegar with mineral water, the kebab will turn out unusually tender.

• 1.2-1.5 boneless turkey;
• 4 onions;
• 10 peppercorns;
• 2 tablespoons table vinegar;
• 1 liter of sparkling water;
• 1 lemon;
• a third of a spoon of ground red pepper;
• 1-1.5 tablespoons of fine salt;
• 2 teaspoons dry basil.

We wash the meat and pat it dry with paper towels. Cut the fillet into fairly large pieces. Cut the onions into rings, not too thin. Add the onion to the meat, sprinkle with pepper and basil.

Squeeze the juice from the lemon and pour over the meat. Pour in a glass of mineral water and mix well. Keep in the cold for at least 4 hours. Then thread the meat and onions onto skewers. Mix the remaining mineral water with vinegar. Fry the meat over coals, frequently sprinkling with vinegar water.

Turkey fillet shashlik marinated in mayonnaise

The kebab made from turkey fillet marinated in mayonnaise turns out tender. To prepare the marinade, it is recommended to use homemade mayonnaise, since this product does not contain preservatives or other artificial additives. But industrially produced mayonnaise certainly contains artificial additives.

• 1 kg turkey fillet, cut into large cubes;
• 1 bunch of green onions;
• 250 gr. mayonnaise;
• salt, pepper, other seasonings to taste.

Spicy pineapple syrup and soy sauce marinade

If you like savory dishes, then you will definitely like the turkey skewers marinated in soy sauce and pineapple syrup. Meat prepared in this way simply melts in the mouth and has a very delicate aroma.

• 1 kg turkey fillet;
• 2 tablespoons of grated garlic;
• 150 ml pineapple syrup from canned fruits;
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce;
• 1 teaspoon salt;
• 1 tablespoon Lemon Pepper Seasoning.

Cut the fillet into large cubes. We peel the garlic and grate it, or you can put it through a press. Separately mix soy sauce, lemon pepper, salt, and grated garlic.

Open a can of canned pineapple and pour a measured amount of syrup into the prepared mixture. Stir and pour the resulting marinade over the sliced ​​turkey and stir vigorously. Let the turkey marinate for at least two hours. Then we string the meat onto skewers and fry the kebabs on the grill, constantly turning them over. The meat will be ready after about 15-20 minutes of frying.

In spicy-sweet sauce

The main accent in this meat dish is an interesting sweet and sour sauce with light citrus notes. If desired, you can use tangerines, limes, grapefruits, and kiwis instead of oranges.

Required Products:

• turkey wings – 8 pcs.;
• citruses – 2 pcs.;
• honey - 3 tbsp. l.;
• soy sauce – 4 tbsp. l.;
• cumin and curry – 10 g each;
• aromatic herbs.

The bird's wings should be washed under running water and dried with a napkin. Make a marinade separately - squeeze the juice out of the orange, mix it with spices and soy sauce. The bird should be marinated in the prepared sauce for at least 6-7 hours. The wings are fried on a grill. Served with fresh vegetables and spicy herbs.

Delicious marinade with pomegranate juice

Turkey marinated in pomegranate juice turns out very tasty. You can squeeze pomegranate juice in different ways. Here is one of them: peel the pomegranate, select the grains. We put them in a thick plastic bag. To be safe, you can take two bags inserted one inside the other. We tie the bag tightly. Then we roll it several times with a rolling pin. You need to roll with pressure, but not too zealously, so that the pomegranate seeds do not tear the film.

Cut off a corner of the bag and drain the juice through a strainer.

• 1 kg turkey fillet from thighs or breasts - to your taste;
• 200 ml pomegranate juice;
• 1 onion;
• 1 tablespoon of spicy adjika;
• 1 teaspoon hot mustard;
• salt and ground black pepper to taste.

Cut the turkey fillet into large pieces. Chop the onion thinly - into halves or quarters of rings. Sprinkle the onion with a little salt and grind it until you get juice. Mix the prepared onion with the meat, add spices to taste and pour in pomegranate juice. Mix everything. Cover the dish with meat and put it in the cold. You can marinate the turkey for only 2 hours, but you can keep the meat in the marinade for longer - 10-12 hours. Fry the meat over the coals until golden brown.

Shish kebab of turkey hearts marinated in beer

To prepare kebabs, you can use not only poultry fillets, but also offal. For example, shish kebab made from turkey hearts is very tasty. Marinates bird hearts in beer.

• 500 gr. turkey heart;
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice;
• 0.5 glasses of light beer;
• 1 onion;
• 0.5 tablespoon of prepared hot mustard;
• 0.5 glasses of mineral water;
• salt, ground black pepper.

We wash the bird hearts and let them dry. Peel the onion, chop and rub with your hands until the juice appears. It is better to do this work with gloves so that your hands do not smell like onions later. Mix the onion mixture with the hearts.

We wash the lemon, cut it in half and squeeze out the juice. Mix the juice with beer, mineral water and mustard. Add spices to the mixture and pour the resulting marinade into the offal and onions. Mix well again and leave to marinate for at least three hours.

Diet marinade with kefir

Even on a diet, you can treat yourself to delicious kebab. For cooking, you need to take breast fillet, this is the least fatty part of the bird. In addition, we will make a dietary marinade prepared with kefir. You can also take low-fat kefir.

• 1 kg turkey breast fillet;
• 1.5 cups low-fat kefir;
• salt to taste;
• spices to taste, you can take dry basil, a mixture of peppers, rosemary, etc.

The marinade for this kebab is very easy to prepare. You just need to mix kefir with salt and spices.

Cut the turkey fillet into large pieces and pour in the prepared marinade, mix well. Keep the meat in the marinade for at least three hours. You can leave it overnight, but you must keep the meat in the cold.

Thread the marinated meat onto skewers. At the same time, we try not to press the pieces too tightly against each other, otherwise the meat at the places where the pieces touch will not cook well. But the pieces should not be placed far from each other, as the meat may dry out.

Fry the kebab for about 20 minutes. It is important not to dry out the meat, but also not to leave it raw. The best side dish for dietary barbecue is fresh vegetables.

With pineapple

The best option for those who like a slightly sweet taste of meat. It turns out spicy and unusual.

What do you need:

• 600 g canned pineapples;
• 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard;
• 3 tsp olive oil;
• salt;
• any spices to taste.

Cooking:

1. Rub the chopped turkey pieces with mustard and spices.
2. Mix the meat with olive oil.
3. Leave for an hour in a cool place.
4. Cut the pineapple rings into large slices and add to the meat.
5. Leave the marinade for another 40 minutes.
6. Thread onto skewers one by one - a piece of meat, then a piece of pineapple. Everything should be tight so that the fruits share the juice.

With this marinade, it is important not to overcook the kebab - turn it over as often as possible.

For absolute beginners, we recommend watching a video recipe for a simple turkey marinade.

Lemon-Lime Turkey Marinade

Another version of the marinade is prepared with lemon and lime. The meat in this marinade turns out tender, with a subtle aroma.

• 1.2-1.5 kg turkey fillet, you can take breast or thighs;
• 2 large onions;
• 3-4 cloves of garlic;
• 1 tablespoon lime juice;
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice;
• 3 tomatoes;
• salt and spices to taste.

Cut the turkey fillet into large pieces. Cut onions and tomatoes into slices. Ideally, you should use elongated onions and cream tomatoes (shaped like cylinders). Pass the garlic through a press or finely chop it.

Mix vegetables and fillet pieces in a deep bowl, which will be used for marinating. Squeeze the juice from lemon and lime and mix. Pour the mixture into the meat and stir.

Add salt and spices. You can choose any seasonings, but the best combinations with turkey meat are sweet paprika, dry basil and thyme. You can use ready-made seasoning mixtures for poultry or barbecue. Ground allspice complements the marinade very well.

Advice! When choosing seasonings, pay attention to whether they contain salt. If salt is available, then you need to salt the meat very carefully.

Leave the meat in the marinade for at least two hours. You can stand it for a longer time; it is convenient to leave the meat to marinate overnight. Before frying, place pieces of meat on skewers, alternating them with onion and tomato rings. Fry over hot coals for 20-25 minutes.

Air fryer recipe

With the help of an air fryer you can prepare real shish kebab for the holiday table. Preparing the dish is quite simple, without going out of town and without special skills, the main thing is to choose a tasty marinade for the meat.

Ingredients:

• 525 g turkey fillet;
• two onions;
• one lemon;
• 17 ml olives;
• a pinch of cardamom and cumin;
• salt, black and red pepper to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Pour oil into a bowl, squeeze the juice from half a lemon, add the onion chopped into rings, all the spices and knead. We add very little salt, since turkey meat does not really like this ingredient.
2. Cut the turkey into squares, add to the marinade and leave for an hour.
3. Place the meat pieces on skewers and place them on the middle rack; place a tray with the remaining marinade on the bottom of the air fryer.
4. Cook the kebab at a temperature of 260°C for 10 minutes on one side and the same time on the other. Frying time may be different, it all depends on the power of the device.
5. Chop the remaining onion into rings, squeeze the juice from the remaining half of the citrus into them, and marinate for half an hour.
6. Serve the finished kebab with pickled onions and vegetables.

Turkey kebab in bacon with kiwi marinade

Do you want to cook an original version of shish kebab? Then try the turkey with kiwi, baked in bacon.

• 500 gr. turkey fillet;
• 100 gr. sliced ​​bacon;
• 3 pcs. kiwi;
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil;
• salt and pepper mixture to taste.

Kiwi is an exotic fruit with a sweet and sour taste. Its taste goes well with meat. In addition, the acids contained in kiwi perfectly soften muscle fibers. You can make a regular marinade with kiwi. To do this, you need to grind the fruits into a puree and mix with pieces of meat and spices. But if you want to surprise your guests, then you should try the following cooking option.

Cut the turkey fillet into layers, as for schnitzels. Cover the meat with cling film and pound it a little with the flat side of a meat mallet. You should not beat with the grooved side, as sharp corners tear the delicate fibers and the meat will lose juice.

With lemon juice

The taste of this marinade makes the bird rich in taste and with a bright aroma of marjoram.

What do you need:

• 2 lemons;
• 100 soy sauce;
• onion;
• black pepper;
• marjoram.

Cooking:

1. Rub dry chopped turkey pieces with dried marjoram and ground black pepper.
2. Pour soy sauce, fresh lemon juice, and a teaspoon of zest from the peel of one of the lemons into a separate plate.
3. Cut the onion into large rings and soak in the soy-lemon mixture for a couple of minutes.
4. Add the sauce to the pieces of meat and stir.
5. Marinate the turkey under light pressure in a cold place for 2 hours.

Mustard and honey marinade

The ideal marinade is made from mustard and honey. The kebab turns out juicy, aromatic and very tasty.

• 500 gr. turkey fillet;
• 1 red onion;
• 1 sweet pepper, preferably yellow;
• 1 tablespoon honey;
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard;
• 2 cloves of garlic;
• 1 bunch of cilantro;
• salt, ground black pepper.

We wash the greens and chop them finely. Chop the garlic very finely with a knife and mix it with cilantro. Add mustard and melted honey. Add salt and pepper. Mix everything thoroughly, ensuring that the mass is as homogeneous as possible.

Cut the turkey into large pieces and mix the meat with the marinade. Mix very thoroughly so that the marinade covers all the pieces on all sides. Cover the dish with the meat and leave in the cold for at least two hours.

Cut the red onion into circles, peel the sweet pepper and cut into squares. We take out the marinated meat and string it onto skewers, alternating with mugs of onions and vegetables. Fry over coals.

Turkey wings on the grill

To prepare wings juicy and tasty, you can use an unusual marinade recipe. No, there will be no kefir or other usual ingredients here.

What you will need:

• 00 ml soy sauce.
• 50 ml rosehip syrup from the pharmacy.
• Dried garlic - a couple of teaspoons.
• Ground black pepper - a pinch.
• Salt – a pinch.

Since the wings of this bird are large, they must be cut into two parts at the joint. And also make several cuts so that the meat marinates faster. The indicated amount of marinade is enough for 3 kg of meat.

How to cook

Season the wings with salt and pepper to your taste. You can use special seasonings for poultry kebabs.

Read more: Chicken kebab - classic recipes for the most delicious marinades

Pour soy sauce into a bowl, mix it with dried garlic and rosehip syrup, set the wings to marinate for a couple of hours.

Turkey wings on the grill

Fry the finished wings on a grill over coals.

Sour cream marinade

Turkey marinated in sour cream turns out very tender. Shish kebab prepared according to this recipe will not taste like vinegar, the meat will be very soft and juicy.

• 1.2-1.5 kg turkey fillet;
• 750 gr. sour cream;
• 3 onions
• salt and spices.

We wash the turkey meat and cut it into pieces for frying shish kebab. Cut the onion into rings or halves of rings.

Place the meat in a bowl, add onion, salt, and spices. You can add a ready-made spice mixture for roasting poultry or for barbecue. Or you can create your own “bouquet” by choosing seasonings to suit your taste.

Add sour cream to the meat. And mix the mixture very well with flour. We literally knead it like dough. We need the onions to release their juice. Leave to marinate for 2 hours (you can keep it in the marinade longer). Fry over coals, avoiding the appearance of a dark crust; the turkey should only slightly brown.

Wine marinade for turkey barbecue

To prepare delicious shish kebab, you can marinate meat in wine. To prepare shish kebab, you can use turkey fillet or wings. You need to keep the meat in the marinade for at least 2 and no more than 14 hours. Marinating too long can cause the meat to become too soft and twist on the skewer.

• 1.5 kg turkey pulp;
• 300 gr. bacon;
• 6 medium sized onions;
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil;
• 3 tablespoons of dry red wine;
• 0.5 tablespoon of salt;
• 5 peas each of black bitter and allspice;
• 1 tablespoon sweet ground paprika;
• 1 teaspoon basil;
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds;
• 0.5 teaspoon ground red pepper.

Wash and dry the fillet, cut it into large pieces. Chop the onion, cutting into half rings. Sprinkle the onion with salt and spices and grind it as if we were sauerkraut. After the onion releases the salt, add vegetable oil and dry wine. Mix everything well again.

We cut the bacon into thin slices. Mix the fillet with the marinade, add chopped bacon to the meat and put it in the cold, covering it with a lid. Thread the meat mixed with lard onto skewers. Fry over hot coals.