Pork kebab - 7 most delicious recipes for soft and juicy kebab

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Updated: Kurzyupa

05/22/2014 Cooking time: 4 hours 0 minutes

Fragrant, juicy, golden brown, with an appetizing crust on the meat, a bone that can be nibbled on so deliciously, and a thin layer of crispy fat around the edge... Pork loin kebab is simply delicious!

Preparing meat and marinade

Pork loin is an ideal option for making barbecue. This is very tender and delicate meat; when processing it, there is no need to strip it of films, veins and excess fat. This part of the pork carcass is marinated and fried very quickly, saving a lot of time.

Many novice cooks have a question about whether bone-in loin is suitable for making kebabs. For this dish, you can use both a cut of clean pork meat and meat on the bone - if cooked correctly, you will get a tasty, juicy and tender dish.

Basic rules for cooking barbecue:

• The loin can be either fresh frozen or chilled. For kebabs, steamed loin or repeatedly thawed meat is not used.
• High-quality pork should have a slight pink tint, without bruising, dark spots or mucus.
• The fat layer should be perfectly white. A yellow tint indicates that the meat is old.
• To cut a loin on the bone, you need to make a longitudinal cut along the bone, then cut the meat into pieces.
• Boneless pork is simply cut across the grain.
• It is best to salt the meat before cooking, otherwise the salt will “pull out” all the moisture and the loin will be overdried.

To prepare the marinade, classic ingredients for pork are used - onions and garlic, soy sauce, wine, table and apple cider vinegar, beer, red and white wine, pomegranate juice or kiwi.

Many marinades also contain fresh lemon juice, soy sauce, mayonnaise and mustard, and sparkling mineral water.

Pork loin goes well with pickled onions and carrots

With onions

Marinade for onion shashlik with added spices is a simple and easy recipe that does not require special culinary skills or many ingredients. Thanks to onions, the meat gets an interesting, piquant taste and becomes even more tender.

Ingredients:

• pork loin – 4 kg;
• onions – 6-7 pcs;
• barbecue seasoning – 2 packs;
• salt - at your discretion.

The loin should be washed, dried with paper towels and cut into portions. Add salt and seasoning, lightly rubbing the mixture in with your fingers. The onions should be peeled and cut into half rings and sprinkled over the pork. Cover the container with meat with a lid or cling film and marinate for 2-3 hours.

Place the marinated loin on the grill over smoldering coals and fry for 4-6 minutes on each side. You can also string the pork onto skewers and fry the kebabs along with onions.

Before marinating, the meat must be cut into pieces of the same size.

Armenian recipe at home

[blok_3_h2]This people have a special relationship with barbecue, and every Armenian family has its own special recipe, verified over the years, which is passed down from generation to generation.

In general, it is believed that they marinate only with onions and butter. But many will argue and say that without basil, Armenian kebab will not be real. That's why there are a lot of herbs in the recipe.

Ingredients for 1 kg:

• Black pepper
• Paprika
• Salt
• Basil
• 50 ml sunflower oil
• 3 onions

If you do not use seasonings, then according to traditional Armenian recipes, take equal proportions of meat and onions.

But every family has several of its own recipes that are passed down from generation to generation. I liked it with the addition of paprika and basil.

Season the pieces and add a pinch of all the herbs.

Cut the head into half rings and send to the meat. And we start squeezing the onion well and mixing everything.

Leave this mixture for 6 hours.

With lemon and garlic

Fresh lemon juice in combination with onions gives pork meat original citrus notes, and garlic makes the taste of the loin brighter and piquant.

Ingredients:

• boneless pork loin – 2 kg;
• onions – 2 kg;
• garlic cloves – 4-6 pcs;
• lemons – 2 pcs;
• salt, spices.

Washed and dried pork meat should be cut into medium-sized pieces. Peel and finely chop the garlic cloves, then add to the loin along with the chopped onions.

Lemons need to be cut into thin slices and also added to the marinade, mix everything thoroughly and leave to marinate for 5-7 hours. The longer the loin is soaked in the sauce, the softer and more tender it will be. Place the marinated pork on the grill or thread it onto skewers and fry until done.

Pork marinates from 2 hours to 24 hours

With pomegranate juice

Grilled loin or skewers turns out extremely tender and soft if you marinate it in natural pomegranate juice. It not only perfectly softens the fibers of meat, but also gives it a sweet and sour, berry flavor.

Ingredients:

• pork loin – 4 kg;
• natural pomegranate juice – 1.2-1.5 l;
• onions – 6-8 pcs;
• salt, ground pepper;
• spices;
• fresh dill, parsley or cilantro.

In order to prepare a tasty and juicy kebab, the washed pork needs to be cut into medium-sized pieces, then mixed with dry ingredients - salt, spices and ground pepper.

After this, the loin should be sprinkled with onions, chopped into rings and chopped herbs, pour pomegranate juice and mix well. The meat should be left to soak for 4-5 hours, then placed on the grill and fried for 5 minutes on both sides.

The loin is fried very quickly - 3-5 minutes on each side.

Shish kebab on the bone in coffee marinade

Pork loin shashlik on the bone in a natural coffee marinade is an original recipe, thanks to which the meat not only becomes extremely juicy and tender, but also acquires an unusual coffee flavor.

Pork neck shashlik

Ingredients:

• pork loin on the bone – 3 kg;
• natural coffee – 2 tbsp. l;
• garlic cloves – 6-7 pcs;
• olive or sunflower oil – 5 tbsp. l;
• rosemary sprigs – 3-4 pcs;
• ground basil – 3 tsp;
• spices, salt.

The pork loin needs to be prepared by chopping it into portions. Pour vegetable oil into a cauldron and heat it, peel the garlic, cut into thin slices and add to the oil along with rosemary sprigs. Fry for no more than 1 minute.

You need to make several deep cuts on the pieces and rub them with a mixture of salt and spices. Pour in pre-prepared aromatic oil and bread in ground coffee. After half an hour, the pork is fried on the grill.

Cooking features

• They try to fry the loin of a young lamb over coals, since the meat of a young animal is tender, soft, cooks quickly and is almost completely devoid of the specific smell of lamb, which not everyone likes.
• Connoisseurs of Caucasian cooking choose fatty lamb for barbecue. It turns out especially juicy and tasty, and the fat is almost completely rendered out while cooking the ribs on the grill.
• Gourmets prefer to grill fresh lamb that has never been frozen. However, kebabs or barbecue can also be made from frozen brisket. It is important to defrost it correctly. Proper thawing involves thawing meat under natural conditions, without sudden temperature changes. An attempt to speed up the defrosting process using a microwave or warm water will result in the lamb losing a lot of liquid, which will negatively affect the organoleptic qualities of the kebab prepared from it.
• If you plan to grill a loin of very young lamb, it is not necessary to marinate it beforehand. However, such meat will also have to be marinated if it was previously frozen. The loin of an adult lamb is always marinated.
• The time for marinating lamb loin depends on the age of the animal to which it belonged, as well as on the composition of the marinade. Usually 3-4 hours is enough, but sometimes the meat needs to be left in the marinade overnight.
• If you plan to marinate the meat for more than 2 hours, do not add salt to the marinade, otherwise it will draw juice out of the meat and the loin will become dry.
• Before marinating, the loin must be cut into portions so that each contains 1 bone. You also need to rinse the lamb well, trim off excess fat, and dry the pieces with paper towels.
• You cannot marinate meat in aluminum dishes. This material reacts with acids, forming harmful substances that can also give the meat an unpleasant metallic taste.
• A young lamb loin is fried over coals for 8-12 minutes. In order to fry the loin of an adult lamb, it may take 1.5-2 times longer. To prevent the snack from burning, it must be turned over periodically.

With kefir

Kefir marinade is a classic recipe that helps soften even the toughest pork fibers. The fermented milk product makes the taste of the loin more interesting and expressive.

Ingredients:

• pork loin on the bone – 2 kg;
• kefir – 1-1.2 l;
• onions – 1.8-2 kg;
• garlic cloves – 5-6 pcs;
• vegetable oil – 4 tbsp. l;
• spices at your discretion, salt.

The washed and chopped loin should be mixed with vegetable oil, spices, chopped garlic cloves and chopped onions. All ingredients should be mixed well and poured with kefir, cover and leave to marinate for 6-8 hours.

The marinated meat must be threaded onto skewers or placed on a grill grate and fried until golden brown.

When grilling, grill only over smoldering coals.

In soy sauce

Pork loin on the bone, marinated in a mixture of soy sauce and balsamic vinegar, obtains amazing softness and tenderness. If you don't have balsamic vinegar, you can use apple cider vinegar.

Ingredients:

• pork loin on the bone – 2 kg;
• soy sauce – 200-220 ml;
• balsamic (or apple) vinegar – 100 ml;
• onions – 1.5-1.8 kg;
• aromatic spices.

To prepare the marinade, balsamic vinegar must be mixed with soy sauce, finely chopped onions and spices. You need to add salt very carefully, as soy sauce has a rich salty taste.

Washed and minced pork meat should be poured with this marinade and left to soak for 7-9 hours. After this, the marinated loin can be strung on skewers and fried or grilled.

The loin can be cooked both on skewers and on the grill grate

With mustard

Marinating in mustard is one of the simplest and most popular recipes. The mustard marinade adds sharpness and piquancy to the meat, making it soft and literally “melting.”

Ingredients:

• pork loin – 2 kg;
• mustard – 10-12 tbsp. l;
• table vinegar 9% - 4-5 tbsp. l;
• olive oil – 7-8 tbsp. l;
• aromatic herbs, table salt.

To prepare the sauce, you need to mix mustard with table vinegar, vegetable oil and aromatic herbs, and add a little salt. Pieces of peeled and chopped pork loin should be poured with marinade and mixed well so that each piece is completely covered with sauce.

The meat should be covered with several layers of cling film and left to soak for 7-9 hours. Marinated pieces of loin are fried on a grill or skewers. Pork in mustard marinade cooks very quickly - just fry it for 3-4 minutes on each side.

Skewer and fire

In order for the pieces of kebab on the bone to marinate, you need to cut them no thicker than 2 cm. And then, when attaching to a skewer, pierce the piece of meat twice so that it holds tightly. But, if you still use pulp, remember - the skewer must be at least 3.5 mm thick.

And remember the main condition for proper frying: the kebab is fried only on both sides. There is no need to turn it around and try to fry it on five sides; you will only achieve dry meat.

In beer marinade

Thanks to the beer marinade, the pork loin kebab turns out extremely tasty, juicy and “airy”, with an interesting “hoppy” note.

Ingredients:

• pork loin – 4 kg;
• onions – 6 pcs;
• light beer – 1 l;
• soy sauce – 4 tbsp. l;
• mayonnaise – 5-6 tbsp. l;
• black pepper, ground paprika.

The pork should be washed well, dried with a paper towel to remove any drops of water and cut into pieces of approximately the same size. Chop the onions into rings and add to the meat.

After this, the meat should be poured with beer and soy sauce, add mayonnaise, add a little salt and season with spices. The pork must be marinated for at least 4-6 hours, after which it is fried, threaded onto skewers or placed on a grill grate.

If desired, you can use carbonated mineral water instead of beer - it perfectly softens the meat fibers, maintaining their juiciness and tenderness.

The loin can be fried with vegetables

How to properly grill a loin on the grill

Pork loin is never fried over a fire. Hot coals are required, the fire must burn out. If there is enough quantity, the dish will be ready in 20-40 minutes. The exact time depends on the thickness of the pieces.

Frying instructions:

1. Place a grate over hot coals. Place pork kebab. Or place the steaks on a special barbecue grill.
2. Fry on both sides. Turn over periodically. To preserve juiciness, you can cover with foil or a lid.
3. Remove from the grill. Let it “rest” for a few minutes. Meat juices will be evenly distributed. We recommend covering.

In many ways, the taste of pork loin depends on the quality of the meat and the components of the marinade. I recommend taking the time to look for fresh products.

Our goal is weight loss. Therefore, we choose lean pieces and cut off the visible fat. I recommend eating dietary pork kebab with vegetables. Instead of mayonnaise, make a sauce from white yogurt with herbs and garlic. Or homemade ketchup made from tomato paste, grated tomatoes, and various spices.

In soy-honey marinade

A marinade made from soy sauce and aromatic honey is a universal option that is great for any meat, including pork or lamb loin. The meat turns out juicy, appetizing, with a caramelized, crispy crust and an unusual sweet and sour taste.

Ingredients:

• pork or lamb loin – 2 kg;
• honey - 6 tbsp. l;
• soy sauce – 200 ml;
• fresh mint - 4 sprigs;
• ground paprika, coriander, other spices;
• fresh basil.

First of all, you need to prepare the meat - rinse, dry and cut into pieces of approximately equal size. After this, the meat should be sprinkled with spices, poured with a mixture of soy sauce and liquid honey, and finely chopped basil and mint leaves should be added.

The loin should be marinated under a lid or cling film for at least 3-5 hours. You can leave the meat in the refrigerator overnight - this will make it even softer and more tender. The prepared loin can be fried on skewers or a grill grate.

Bone VS Tenderloin

Why is shish kebab on the bone so good? The fact is that the kebab is fried over low coals for quite a long time. At the same time, the bone warms up and cooks the meat from the inside. But the meat is not overcooked and remains juicy, but not soggy.

And here a logical question arises: where to get good meat? There are many answers to this, but in fact, buying meat in a big city is “Russian roulette”. If you buy meat in a supermarket, you will not be able to use any advice such as “the meat is checked by cutting: if it is fresh, the cut is shiny.”

There are also problems with pressing on the meat - who will allow you to crush a piece with your hands? So rely only on intuition and luck.

It's easier on the market, of course. But, only if you have a familiar seller whom you trust. Otherwise... Our market meat sellers will give a 100% head start to the entire Keogh family, magically turning an elderly boar into a young lamb, yesterday suckling its mother's breast.

By the way, the theme of the kind, smiling woman behind the counter doesn’t work either. Moreover, the more affectionately the auntie smiles, the nastier the meat.

This means that if you love barbecue, look for a decent seller.

Lamb kebab

Lamb loin kebab has a soft and delicate taste, and a marinade of olive oil and aromatic spices gives it juiciness.

Ingredients:

• lamb loin on the bone – 3 kg;
• olive oil – 6-7 tbsp. l;
• spices – coriander, ground pepper, cumin.

The lamb needs to be rinsed, dried with a paper towel and cut into portions. For the marinade, mix olive oil and spices. Pour the prepared marinade over the meat, cover it with a lid or cling film and leave to soak for 2-3 hours. After this, the pieces of lamb loin can be fried on skewers or a grill.

Ram and barbecue

Among the masters of kebab art, there is an opinion that the best kebab comes from lamb, and not just from lamb, but from certain parts of the carcass. Experts recommend taking the upper and back parts of the thigh, the loin - the upper dorsal part with the ribs adjacent to the spine, the lumbar part.

The meat needs to be carefully processed - it may contain a lot of fat or, even worse, ligaments, veins and all that is called connective tissue. All this is inedible. Neither marinade nor coals will help. Shish kebab from bundles is money down the drain. This means that you need to remove all the films, veins, and excess fat. The purer the meat, the more tender the kebab.