Grilled Shawarma
OK – So, if you’re new on the scene, you may not know what shawarma is. If that’s the case. Stop reading – get to your nearest middle eastern eatery and try one of these bad boys out. Pictured above served on a baguette, it is generally stuffed into pita bread.
Shawarma is one of the tastiest things this planet has to offer. And what makes it so darn tasty? Other than the mix of spices that the meat is flavoured with… other than the delicious salads and spreads you might add in… other than the warm out of the oven fresh pita bread… is the lamb fat that drips down from on high on the rotisserie.
It generally does not matter what type of shawarma you get – turkey, beef, or lamb – the lamb flavour bomb which slowly renders its way down onto the meat is where it’s at.
For years I toyed with the idea of getting one of these machines at home. But in addition to the cost of the hardware, the sheer volume of meat needed to use a shawarma rotisserie was not practical. Thus, I came up with the following recipe – much to the delight of most of my buddies.
Your butcher will be all to glad to hang onto some lamb fat for you, and the rest is as easy as falling off a log.
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Grilled Shawarma
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
4 turkey thighs, boneless/skinless
4 tablespoons Pereg Shawarma Spice (you can find many online otherwise)
Lamb Fat
1 large yellow onion, quartered
Fresh Pita Bread
Some traditional toppings include: red cabbage salad, coleslaw, Israeli salad, tahina sauce, humus, babaga noush, roasted red peppers, pickles, hot peppers and French fries
Preparation:
- Cube the turkey meat and marinate in a ziploc 4 hours or overnight with olive oil and shawarma spice.
- Heat your grill over Medium-High heat. On the upper rack of your grill layer your onion and lamb fat. Close the grill until the lamb begins to render and slowly drip down, about 5 to 10 minutes.
- At this point, add the turkey onto the lower rack of the grill, below the lamb and onion. Grill until fully cooked, about 15 minutes.
- You’ll need to keep a fairly close eye on it as the lamb fat is quite prone to flare ups.
- To prepare, slice the tops off the pita bread, fill with toppings of choice and fill with shawarma meat. Enjoy!
