Skewers are meat that cannot be discarded. With all the impatience we all are waiting for a trip to nature to enjoy this seasonal dish. But it does not always meet expectations. Why sometimes the kebab is dry, looks ugly, to taste “like grass”? It's time to reveal the secrets of such a popular meat dish.
Why did the kebabs turn out to be tasteless?
- Meat of poor quality. Delicious kebabs are made from farm pork or lamb. Now on the shelves a lot of meat from grown artificially animals. They gained weight due to vitamins, antibiotics and other supplements. As a result, the kebab does not have a pronounced taste and flavor, the meat is “like grass”.
- No spices were used. By itself, meat (especially pork) does not have a bright taste, it must be seasoned, it is especially important not to forget about salt. With her lack of dish is fresh, something is missing in it.
By the way, if suddenly the kebab has an unpleasant foreign smell of medicine, then it is also about poor quality meat. Sometimes during frying the urine smell begins to emanate. This signals that the piglet was not neutered.
Why did the kebabs turn out dry?
Sometimes the kebab seems to be delicious, it smells good, even browned to the skin, but it turned out to be incredibly dry, as they say “it doesn’t crawl into the throat”. Naturally, a lot of such meat can not be eaten, and the appetite disappears.
Three main reasons:
- Sweaty meat without traces of fat or fat. It’s very difficult to make it juicy if it wasn’t originally such. It is for this reason that dry beef is extremely rarely used for kebabs.
- Few coals are either weak. As a result, the kebab is cooked for a long time, all the moisture evaporates from it, and dry meat at the exit.
By the way, a tasteless kebab is also obtained, if old meat is used, it has already been frozen or stale on the counter and managed to dry up, lost moisture.
Why did the kebabs turn out hard?
Skewers roasted until cooked, but the meat is tough, it can not be chewed? Unfortunately, it happens. Many people are looking for a reason in the size of the pieces for kebabs, but this does not really matter. Roast meat and small pieces, and large chunks. The best option is cubes of four centimeters.
Three main reasons why skewers are tough:
- Unsuitable meat with veins, films, developed muscles. To make such pieces soft and juicy is very difficult. Sometimes it helps to remove the films, pre-tapping with a hammer. It is not necessary to beat off the meat completely, just knock out the muscle tissue.
- The pieces are cut along the fibers, have a different size. It is important for kebabs to cut meat into cubes across the grain.
- Meat was not marinated, the fibers did not have time to soften, soak in spices. As a result, when hitting the embers, the pieces simply shrank.
By the way! Acid makes the meat harder, drier, so you should not abuse lemon juice, tomato, sour apples or quince, which is also sometimes added to marinades.
The best meat for kebabs
It is impossible to use meat for a shish kebab, which was frozen to a wound. Already when thawing, the juice will come out, the dish will turn out dry, tough. But this is not the only selection criterion. Juicy and soft skewers are made from pork and lamb, beef does not work like this, you can use poultry. Lamb will be delicious only if you use a young lamb, sometimes they take a goat. If you plan to cook pork, then the best meat for shish kebab is the neck. In second place is the carbonade, tenderloin. It is undesirable to use legs, ham and other parts of the carcass that are involved in the movement of the animal.
Why the kebab turned out ugly, unappetizing
Sometimes the kebab just does not fry until golden brown, looks faded, light or a gray crust. Most often this happens with lean meat without fat or when using weak coals, the meat begins to dry over them, the heat is not enough to form a golden and brown crust.
What gives a beautiful color:
- tomato paste, juice;
- soy sauce;
- honey, white sugar or brown.
All this can be added to the marinade. But also with honey and soy sauce (even better with their mixture) you can grease the shish kebab already on the grill, it will quickly begin to change color.
Important! In no case should you try to grill the kebab over an open fire. It is simply covered with soot, the meat is fried only over the coals.
Marinade around the head!
You can not pickle skewers in a large number of spices, limit salt and pepper, hold a couple of hours. This is often done in Asian countries, everything is fine, if you use fresh meat and fresh from the very parts mentioned above. But often this is not possible, besides, I want to be safe. Therefore, much attention is paid to marinades, the meat is soaked in them for 8-10 hours, and sometimes for the whole day.
What can be used for marinade:
- mayonnaise, kefir, sour cream;
- wine;
- mineral water;
- soy sauce;
- pomegranate, orange or other juice.
Of course, we don’t forget about onions and fragrant spices. Add special mixes from the bag or collect them yourself. Sometimes additionally injected mustard, adjika, which gives spice. Here is a matter of personal taste.
We set correctly!
It is important not only to marinate meat for kebabs, but also to put on a skewer. Yes, it is he who is needed for an amazing result. You should not take the grill, it is more suitable for steaks and vegetables.
Slices of meat should be alternately worn on a skewer, like beads. That is, they must touch each other, but not “sit” tightly. Also, do not leave an empty distance between them, otherwise the skewer will become hot, the kebab will dry out.
By the way, it is desirable to use a wide and thick skewer for making kebabs, pieces will not spin on it, the meat will be roasted evenly from all sides. Even better, the metal is bent around the corner.
Finally
Shish kebab - meat on coal. They need to be heated to a fiery color, it is important not to save on this. Good meat can be cooked only with strong heat. It’s good that now you don’t need to burn a cart of firewood to get it; it’s enough to buy a bag of coal and special ignition in the store. After half an hour, you can start frying the most fragrant, juicy, soft kebab. This one from which drooling.
P. S. Yes, meat eater vegetarians do not understand.
