Adana Kebab

Adana Kebab is a popular Turkish dish originating from the city of Adana, hence the name. It consists of skewered ground meat, usually lamb or beef, mixed with spices like paprika, cumin, and red pepper flakes. The meat is typically molded onto large metal skewers and grilled over an open flame, resulting in a flavorful and slightly spicy kebab with a smoky charcoal flavour. It’s often served with flatbread, grilled vegetables, and a side of fresh salad. The dish is renowned for its rich taste and smoky aroma, making it a favourite among kebab lovers.

Components

• Ground beef: You want to use something with a 80/20 or 70/30 meat to fat ratio. You want enough fat that the meat will stick together but not so much that the meat will simply not stick to the skewer. I have personally found that the ground beef that comes pre-packaged at the grocery store is usually less ‘wet’ than the the ones I might find at a local butcher. If the beef mixture has too much water in it, it will not be spicy and fall apart.
• Aromatics: onions, garlic, bell peppers and jalapeño- all blended and strained to add the bulk of that flavour.
• Turkish red Pepper paste: The key ingredient in adana kebab- add beautiful colour and a sweet pepper flavour to the kabab
• Spices: red pepper flakes for heat, smoked paprika for a little smokiness.
• Butter: It good practice to always brush melted butter on top of a finished kebab to seal in those juices and keep everything moist

How its made

To make Adana Kebab, start by grinding your aromatics—onion, jalapeño, red pepper, and garlic—in a food processor. Once blended, strain the mixture through a cheese cloth to remove any excess liquid. Add the resulting paste to a large bowl, then season it with Turkish red pepper paste, spices, and ground beef. Mix everything together until the mixture becomes sticky. Refrigerate the mixture for about 30 minutes to help it firm up.

After chilling, shape the meat mixture onto metal kebab skewers, ensuring it’s evenly spread. Refrigerate the skewers again before cooking. Finally, broil the kebabs on high heat, cooking them until they are perfectly charred but still juicy. brush with melted butter or the pan drippings when they come out of the oven to keep them moist.

How to serve adana kebab

You can ultimately go two routes with kebab- for a classic approach, serve the kebabs over a bed of fluffy basmati rice, allowing the flavors to soak into each grain. Alternatively, (my favourite way) you can make soft, homemade naan using my soft & chewy naan recipe for the perfect pairing. Create a savoury kebab sandwich by wrapping the grilled meat in the warm, pillowy bread, adding a drizzle of yogurt or a tangy sauce for the final touch.

Watch how its made

5 from 3 votes

Adana Kebab

This Adana Kebab recipe brings the bold flavours of Turkey to your kitchen. A mix of aromatic herbs, spices, and juicy ground meat come together in the perfect way. Grilled (or broiled) to perfection, these kebabs are deliciously smoky and tender. Serve them over fluffy rice or in soft naan for a satisfying meal full flavour.

Recipe Keys: B Beef

Print Recipe

Prep Time 1 hr Cook Time 10 mins Total Time 1 hr 10 mins

Ingredients

Adana Kebab

• 1 lbs Ground beef (medium/lean)
• 1 Spanish onion
• ¹⁄₂ Red bell pepper (large)
• 4-6 Garlic cloves
• 1 Jalapeno
• 1 tbsp Turkish red pepper paste (heaping)
• 1 tsp Smoked paprika
• ¹⁄₂ tsp Red pepper flakes
• ¹⁄₂ tsp Ground coriander seeds
• ¹⁄₂ tsp Cumin
• ¹⁄₂ tsp Black pepper
• 1 tsp Salt

White sauce

• ¹⁄₂ cup Mayo
• ¹⁄₄ cup Yogurt
• ¹⁄₄ tsp Dried mint
• ¹⁄₄ tsp Sumac
• 1 Garlic clove (small)
• ¹⁄₄ of a Lemon juice
• ¹⁄₄ tsp Salt

Onion Salad

• ¹⁄₂ red onion
• ¹⁄₄ of a lemon juice
• ¹⁄₂ tbsp olive oil
• ¹⁄₂ tsp sumac
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley
• Pinch of salt

Toppings

• Tomatoes
• Yellow onion
• Shishito peppers
• Parsley

Instructions

1. To a food processor, add in roughly chopped yellow onions, red bell peppers, jalapeno and peeled garlic cloves. Blend until all there are no large chunks of vegetables left.
2. Place a cheesecloth over a large mixing bowl and pour the blended vegetable mixture on top squeezing out all or most of the liquid. Set the liquid aside into a separate bowl then add the remaining blitzed up vegetables to the bowl.
3. Season the vegetable mix with turkish red pepper paste, ground coriander seeds, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, cumin, black pepper and salt. Mix this together very well then add in the ground beef.
4. Incorporate the ground beef with the seasoned vegetable mixture by using squeezing and folding motions for about 1-2 minutes until the meat becomes sticky. Refrigerate the mixture to allow the flavours to penetrate ideally for a couple hours to overnight or a minimum of 30 minutes. You want the beef mix to be cold before shaping it into kebabs.
5. Use the residual vegetable juices that were squeezed out of the vegetable mix to wet your hands- keeping your hands wet while working with the beef will prevent your hands from sticking while infusing extra flavour into the kebab. Take a slightly smaller than palm sized amount of the meat mixture about 90-100 grams and compact into a tight oblong ball shape. Slide onto a metal skewer and start pressing on both sides to fix the meat onto the skewer. Once the beef is mostly spread onto the skewer, use your fingers and thumb to create a kebab pattern- once on each side. See the video above to see a visual of shaping the kebabs.
6. Once the kebabs are formed on the skewers, place them over a large tray and refrigerate from another 20-30 minutes to firm up before cooking.
7. Set the oven to broil and allow the oven to get hot for 10-15 minutes. Place the beef skewers over the rack closest to the broiler. You may need to reposition the rack to bring it closer. Cook for about 4-6 minutes on the first side and another 2-4 minutes on the other side or until an internal temperature of 165 is reached. Watch the kebabs closely while they are under the broiler as this high temperature can burn the kebabs quickly.
   The metal skewers may be too long for the oven door to shut completely (this was my experience) not a problem, the kebabs will cook just fine.

8. Remove the kebabs from the oven and brush with melted butter, and garnish with sumac and fresh parsley.