Thin Flatbread with Spiced Meat
Very thin flatbreads spread with minced lamb, tomato, peppers, onion and herbs.
The Turkish pantry
Lamb (ground)
Unseasoned lamb mince for fillings, kebabs and meat mixtures. Match the recipe’s fat requirements and handle it as raw ground meat.
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This guide concerns raw, unseasoned ground lamb. It does not cover ground beef, cooked lamb, pure tail fat or a prepared seasoned kebab mixture. Fat content varies: the nutrition table is a reference composition, not a guarantee for every butcher’s mince.
Types & forms
Raw unseasoned ground lamb
Lamb meat ground into small pieces. Ask what is included and match any fat requirement in your recipe.
Mixed or seasoned mince · comparison
Beef-lamb blends and ready-seasoned mixtures contain different ingredients; read the label rather than treating all mince as lamb.
Whole cuts, tail fat or cooked lamb · comparison
Different forms with different handling and cooking needs. Whole-cut cooking temperatures are not the ground-meat endpoint.
What to look for when buying
- Choose chilled, intact packaging and follow its use-by and storage instructions. For butcher’s mince, ask whether it is lamb alone and whether fat or seasoning has been added.
- Buy the amount your recipe needs and refrigerate promptly. Product or butcher information is more reliable for fat content than the color of the meat.
Prepare & cook
- Keep raw mince and its juices separate from foods that will be eaten without further cooking. Clean hands, utensils and work surfaces after contact.
- Follow the recipe for mixing, shaping or browning. Use a food thermometer: ground lamb must reach 160°F. Color is not a reliable safety test.
- For a casserole containing the mince, follow the applicable casserole endpoint of 165°F. Check the center rather than relying on a browned surface.
Store it well
- Refrigerate at 40°F or below and use raw ground lamb within 1–2 days, or freeze it. Thaw in the refrigerator.
- Refrigerate cooked food promptly in shallow containers, within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F. Use refrigerated cooked lamb within 3–4 days and reheat leftovers to 165°F.
Substitutions depend on the dish
Ground beef or a beef-lamb blend
This changes the ingredient and flavor. Use only where your recipe supports it, and recheck the fat proportion and other additions.
A seasoned kebab mixture
Not a direct replacement for plain lamb: its salt, spices and other ingredients must be accounted for in the recipe.
Nutrition
Raw, unseasoned ground lamb [1]
| Nutrient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 282 kcal |
| Protein | 16.6 g |
| Total fat | 23.4 g |
| Saturated fat | 10.2 g |
| Carbohydrate | 0 g |
| Dietary fiber | 0 g |
| Total sugars | 0 g |
| Sodium | 59 mg |
| Cholesterol | 73 mg |
| Calcium | 16 mg |
| Iron | 1.55 mg |
| Potassium | 222 mg |
| Vitamin D | 0.1 µg |
Raw ground lamb reference, not cooked meat, pure tail fat or a beef-lamb blend. Fat content varies between products; these values do not establish your mince’s exact fat percentage. Values are rounded for readability; “not reported” does not mean zero. A “<” value is below the source’s measurement limit.
Nutrition values come from the reference source named above. They are published reference values, not our own measurements. Actual products and cooking methods may change the values.
At the Turkish table
Use the linked recipes to see how this exact mince identity is used in the collection. Grinding lamb does not establish a particular regional origin, certification or traditional recipe.
Cook with Lamb (ground)
Eggplant and Lamb Kebab
Alternating eggplant rounds and lamb patties roasted with tomatoes and green peppers. This oven adaptation follows the alternating meat-and-eggplant arrangement documented in Kilis. Use a shallow dish and avoid packing so tightly that the vegetables steam without softening.
Baked Lamb and Eggplant Tray Kebab
Finely chopped vegetables mixed with ground lamb and baked in a thin layer over sliced eggplant.
Gaziantep Yogurt Soup
Tiny rice-and-lamb balls, chickpeas and tender lamb in a yogurt broth finished with mint butter. Gaziantep yuvalama is a substantial celebratory dish, often described locally as a meal rather than an everyday soup. This home adaptation uses rice flour for the small balls; traditional preparations may grind soaked rice with meat.
Grilled Meatball Skewers
Beef and lamb seasoned with table salt, shaped onto skewers and grilled over charcoal, served over pide with grilled onion and peppers.
Grilled Meatballs
Mild beef-and-lamb meatballs, chilled before shaping into small fingers and grilling.
Şanlıurfa-Style Stuffed Eggplant
Whole eggplants with minced lamb tucked into deep slits, cooked gently with tomato and peppers.
Thin Flatbread with Spiced Meat
Thin oval flatbreads carry an onion-free topping of lamb, garlic, tomato, peppers and parsley. The finely chopped filling is spread to the edges and baked on a hot surface until the base is cooked and the edges crisp.