Adana-Style Lamb Skewers
Hand-chopped lamb and tail fat grilled on flat skewers, with warm flatbread, charred vegetables and sumac onions.
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Slow-Roasted Turkish Lamb
Tandır Kebabı
Lamb shoulder roasted slowly over onions until it pulls apart, served with pide and pan juices. A low home oven is a practical adaptation; it does not duplicate a traditional tandır oven. Keep the pan covered during the tenderizing stage.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 4 hr 20 min
- Rest
- 20 min
- Total
- 4 hr 55 min
- Servings
- 6
Ingredients
- 4 lb Lamb shoulder (raw, bone-in)
- 2 tsp Table salt
- 1 tsp Pepper (black, ground)
- 2 tbsp Butter (unsalted)
- ¾ cup Water (hot)
- 2 Onions, halved
- ¾ lb Pide bread, for serving
- 2 Peppers (green), halved, for roasting (optional)
Method
Heat oven to 300°F. Rub lamb with salt, pepper and butter. Arrange onion in a deep roasting pan, put lamb on top and pour water around it.
Cover tightly and roast for 3½–4 hours, turning once. Add a little hot water if the pan dries. Continue until it pulls apart easily.
Meat pulls apart easily; it must reach at least 145°F followed by a 3-minute rest, although slow-cooked shoulder needs substantially longer to become tender.
Uncover, raise oven to 425°F and brown for 15–20 minutes, watching the juices carefully. Add the peppers around the lamb during this final stage if using.
Rest 20 minutes, remove bones and pull into large pieces. Serve over pide with the onions and pan juices. Refrigerate leftovers promptly in shallow containers within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F. Keep at 40°F or below and reheat cooked leftovers to 165°F.
Cooking guidance
Meat pulls apart easily; it must reach at least 145°F followed by a 3-minute rest, although slow-cooked shoulder needs substantially longer to become tender.
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