Šašliks – Two Ways
As promised on Friday, here are the recipes we used for this year's šašliks.
What are šašliks? You probably know them as shish-kebobs or shashliks (š is sh) - just skewered, marinated meat that's grilled. Nom.
I don't think I could pick one of these as a favorite of the night - I wished for more of both!
Cranberry Chile Pork Šašliks [printable recipe]
- 1/2 lb to 1 lb pork1, cut into 1" - 2" chunks
- 150 g cranberries
- 1 dried ancho chile, stemmed and seeded
- 3 tbsp honey, to taste
- 1 - 2 tsp salt, to taste
- hot water, as needed
Soak ancho in hot water until soft, about 30 minutes. Drain and discard soaking water. In a blender or food processor, combine cranberries, ancho chile, honey and salt and puree. Add enough hot water to make the marinade pourable.
Pour marinade over pork. Marinate for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight. Remove pork from marinade and skewer. Grill over moderate fire until cooked through. Best with wood smoke!
Notes:
- There is enough marinade for a pound of pork, maybe a bit more.
Jalapeno-Lemon Chicken Šašliks [printable recipe]
Adapted from Afghan Food and Cookery
- 1 - 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" chunks
- 1 medium jalapeno, stemmed and seeded
- 1/2 medium onion
- 3 - 5 cloves of garlic
- 2 - 3 tbsp lemon juice (about 1 lemon, juiced)
- 1 - 2 tsp coriander seeds, to taste
- 1 - 2 tsp peppercorns, any variety, to taste
- 1 - 2 tsp brown or palm sugar, to taste
- 1 - 2 tsp salt, to taste
- sprig of mint (optional)
Combine all ingredients except chicken in a blender or food processor and puree. Pour marinade over chicken and marinate for 4 to 6 hours. Remove chicken from marinade and skewer. Grill over moderate heat until cooked through.
As with the Cranberry-Chile Pork, this marinade makes enough for at least 2 large chicken breasts.