Unskewering the Kebab

Occasionally my family would have "Shishkabobs" for dinner when I was growing up. It always meant that we would put chunks of beef or chicken and vegetables on a skewer and grill them. In English it's the skewer that makes it a kabab (or kebab). But in Turkey, where kebabs are from, there is much more to the kebab than a skewer. Often "kebab" just means any dish with pieces of meat, with or without vegetables, and sometimes kebabs don't even have meat at all. Here are just a few of the dishes that carry the "kebab" title.

Döner Kebab: Definitely the most common type of kebab in Turkey. Beef and lamb or chicken is piled onto an enormous vertical spit and cooked slowly as it spins around (döner means spin or turn). The stack of meat is ususally about 3 feet tall to begin with and it sits in an upside down cone shape on the spit. A long knife is used to shave thin pieces of the meat off onto bread or rice.

Iskender Kebab (Alexander Kebab): A variation of the Döner Kebab. Meat from the döner is shaved off onto chunks of bread on a plate, then fresh yogurt and tomato sauce are added with a splash of hot melted butter on top. This is one of my favorites.

Adana Kebab: Another very common kebab type. Ground meat is mixed with spices, including hot red pepper and shaped around a sword-shaped skewer. The skewer is placed over hot coals until the meat is cooked.

Urfa Kebab: Just like the Adana Kebab, without the red pepper.

Sarma Beyti Kebab: Spicy ground meat is cooked then wrapped in thin, flat bread and served with yogurt and tomato sauce.

Kağıt Kebab (Paper Kebab): A chunk of meat is seasoned and wrapped in layers of special paper the slow-cooked in a process that is still a mystery to me. The paper packet is opened on the plate and served with onion, garlic, tomatoes, etc.

Orman Kebab (Paper Kebab): Chunks of lamb are baked together with vegetables such as tomatoes, peas, eggplant, onion, carrot and potatoes.

Tandır Kebab: A large piece of lamb is cooked for hours in a special oven called a tandir. The meat comes out tender and falling apart.

Tavuk Shish: Chunks of chicken are skewered and cooked over coals and served with salad, rice, and bread.

Kuzu Shish: The same thing, but with chunks of lamb instead.

Çömlek Kebab: Meat chunks and vegetables baked and served in an individual clay dish.

and of course:

Shish Kebab: Chunks of meat cooked on skewers with eggplant, tomato, onion, peppers and sometimes even certain kinds of fruit.