Lamb Shish

"Şiş" simply means "skewer" in Turkish — and the concept of cooking meat on a skewer over an open fire is as old as controlled fire itself. Archaeological evidence from the Bronze Age shows bone skewers in the eastern Mediterranean, and the practice of marinating and grilling lamb on metal spits was a staple of nomadic Turkic cuisine across the steppe for millennia before it arrived in Anatolia.

What distinguishes a proper şiş kebab from simply "meat on a stick" is the marinade and the cut. The lamb must be cut from the leg or shoulder — never the loin — to retain enough fat to survive the intense heat of a proper charcoal grill. The marinade of olive oil, yoghurt, onion, and spices does two things: it tenderises the meat through the yoghurt's lactic acids, and it creates a crust on the outside that seals in the juices.

Şiş kebab became the ambassadorial dish of Turkish cuisine — the first Turkish food most of the world ever encountered. A single plate at Cappadocia brings one marinated lamb shish to the table with bulgur or rice, a fresh salad, pitta bread, and your choice of two dips. Simplicity that has not needed to change for thousands of years.