One of my favorite turkish dishes to eat. Ground lamb near me is too fatty, so I usually substitute ground turkey, but I had ground beef to use up, so that’s what I used along with some lamb fat saved from various recent lamb dishes. Gotta say I still prefer restaurant chicken adana kebabs over beef, if lamb isn’t an option.
This recipe was missing the grated onion and either red pepper or red pepper paste that I’ve come across in most previous recipes I’ve used, so I added some onion for moisture and flavor. Aside from that, cumin, sumac, and urfa pepper flakes as called for. I also added a bit of liquid smoke as I was going to bake these and not grill them.
The outcome was fine, but not great. Past versions I’ve tried have been much more flavorful. A bigger issue was that the amount of sumac was just way too overwhelming – and I love sumac. But there was no reason for there to be so much added to the meat, when it works just as well sprinkled to taste.
I’m still loving the sheet pan kabab cheat – works like a charm.
I served the kebabs with stovetop-charred flour tortilla, yogurt, and calabrian chilli sauce, plus what I thought might be an incongruous Vinegret Salad that was actually a surprisingly great foil.
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