How to cut meat on a shish kebab: advice of professionals and experienced housewives

There is an opinion that only men can do good shish kebab. But it is not so. Sexual accessory is completely irrelevant. To make this dish really tasty, you need to properly perform each stage of the process of its preparation. Particular attention should be given to how to cut meat on a shish kebab. In this issue, there are many things that you should know about before you take up work.

Helpful Tips

The process of cooking shish kebab includes several obligatory stages:

• Selection of the main components;
• Grinding of products (cutting);
• Preparing them for work (marinating);
• Nasazhivanie blanks on skewers;
• Direct frying.

Each of them is important in its own way and requires proper attention. However, some consider, for example, that it is absolutely not important how to cut meat on a shish kebab. Nevertheless, there are some subtleties in this process.

Not every chopped piece is suitable for a shish kebab. Real professionals pay special attention to the form of harvesting. Ideally, if the pieces are cut into cones. This will facilitate their installation on the skewer and will further promote good roasting. But before deciding how to cut meat on a shish kebab, you must prepare for this all the necessary tools. Usually in such cases it is required:

1. A sharp knife. It is desirable, if it will have a wide flat blade without any notches. Tools with corrugated cloth for this do not work.
2. Wooden cutting board with a special groove for collecting liquid. After all, when slicing meat from it will necessarily be allocated juice. It is undesirable for it to accumulate on the surface. If you do not have one, then you can take an ordinary wooden board. In any case, it must first be passed in cold running water. So it will less absorb the meat juice.

Having everything you need, you can safely get down to work.

Main ingredient

Before deciding how to cut meat on a shish kebab, it is necessary to take into account which product will be used for this purpose. For example, it's best to choose a beef or fillet from beef . With pork, the situation is different. Here it is better to use a scarf for shish kebab. This meat is located along the ridge. It is necessary to take exactly the part that is in the neck area. What goes below along the back, of course, is also suitable. But in this case, you will have to spend extra time to cut a large amount of fat, which is located nearby. It is better not to take the back part at all. Of the lean meat that is there, the shish kebab will turn out to be dry and not juicy. This must be understood and not make mistakes. With lamb is a completely different story. Here from the whole carcass for cooking shish kebab only a tenderloin, loin or back leg is suitable. But the popular spatula is best reserved for another dish. When the question of meat is finally solved, it will be possible to proceed to the next stage.

The secret of marinating

It is known that the use of fresh meat does not guarantee that the shish kebab will turn out to be soft and juicy. Even inexperienced housewives know that beforehand the main product must be subjected to additional processing. This refers to the process of pickling. First you need to understand why you need it. Here it is worth remembering the lessons of chemistry. It is known that the meat mainly consists of proteins (elastin, collagen and reticulin). During the thermal treatment, it is partially softened. But best of all this process is under the influence of acid. In such an environment, the protein gradually becomes loose, which means it can retain the juice and after cooking it will turn out to be soft. In practice, marinades cooked on the basis of:

• Kefir;
• Wine;
• Mayonnaise;
• Vinegar;
• Mineral water.

Everyone chooses the option to your taste. But most often use the method for which it is necessary: for 1.2 kilograms of meat (for example, pork) 8 grams of sugar, 3 onions, salt, 60 grams of vinegar and any spices.

Everything is done very simply:

1. First, wash the pork and lightly dry it with a tissue to remove excess moisture.
2. Then we cut meat into shashlik, taking into account the advice of professionals regarding the shape and size of individual pieces.
3. Billets must be sprinkled with spices and left for 10 minutes, so that the meat can soak them properly.
4. Add chopped onions, sugar and vinegar, diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 2.

In this marinade the meat should lie for at least 9 hours. Only after that it will be possible to start cooking.

Important details

Experienced housewives know how to cut meat properly on a shish kebab. For beginners who wish to master the art of cooking this dish, it is necessary to pay attention to several important points:

1. You should use only sharp instruments. Correctly to divide the meat into pieces it is possible, having in hands a well sharpened knife. With his help, you can easily cut off excess fat, film and stiff tendons.
2. The blanks must be of an optimal size. Any deviation in one direction or another negatively affects the quality of the finished product.
3. For all types of meat, use one cutting method. The exception is beef. Because of the stiff long fibers, it requires an individual approach to itself.
4. Remember that the ideal is a shish kebab of six pieces of meat. Practice shows that such a quantity for this dish is considered optimal.

If all these points are taken into account, then the quality of the prepared dish can not be worried. It will only remain to observe all the rules for roasting meat over an open fire.

Cutting rules

Each dish has its own subtleties. For a shish kebab, they are mainly concerned with the method of cutting the main product. There is always the same question. Very often novice cooks are interested in how to cut meat on a shish kebab: along or across. The answer to this question is ambiguous. It would seem that everything is clear. Separation into pieces must be done taking into account the bite line. Therefore, almost all types of meat intended for shish kebab are cut just across. Then it is placed on the skewer along the fibers. Only so the finished product can turn out to be juicy enough and really soft.

If done on the contrary, it will then be difficult to bite off a whole piece, as the meat itself will gradually shrink during the frying process. The shish kebab will turn out to be tough and not tasty. Although, using preliminary marinating, the meat can be ground in any direction. The exception to this rule is beef. It must be cut only across.

The size of a piece

In order to achieve the desired result, it is also necessary to know what pieces of meat to cut into shashlik. As practice shows, the size in this matter plays an important role.

Experienced cooks are sure that the optimal piece is the size of 3 to 5 centimeters. It will weigh about 30 grams. If you make the workpiece shallower, then when cooked over an open fire it will quickly be fried and dry. It is also undesirable to take large pieces. In the allotted time, they will not have time to properly roast from inside and remain raw. If you hold them on fire a little longer, then the surface layers can become highly charred. This shish kebab will not bring pleasure to anyone. In addition, we must try to keep the pieces as even as possible. Thin dangling edges immediately burned and spoil not only the appearance, but also the taste of the finished product. Also, when grinding a single piece, you must cut fat. Under the influence of heat, it will gradually shrink, releasing the fat outward. As a result, an extra thick cloth will appear on the piece of meat, which will be difficult to chew.