Shish Kebab Sandwich Recipe (Armenian Style) + BONUS Armenian Pilaf Rice Recipe!

   Are you a barbecue fan? Do you ever attend Armenian Parties, and wonder how the kebab is made? What it's seasoned with? How long does it take to cook it on the grill? Maybe you've tried to make Shish-Kebab on your own, but found that, it didn't turn out great. Whatever the case may be, I've been fortunate enough to have lived on this stuff all my life. Now, I'll share my family recipe with you!

Here's what you'll need:

                        2 lbs of Beef Tenderloin
                        1 Tsp Salt
                        1 Tsp Cracked Black Pepper
                        1 Tbsp Dried Mint
                        1 Tsp Aleppo Pepper
                        1 Tsp Paprika
                        1/2 Tsp Ground Cumin
                        1/2 Green Bell Pepper (cut in 1 inch squares)
                        1/4 Yellow Onion (cut in 1 inch squares)
                        2 Tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce
                        Bamboo Skewers (soaked in water)
                        Lavash or Pita Bread
                        1 Tbsp Olive Oil
                        1/4 Green Bell Pepper
                        1/2 Yellow Onion

First, you'll start by cutting the meat into one inch cubes, set aside in a bowl, and add the herbs, olive oil, and soy sauce, and mix well to incorporate. Set aside in refrigerator for a few hours or, overnight preferably. Now, you'll start working on the rice. For this you'll need:

 1 1/2 cups Uncle Ben's Rice
 2 1/4 cups liquid (1 cup chicken broth + 1 1/4 cups water combined)
 3 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
 1 1/4 Tsp Salt
 1/4 cup dry Vermicelli (pre-cut or broken into pieces)
 1 Tbsp Butter


After meat has marinated for a while, its time to skewer them. Place meat on the skewers, alternating between bell peppers, onions, and meat evenly. Set it on a rack. Here, I used my cast iron grill, but you may choose to cook these directly on a charcoal grill, if you'd like.

Next, you'll need to make the rice. It takes anywhere between 15-20 minutes to cook thoroughly, so you need to time the cooking between these two. The first thing you'll do here is, dry roast the vermicelli in a pan, and I show you exactly how to do this in the recipe video. In a separate pot, place the rice in, and wash it 3-4 times, draining thoroughly. Next, add the vegetable oil, and salt, turn the heat to high, add the chicken stock and water to the pot, along with the butter, and vermicelli, then stir it to combine. Cover, and bring to gentle boil. Once it boils, cover with paper towel then place the lid on, and turn the heat to low. I found a sweet spot, for making this at 17 minutes, and it comes out perfect, every time. Once the rice is done cooking, you'll want to gently fluff with a fork, and let it rest for ten minutes.

Now, it's time to turn the stove on high, or fire up the grill. Place the skewers on the grill., but first, it'll be a good idea to dab some oil onto some paper towel, and rub that all around, to coat evenly. Make sure your grill, or grill pan is smoking hot, before placing the skewers on. Since I used Beef tenderloin for this, I suggest you cook this medium-rare to medium well. The best thing to do is turn these every 2 minutes, cooking them for a total of five to six minutes.

Remove from the grill, place a whole Pita Bread opened in half, or you can do like I did, and use one Lavash bread for this part, but Pita bread works well too. Next, you'll let these rest, and prep the salad, and hopefully, you made Hummus and, Babaganoush the night before, by following my recipes, and you'll have yourself an authentic Mediterranean - Armenian style feast! Your family and, friends will thank you for this one.

WATCH VIDEO BELOW FOR MORE INFO. & PRO-TIPS!

 

I hope you've enjoyed this recipe for Shish Kebab Sandwich, and see you during the next video recipe! Enjoy!