Grilled Lamb Skewers with Zhoug and Pickled Onion

Zhoug is the reason to make these. It is a Yemeni green sauce of cilantro, green chili, garlic and cardamom, pounded loose with olive oil, and it is one of the few condiments assertive enough to stand next to charred lamb without getting lost. Chimichurri is milder. Mint sauce is sweeter. Zhoug goes straight at the fat with heat, acid and a cool green herb flavor, and then the cardamom does something odd and floral underneath it.

The lamb is cubes from the leg or the shoulder, marinated a few hours in cumin, garlic and lemon, then grilled fast over the hottest fire you can build. Whole muscle lamb is not ground lamb, so it does not need to go to 160F. We pull these at 130 to 135F and they stay pink.

Cut the cubes a little bigger than feels right, about an inch and a quarter. Small cubes overcook before the outside chars, and char is the whole point of cooking over coals.

Why these lamb skewers work

• Zhoug cuts fat better than yogurt. Chili heat and lemon acid both work against lamb richness, and the sauce stays raw and bright rather than cooked down.
• Bigger cubes survive the fire. An inch and a quarter gives you time to build char before the center passes medium rare.
• Lemon goes in the marinade, not overnight. Four to six hours is the sweet spot. Left in acid for a full day, the surface of the lamb turns chalky.
• Pickled onion, made same day. Thirty minutes in hot brine is enough, and they keep a crunch that week old pickles have lost.
• Dry the meat before it hits the grate. A wet surface steams. Blotted cubes char in half the time.

Ingredients

For the lamb and marinade

• 2 1/2 lb boneless lamb leg or shoulder (1.13 kg), cut into 1 1/4 inch cubes
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 4 garlic cloves, grated
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

For the zhoug

• 2 cups packed cilantro with tender stems (60 g)
• 1/2 cup packed flat leaf parsley (15 g)
• 3 to 5 green serrano chilies, stems removed
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup olive oil (120 ml)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

For the pickled red onion

• 2 red onions, sliced thin
• 1 cup red wine vinegar (240 ml)
• 1/2 cup water (120 ml)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp kosher salt

Substitutions: jalapenos make a milder zhoug, and leaving the seeds in serranos makes a fierce one. Ground coriander can stand in for the cardamom, though you lose the floral note. Lamb sirloin works if you find it.

Method

1. Marinate the lamb. Toss the cubes with the oil, spices, garlic, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper in a glass or stainless bowl. Cover with a plate and refrigerate 4 to 6 hours. We do not use zip bags for this, and a bowl works just as well.
2. Pickle the onions. Pack the sliced onion into a clean jar. Boil the vinegar, water, sugar and salt, pour it over hot, and leave 30 minutes on the counter. They turn bright pink and stay crisp.
3. Make the zhoug. Pulse the cilantro, parsley, chilies, garlic, cumin, cardamom and salt in a food processor until finely chopped but not pureed. Scrape down, then pour the olive oil in with the motor running and add the lemon juice last. Stop while it still has texture. Zhoug should look chopped, not smooth.
4. Build a hot fire. Bank the coals for direct high heat. On gas, preheat everything on high for 15 minutes. You want the grate hot enough that you cannot hold a hand over it for more than two seconds.
5. Skewer and dry. Thread the cubes onto metal skewers, 5 or 6 per skewer, leaving a little space between them so heat reaches all sides. Blot the outside with a cloth. Surface moisture is what stops meat from charring.
6. Grill hot and fast. Lay the skewers over the coals and cook 8 to 10 minutes total, turning every 2 minutes, until the edges are charred in patches and the sides have color.
7. Check the temperature. Pull them at 130 to 135F (54 to 57C) in the center of the largest cube for medium rare. Whole muscle lamb does not need the 160F that ground lamb does.
8. Rest. Five minutes on a warm board. Carryover takes them up a few degrees and the juices settle.
9. Serve. Slide the cubes off the skewers onto warm flatbread, spoon zhoug over generously, and pile pickled onion on top.

Pro tips and common mistakes

• Do not marinate overnight. The lemon keeps working. Past about eight hours the outer layer of the lamb goes pale and chalky.
• Do not puree the zhoug. A smooth sauce turns dull green and tastes flat. Pulse it, and keep some leaf structure.
• Space the cubes. Packed tight on the skewer, the touching faces steam instead of searing.
• Metal skewers, not wooden ones. Metal conducts heat into the center of each cube and never burns through. Skip plastic handled skewers near live fire.
• Trim hard fat, keep soft fat. Thick fat caps will not render in ten minutes and end up chewy, but the marbling inside the cube is what you are paying for.

Storage and leftovers

Cooked lamb keeps 3 days refrigerated. Reheat it fast in a hot dry skillet, 90 seconds, or eat it cold, which is better than it sounds in a salad with the pickled onion.

Zhoug keeps a week in the fridge under a thin layer of olive oil, and its color dulls a little each day without hurting the flavor. It also freezes in an ice cube tray for 3 months. The pickled onions hold 3 weeks and stay usable long after they lose their crunch.

What to serve with it

• Warm flatbread to catch the juices and the sauce.
• Charred tomatoes and peppers cooked on the same fire while the coals are hot.
• Herbed couscous or plain bulgur.
• Thick yogurt alongside the zhoug, for anyone who finds it too fierce.

Nutrition

About 580 calories, 34g protein, 47g fat, and 7g carbs per serving. These are estimates and vary with the exact cut, trim, and any substitutions.

Frequently asked questions

What does zhoug taste like?

Green and hot, with garlic up front and cardamom underneath. It is closer to a fresh chili herb paste than to pesto, and it is not creamy or nutty.

Leg or shoulder for skewers?

Leg is leaner and cleaner to cube. Shoulder has more fat and more flavor but needs more trimming. Both work at this cook time, and we lean toward shoulder when we have time to butcher it properly.

Can I cook these indoors?

Yes, in a cast iron grill pan over high heat with the extractor running, or under a broiler on the top rack. You get good browning either way, though not the smoke.

How hot should the zhoug be?

Three serranos with seeds removed makes a sauce most people find lively rather than punishing. Five with seeds in is genuinely hot. Taste as you pulse and add chilies rather than trying to pull heat back out.

Why is my lamb tough?

Usually overcooking. Whole muscle lamb cubes go from tender to tight fast past 140F. The other cause is cutting cubes too small, which leaves no margin between charred and overdone.

Where to buy the lamb

A whole boneless leg cut down at home gives you better skewer cubes than anything pre-cut, and the trim goes into the grinder for kofta. Ask a lamb producer near you through our Find a Farmer directory for a boneless leg, and ask whether they sell shoulder at the same time so you can compare the two on the same fire.

More on the cut in our leg of lamb guide and on the animal in the lamb wiki. For fire technique, see our guide to roasting. More lamb: lamb kofta with pickled chilies and grilled lamb loin chops.