Chinese Lamb Skewers (Xinjiang Style)
These cumin, chilli lamb skewers are served by street vendors in Northern China. Traditionally, small pieces of lamb fat are threaded in-between the meat to make them extra juicy and flavoursome. It can be a little fiddly deboning the lamb forequarter chops, but they have the best fat to meat ratio for these skewers.
Remove most of the meat from the chops using a sharp boning style knife. Keep at least 3mm of fat, trimming away the excess. Leaving a small amount of fat behind will keep the skewers juicy. Cut lamb approximately into 2cm cubes. Add the lamb to a bowl with the olive oil. In a mortar and pestle, grind the Sichuan peppercorns into a coarse powder. Add the salt, ground cumin, cumin seeds, white pepper, chilli powder and gently stir. Add the spice mix to the lamb, mix all ingredients to evenly coat. If desired, cover and refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours to marinate. If using wooden skewers, soak in water for 30 minutes.
Prepare the barbecue for direct cooking over medium-high heat (210°C-250°C). Thread the lamb onto skewers.
Brush the cooking grills clean with a wire brush. Grill the lamb skewers over direct medium-high heat, with the lid closed, until the lamb skewers have deeply caramelised, 8 minutes for a medium result, turning once.
Remove the skewers from the barbecue and leave to rest for a couple minutes before serving.
Ingredients
Directions
Remove most of the meat from the chops using a sharp boning style knife. Keep at least 3mm of fat, trimming away the excess. Leaving a small amount of fat behind will keep the skewers juicy. Cut lamb approximately into 2cm cubes. Add the lamb to a bowl with the olive oil. In a mortar and pestle, grind the Sichuan peppercorns into a coarse powder. Add the salt, ground cumin, cumin seeds, white pepper, chilli powder and gently stir. Add the spice mix to the lamb, mix all ingredients to evenly coat. If desired, cover and refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours to marinate. If using wooden skewers, soak in water for 30 minutes.
Prepare the barbecue for direct cooking over medium-high heat (210°C-250°C). Thread the lamb onto skewers.
Brush the cooking grills clean with a wire brush. Grill the lamb skewers over direct medium-high heat, with the lid closed, until the lamb skewers have deeply caramelised, 8 minutes for a medium result, turning once.
Remove the skewers from the barbecue and leave to rest for a couple minutes before serving.