Herby Lamb BBQ Skewers
Recipe by: Fiona Hammond - November 24
These tasty lamb skewers are great for barbeque entertaining as it is simple to make the delicious herby marinade and prepare well ahead of cooking. Use woody sprigs of a bay tree for a rustic looking skewer that ‘ll add extra flavour too
- Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring
- 1 bunch mint, leaves plucked
- ½ bunch flat-leaf parsley leaves, plucked
- 1 bunch coriander, stem and leaves plucked (or use ½ bunch rosemary, leaves plucked)
- 1 medium onion, quartered
- 1/3 cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- Black pepper
- 1 kg (grass-fed boned leg of lamb, cut into 2-3cm cubes/pieces
- 1 ½ cups natural Greek yoghurt
- Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
- 12 x 20cm fresh woody bay sprigs, or metal skewers or bamboo skewers (see note)
- 3 small lemons, halved
1. Place the herbs in the bowl of food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Remove a heaped tablespoon of the finely chopped herbs and set aside, covered in the fridge. Add the onion to the food processor and pulse again until finely chopped and the mixture becomes paste like. Transfer to a large bowl. Alternatively, finely chop the herbs and place in a large bowl (reserving a tablespoon of chopped herbs). Coarsely grate the onion then add to the herbs and mix to combine.
2. Add oil to the onion-herb mixture and stir well. Season with the salt and a generous grinding of pepper. Add the lamb pieces and toss through to coat all sides. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours to 12 hours in marinade (the longer the better).
3. About 3 hours before cooking, place the yoghurt in a strainer lined with muslin over a bowl to catch liquid. Place in the fridge. The yoghurt will become firmer the longer it strains.
4. Remove meat from fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Divide and thread lamb pieces onto skewers. Pre-heat a charcoal or barbecue grill to medium-high heat.
5. Transfer the strained yoghurt to a small bowl. Stir through the reserved herbs and lemon zest. Set aside in fridge until ready to serve. The remaining strained liquid can be used as a refreshing drink.
6. Grill the skewered meat for 8-10 minutes, turning every 2 minutes and basting occasionally with some of the left-over marinade until well browned and the meat is cooked through, this depends on the size of meat pieces. If unsure of cooking, test one skewer first.
7. While cooking skewers, place the lemon halves cut side down on the grill plate. Cook for about 1 minute until warmed through and char marks form, avoid moving the lemon as the flesh will stick to the grill plate.
8. Serve skewers with a green or Greek style salad and the charred lemons and herbed yoghurt alongside. Pass around to help yourselves.
9. Note: To make bay skewers, you’ll need twelve firm woody twigs from a bay tree, about 2mm-3mm diameter and 20cm-25cm long. Remove leaves along the length, leaving one or two at one end for decoration, then with the other end using a sharp knife cut across to create sharp angle – this will be the pointy end to thread the meat onto the skewer.
If using bamboo skewers soak in water for at least 20 minutes. This helps prevents the wood burning when cooking.