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Shashlik
Shashlik is meat threaded onto a skewer and cooked over charcoal. Originally the name referred to lamb, but today pork, poultry, fish and vegetables are cooked the same way. The meat is marinated in an acidic base, such as vinegar, dry wine or juice, with onion and spices, which makes the finished dish juicy and aromatic. Shashlik is served hot, usually with herbs, vegetables and sauces, and in the Caucasian tradition it is accompanied by lavash.
Good shashlik is determined not by a set of spices, but by patience at the coals, which must burn down to an even heat.
// Ingredients
- Lamb
- Pork
- Chicken
- Onion
- Vinegar
- Black pepper
- Herbs
// Historical background
The name came into the Russian language from Turkic languages: the word «шиш» means spit. It is linked to the Crimean Tatar «шишлик». By the 18th century the word was already in Russian speech. The word «шампур» (skewer) came through Armenian or Georgian from the Syriac «šаррūδā» (pike). In the 16th century «верчёное» meat was known in Rus': whole carcasses of poultry and game were roasted on a spit, but such a dish was affordable only to the wealthy.
According to one version, the method of cooking meat over an open fire is very ancient, and nomadic peoples of the Middle East and the Caucasus may have used such meat in pagan rituals. In the 19th century shashlik became popular in Russia through the Caucasus and Crimea, and Moscow taverns began serving it as an urban delicacy. In the Soviet period shashlik became part of outdoor recreation and dacha feasts. The dish is also associated with May holidays and the season of open-air life. It is often regarded as a symbol of hospitality and shared cooking, when a company gathers around the coals.
