BBQ, Cooking, Pork, Summer

BBQ Lemongrass & Chilli Pork Kebabs

There is such pleasure in cooking over fire in the sun. A feeling of freedom outside, especially if you have a small kitchen, as I do. That feeling of space is wonderful, the great outdoors even in a tiny London garden. The sun is back – cue much rejoicing – and so I am back at the coal face and loving every minute. My BBQ is parked just outside the back door and right next to one of my raised vegetable beds and it all feels very cheerful and bright.

I like to cook with what I have and not necessarily follow a recipe, even one of my own. I have made lots of new dishes recently. Bavette tacos with gojuchang and wild garlic (homemade) mayo last night, which were great and so simple, they definitely deserve a space on here. But before then, these lemongrass and chilli pork kebabs.

This is a very simple recipe. You can prepare them in advance and let them sit in the fridge until you need them. If you have a food processor let it do all the work, right up until you shape them at least. If you don’t, don’t stress, you can do all of this by hand too, just be sure to knead the meet as you would for a seekh kebab so that the meat becomes sticky and all comes together (trust me: it makes sense).

For these I chose South East Asian flavours: lemongrass, garlic, ginger, turmeric, coriander. chilli. But do feel free to play and try harissa pork kebabs, curry kebabs, the list of possibilities is endless.

Enjoy!

BBQ Lemongrass & Chilli Pork Kebabs

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BBQ Lemongrass & Chilli Pork Kebabs

Ingredients

500g good minced pork (try to find minced pork with at least 15-20% fat - better flavour and juicier)
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 inch of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 red chilli (I used a mild fruity one but feel free to go crazy and hotter), seeds and stem removed
3 stalks lemongrass, outer leaves and bottom removed, roughly chopped
1 inch fresh peeled turmeric root or 1 tsp turmeric
a handful of fresh coriander
sea salt for seasoning
juice of half a lemon
8 wooden kebab skewers, soaked for at last 20 minutes in water
garnish: fresh coriander or finely sliced kaffir lime leaves and Thai basil

Instructions

This is easiest and fastest done in a food processor but very easy to do my hand too, if a little (but not a lot) more work.

Put the garlic, turmeric, ginger, chilli, red chilli and lemongrass in your food processor and blitz until fine. If by hand, finely chop and mix well together.

Add the pork and some salt and whizz again for at least 2 minutes until well combined. The idea is to create something like a seekh kebab which is kneaded for 4-5 minutes to make it sticky and well combined. If doing this by hand, knead the meat mixture for 4-5 minutes. Mix in the coriander at this point and then fry off a small ball to check the seasoning. Adjust if you need to.

Divide into 8 roughly equal sized balls and shape each around a skewer, shaping it as tightly as you can. Arrange on a plate or tray and cover with cling film before refrigerating for at least an hour to firm them up. Overnight is good too, and the flavours will develop.

Remove from the fridge a half hour before you want to cook them. BBQ them over a moderate heat until golden on each side and cooked through.

Serve with a squeeze of lemon and some extra fresh coriander on top or finely sliced kaffir lime leaves and Thai basil.

https://eatlikeagirl.com/bbq-lemongrass-chilli-pork-kebabs/