Nutrition is approximate.
Equipment
- 8 flat metal skewers
- outdoor grill or grill pan
- tongs
- thermometer
Before you begin
Use the listed metric weight for flour, grains and meat for consistent results. Ingredient weights are raw or dry unless stated otherwise. US measures and metric quantities are both listed; rounded equivalents are approximate.
Prep 25 min · Cook 16 min · Waiting 483 min
Allow about 524 minutes: 25 minutes preparation, 16 minutes cooking and 483 minutes resting, rising, chilling, cooling or marinating. The recipe lists Prep 25 min; Grill 12-16 min; Marinate 4-8 h; Rest 3 min. Where a range is given, this total uses its upper end; ingredients, equipment and dough temperature can change the time.
Ingredients
- Boneless lamb leg, raw, trimmed, 3 cm cubes — 800 g / 28.22 oz
- Onion, thinly sliced, for marinade — 300 g / 10.58 oz
- Sunflower oil — 20 ml / 0.68 US fl oz
- Cumin seeds, lightly crushed — 3 g / 0.11 oz
- Ground coriander — 2 g / 0.07 oz
- Black pepper — 1 g / 0.04 oz
- Fine salt — 8 g / 0.28 oz
- Onion, fresh thin rings, to serve — 100 g / 3.53 oz
Step-by-step method
- Cut consistent pieces
Trim tough silverskin but leave a little soft fat on lamb. Cut into 3 cm / 1.2 in cubes so the skewer cooks evenly. Do not use shoulder on this short grill schedule; it needs different treatment for tenderness. - Make the onion marinade
Crush sliced marinade onion with salt in a bowl until juicy. Mix in oil, cumin, coriander and pepper, then fold in lamb thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate at 4 C / 40 F or below for 4-8 hours. - Prepare a safe cooking zone
Set an outdoor charcoal or gas grill for medium-high direct heat, roughly 200-230 C / 390-445 F at grate level, with a cooler side available. Let charcoal burn to glowing embers without active flames. Charcoal cooking is outdoors only. - Thread eight skewers
Remove onion pieces from lamb so they do not burn. Divide meat evenly among eight flat metal skewers, leaving small gaps between cubes. Discard the marinade and wash hands, boards and utensils that touched raw meat. - Grill and check the center
Cook over direct heat 12-16 minutes, turning every 2-3 minutes until browned on several sides. Move to the cooler area if fat flares. Check the largest cubes from the side with a thermometer: reach at least 63 C / 145 F; appearance alone is not a reliable check. - Rest and serve
Rest 3 minutes on a clean platter. Serve two skewers per person with the fresh 100 g onion rings divided equally. For a stovetop adaptation, use a preheated grill pan and work in batches, following the same internal temperature and rest requirement.
Cook’s notes
Boneless beef sirloin is a suitable variation; use the same temperature check. Do not put cooked meat back in the marinade bowl. Nutrition includes the measured oil as a conservative estimate although some marinade is discarded.
Storage & reheating
- Refrigerate cooked leftovers promptly and use within 3 days. Reheat to 74 C / 165 F. Keep raw marinating lamb refrigerated; never reuse its onion marinade as a serving sauce.
Allergens
Contains: none of the major allergens as written. Check packaged ingredients.
Approximate nutrition
Per serving: 455 kcal · Protein 41 g · Carbohydrates 10 g · Fat 27 g.
Approximate nutrition per serving, divided into 4 portions, for the measured recipe as written. Ingredient brands, edible yields, cooking losses and retained oil vary. Optional accompaniments and substitutions are excluded. Counts the measured marinade oil in full as a conservative estimate, although some marinade is discarded.
