Şiş Kebap

Şiş kebap is cubes of marinated meat threaded onto a skewer and grilled over charcoal. It's the cubed-meat kebab, and even though it shares the word "kebab" with Adana kebab, the two are genuinely different dishes — this one is built from whole cubes of meat, not hand-minced paste, and the difference is obvious the moment either one is bitten into.

What it actually is

Cubes of lamb, cut from a tender cut and often marinated briefly in yoghurt, oil and spices, thread onto a metal skewer, sometimes alternating with pieces of onion, green bell pepper and tomato. The skewers grill directly over hot charcoal, turned regularly, until the outside chars slightly while the inside stays juicy — the whole-cube format is what lets the outside develop real char while the centre stays pink or just cooked through.

Cubed meat, not minced, is the whole identity of şiş kebap. A version made from ground or minced meat pressed onto a skewer is a different kebab — most likely Adana or a köfte-style skewer — and calling it şiş kebap misrepresents the format the name specifically promises.

How it's served

• Off the skewer, over rice or with flatbread, often with grilled vegetables from the same skewer.
• With a side of rice pilaf or salad, as a full plate.
• Charred at the edges, juicy in the centre, the mark of a properly grilled skewer.

Writing it on a menu

• Say that it's cubed meat, not minced, since Adana kebab and şiş kebap are easily confused by name alone.
• Note which meat is used, since lamb, chicken and beef versions are all common.
• Mention if the meat is marinated, since that affects both flavour and tenderness.
• Flag that it's naturally free of major common allergens in the base recipe, aside from anything served alongside.