What’s a Russian Picnic Without Kebabs? Posted by yelena on Jun 16, 2011 in Culture, Russian life, Traditions
What is one summer must-do thing that is «романтично» [romantic], hot, takes place «на природе» [out in nature, outdoors] and can’t be done «без мужчин» [without men]? It is, of course, «шашлыки» [shish-kebabs] – favorite past-time for the short Russian summer.
If there were a single maxim about «шашлык», it would be «шашлык это не еда, а времяпрепровождение» [shish-kebab is not food, but a pastime]. In Russia, shish-kebab making is nothing short of an elaborate «церемония» [ceremony] with various «правила» [rules] and «традиции» [traditions].
Three things make Russian shish-kebab one of the most looked-forward to events of summer – «костёр» [fire], «хорошая компания» [good company] and «правильно приготовленное мясо» [properly prepared meat]. Notice that «водка» [vodka] is not on the list. Not to say it is not there. It’s just not the central point of «шашлыки» unlike another outdoors pastime – «рыбалка» [fishing].
So let’s examine all the ingredients of a successful «поездка на шашлыки» [a shish-kebab outing]. First of all, note that this is a strictly outdoors experience. The location should be scenic, but fairly close to home so that raw meat doesn’t spoil while being transported to the location.
Beach setting is ideal as long as we’re talking about a narrow beach backed by a dense tree line. «Лесная поляна» [a glade, a clearing in the forest] is the second best option. If neither is available, «дача» [a summer house with a garden] can be used. However, if all you have is an exquisitely landscaped backyard or a public park «со всеми удобствами» [with all the conveniences], you are better off grilling some hamburgers and calling it a day. A certain level of «простоты» [simplicity] of setting is required for this experience.
Once the location is chosen, it’s time for guys to buy meat. In general, provisioning for the shish-kebabs is handled by men and women take care of the side-dishes only. Now, Internet is full of «рецепты» [recipes] for «экзотические шашлыки» [exotic shish-kebabs] – «куриные» [chicken], «рыбные» [fish] and even «вегетарианские» [vegetarian]. But most kebabs use good old «мясо» [meat].
This meat has to be «замариновано» [marinated], typically overnight. There is no single way to prepare the marinade. Many guys claim that they have their own «секретный рецепт маринада» [secret marinade recipe], but in fact much of it is done from whatever sounds and smells good and proportions are determined «на глазок» [by eye].
A simple and «провереный временем» [time-tested] way is to layer meat with thick-sliced rings of onion and sprinkle salt and pepper and just a little bit of white vinegar between the layers. Or you can get fancy and add crushed «чеснок» [garlic], «свежие душистые травки» [fresh culinary herbs] and «вино» [wine] to the mix.
But honestly, marinade is not as important as «костёр» [fire], another thing that men take care of. To listen to men discuss the relative merits of different types of «древесина» [wood] in terms of «жар» [heat] and «аромат» [fragrance], you’d think they are experienced firefighters who moonlight as sommeliers.
Once the fire is started, either in a fire pit or on «мангал» [grill], «дрова» [firewood] must burn through to hot embers. It is above these «горячие угли» [hot embers] that shish-kebabs are roasted, never above the flames.
While «дрова прогорают» [firewood burns to embers], it’s time «нанизывать шашлыки на шампуры» [to place kebabs on the skewers]. The word «шашлык» comes from a Tartar word for a pike or a spit. Unlike flimsy American skewers, Russian «шампуры» [skewers] are long heavy and flat metal spikes that even look like Medieval weapons.
Marinated meat is skewered on along with some of the onion rings from the marinade and some fresh tomatoes. Then skewers are placed about 2 inches above hot embers and turned occasionally until ready.
Only once kebabs are done and served can the drinking really begin (although the first shot of vodka is frequently drunk right after «прибытие на место» [arrival at the picnic place]. But again, the point of «шашлыки» is neither drinking, nor eating.
The point is «получать удовольствие от хорошей компании» [to enjoy a good company]. This means some good old «пение» [singing], ideally accompanied by a guitar. It also means lots and lots of talking – «анекдоты, сплетни, политика и так далее» [anecdotes, rumors, politics and such]. Finally, «шашлыки» as an event «тянутся до поздней ночи» [extend late into the night] even after all the food has been eaten.
Have you tried Russian «шашлыки»? If not, you still have time before the weekend to pull it together.
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Comments:
Robin:
Here in Germany we are very keen on barbecues, only we do not always prepare shashlik, but primarily roast steaks and such on the barbecue. In fact, Russians here apparently found готовить шашлыки a word not suitable for the German way of doing it, which they are adopting, so they use the verb гриллить. In fact if you google it you can observe Russians from all over Europe use this verb in forums. 😉
yelena:
@Robin Robin, same in the US. When Russians here get together for some grilled steaks, hot dogs and hamburgers they say “будем гриллить” or “будем гриллать”. But that’s something quick to fix on a weeknight or a busy weekend. We are getting lazy here, succumbing to the conveniences of gas grills and frozen burgers 🙂
Arkadiy B:
I am so marinating the meat right now and driving to Seven Lakes to grill :)!
Still have the shampuri from a Volgograd Heavy Defense Factory ‘Barikadi’…real cold war quality, long enough to kill a bear 🙂
yelena:
@Arkadiy B Arkadiy, these are the exact шампуры featured in the photo, lol!
CaitieCat:
That sounds absolutely прекрасно! Now I’m all hungry, and wishing I were across the ocean. I need to find some local Russian social outlet. 🙂
yelena:
@CaitieCat CaitieCat, if all else fails (no Russian store around, no one seems to be speaking Russian, and the local U. doesn’t offer Russian language courses), then search for “Russian” on Meetup.com. I was actually surprised to find a very large and active Russian community when I checked a couple of years ago.
Rob McGee:
“In my family, growing up, cooking was a woman’s job — except for the BBQ, of course, which was Dad’s domain. Because real men must do the cooking when there is FIRE and DANGER involved…”
–American stand-up comedienne Rita Rudner
And here’s my attempt to translate it into Russian:
У нашей семьи, в моем детстве, приготовление еды было “женской работой”. За исключением барбекю — конечно, это область лишь папина! Потому что, одним настоящим мужикам приходится готовить пищу, при ОГОНИ и таких ОПАСНОСТЯХ!
Rob McGee:
Question: Do Russians ever make шашлики-котлеты из фарша (shish-kebab meatballs from ground meat)?
I’m not talking about hamburger patties cooked directly on the grill; I mean ground-meat patties cooked on skewers.
In Turkey, котлеты made from ground, spiced lamb and grilled на плоских, мечеобразных шампурах (on flat, sword-like skewers) are called köfte, and I suspect that this Turkish word is probably the source of the Russian word тефтели (meatballs).
yelena:
@Rob McGee Rob, I know exactly the kind you’re talking about, when the ground meat is pressed around a skewer and grilled that way. I’ve not had it once when I lived in Russia, but I’ve heard of it. So based on my own experience, it’s not common at all 🙂 I hope Minority replies to this.
kenu:
its delicious
Alex:
Rob, great translation of the first two sentences, but the last one would probably be something like this: Потому что _настоящие мужики_ готовят еду тогда, когда это связано с ОГНЕМ и ОПАСНОСТЬЮ!
Alex:
Rob, I haven’t heard of шашлыки-котлеты из фарша in 39 years of living in Russia. 🙂 Definitely uncommon!
yelena:
@Alex Alex, I think it depends on the part of Russia you lived in. I’ve definitely heard of them. They are called люля-кебаб. You can find recipes for them even in old Soviet cookbooks. But I’ve never seen them done or tasted them until after I moved to the US. A few years ago we were invited to a friend’s house for some шашлыки and one of the guests, who was originally from Uzbekistan, made a few of these. He said that back home he made them a lot. Which I remember confused me since I thought this type of a kebab was an Azerbaijani dish.
Rob McGee:
Alex — thanks for the corrections of my translated joke!
Rob McGee:
Hmmm, the name люля кебаб “rings a bell” (напоминает мне то, не знаю что — is there an idiom in Russian closer to “rings a bell”?).
Anyway, I’ve never eaten at an Azerbaijani restaurant, but here in Virginia I’ve been to “pan-Middle-Eastern-Central-Asian” restaurants that had dishes from Turkey, Uzbekistan, Iran, Afghanistan, etc. (Я безумный фанатик жареной баранины!!)So probably I saw “loola-kebab” on the menu at one of these restaurants.
Насчет этого, я сделал поиск Google Image для “люля-кебаб”, и найденные снимки очень похожи на турецское блюдо “кёфте кебаб” или “щищ кёфте”, которое я выше описал.
(Speaking of which, I did a Google Image search for “люля кебаб”, and the resulting photos looked very similar to the Turkish dish “kofte kebab” or “shish kofte”, which I described above.)
Rob McGee:
BTW, according to wikipedia, köfte is not originally a Turkish word, as I thought — it comes from the Persian verb kuftan, meaning “to beat” or “to grind,” and the word has been borrowed by languages besides Turkish: in Arabic, Hebrew, Greek, Bulgarian, Armenian, and many others, the word for “meatball” sounds something like “koufta”. (And I still think that тефтели must also come from this source, although for some reason the initial “k” became a “t.”)
Rob McGee:
Hmmm, the word костёр is interesting! It can be translated as “barbecue fire” or “campfire” or “bonfire”. (But “fire” in the general sense of “flames” is огонь, while if you mean “a fire” in the sense of a house burning, then the word is пожар.)
Anyway, the word “bonfire,” etymologically signifies “bone fire”. And of course, “bone” is кость!
Rob McGee:
По поводу «секретного рецепта на маринад»…
Obviously the proper ingredients are a matter of controversy, but I strongly recommend that you try adding some “Asian fish sauce” (which in the States is sometimes called by its Vietnamese name nuoc mam, нуок мам). Or, if you can’t find азиатский рыбный соус, you can use анчоусы (anchovies).