Adana kebab is often reduced to a question of chilli. The better question is structure: how finely the lamb is cut, how cold the mixture stays, how fat binds it to the wide skewer and how steadily the fire cooks without drying the edges.
The skewer is not a utensil. It is part of the recipe.
For four people
Use 700 g hand-minced lamb with roughly 150 g lamb-tail fat, two finely chopped red peppers, salt and a restrained spoon of pul biber. Keep everything cold. Knead only until the meat holds together, then rest for at least one hour.
Shape, fire, rest
Press the mixture evenly along four cold, wide skewers with damp hands. Grill over mature charcoal, turning only when the first side releases cleanly. Rest the skewers briefly over warm flatbread so the bread catches what the fire has loosened. Serve with charred pepper, tomato, onion and sumac.
