Meat Dishes

Etler

Appears in
Nevin Halici's Turkish Cookbook
Nevin Halici's Turkish Cookbook

By Nevin Halici

Published 1989

  • About
From ancient times to this day meat has been the most important element of Turkish cuisine. Kebabs, boiled meat dishes and stews are mentioned in the earliest Turkish written sources. The 11th-century Classical Turkish Dictionary has a reference to men who “competed against each other in skewering meat”. Today the town of Gaziantep in southeastern Anatolia is renowned throughout Turkey for the variety and superb quality of its kebabs.
There are dozens of varieties of kebabs which may be grilled, baked or even stewed. Some are named for the way they are cooked: tandır kebabı in a pit oven or tandır; şiş kebabı on şiş or skewers; others after a place, such as Adana or Sanlı Urfa, depending upon the way the meat is cut and spiced.