Juicy pork shashlik

Ingredients

• pork meat – 3 kg
• onion – 1 kg
• mayonnaise – 200 g
• tomato sauce – 500 g
• salt – to taste
• ground pepper – to taste
• basil, savory or other herbs – to taste

Method

1. Step 1

   This is my mother’s marinade. Once I used it I stopped looking. Tomato sauce, mayonnaise and onion loosen the fibres; the pieces cook evenly and stay juicy.

   
2. Step 2

   Choose pork that isn’t too lean — neck or kidney end. Cut into about 3 cm cubes, as even as you can. Larger pieces take longer and stay juicier; small ones cook faster and dry. Slice the onion into 8–10 mm rings.

   
3. Step 3

   Mix mayonnaise, tomato sauce and spices. Hot sauce if you like heat; plain tomato for a milder pot; satsebeli for herbs. Salt and pepper to taste. I add a pinch of dried basil and savory.

   
4. Step 4

   Toss meat, onion and marinade in a lidded bowl and refrigerate overnight.

   
5. Step 5

   Thread meat with onion rings so the kebab takes the onion perfume, and the roasted onion is part of the plate.

   
6. Step 6

   Grill over hot coals with no flame. Turn as a gold crust forms, and baste with marinade.

   
7. Step 7

   To keep the coals even, leave a few burning logs at the inner edge of the mangal so they don’t die and the meat cooks faster and more evenly.

   
8. Step 8

   Mushrooms or mackerel on the same fire are good extras. Enjoy.