I know, I know... 'Schaschlik' is a strange name for a meat skewer. It has its origins in the Balkans, parts of Russia & Turkey and is usually a marinated, then grilled, shish kebab. In Germany, however, it's a meat (pork) skewer simmered over a couple of hours in a tangy, tomato- and paprika-based sauce with hints of curry, honey, garlic, thyme, bacon and onions until the meat is so tender it's on the brink of falling apart.
Its rich, reddish-brown sauce is also occasionally used for above-mentioned Currywurst and/or served over Pommes Frites. Traditionally, Schaschlik is served with either rice, Pommes frites or fresh bread, such as French Baguette.
This variation of the Schaschlik I'm about to introduce you to is mostly found in the Rhineland/Ruhr region but also in parts of southern Germany. It is a bit more labor-intensive compared to the Currywurst, which is a breeze to make.
Let me make one thing clear though. This dish is not very calorie-friendly, so if you are watching your weight or are in the midst of a diet where those type of foods are off-limits to you, you might want to stay away from it, or...you still might indulge every now and then, in moderation. But this dish, just like the Currywurst, can be habit-forming so make it at your own risk and once every blue moon.
However, I'll show you how to make this street food dish a little healthier without losing its incredible flavor and expanding your waist line by a few inches. Everything in moderation, folks...keep that in mind!
With that said, let's start 'Schaschliken', shall we...?
For the Schaschlik skewers:
1.5 lbs of boneless Pork loin roast (Pork shoulder as an alternative)
2.5 lrg yellow onions, peeled, halved and quartered
1 packet of thick-sliced bacon (I used 40% less sodium bacon)
about 10-15 wooden shish kebab skewers
Start by cutting the pork loin in 1-2 inch squares. No need to trim the fat because pork loin is already on the leaner side. If you decide to use pork shoulder, don't trim all of the fat to keep the meat a bit more moist during cooking. But I advise to trim off the excess fat, such as the thick fatty skin. Cut the bacon strips into three equal parts, cut the onion into equally-sized chunks and start sliding those three items onto the skewers, beginning with a meat cube, a folded slice of bacon, lastly an onion slice and so on. Keep repeating this until you have about four or five pieces of meat on a skewer. Repeat for the remaining skewers...
Then, while working in batches, brown 3-4 skewers at a time in a large frying pan (depending on the size of the pan, of course) over medium-high heat before transferring the Schaschliks over to a large roasting pan. Once they're all in the roasting pan, dust them generously with paprika powder and season with salt and pepper.
TIP: You can also add some red and green bell peppers, zucchini or even yellow squash to the skewers. Experiment a little to see what your taste buds prefer.
The sauce is a medley of diced onions, tomato paste, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, curry, thyme, ketchup and beef stock. Here's the complete list of ingredients...
1 12oz can tomato paste
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 14oz can of diced tomatoes
1 cup tomato ketchup
1 32oz carton beef stock
5oz of orange juice
1/2 yellow onion, roughly diced
2 Tbsp of honey
3 Tbsp of paprika powder
2 Tbsp of curry powder
2 Tbsp of garlic powder (or two whole garlic cloves, finely chopped)
1 Tbsp of dried Thyme
1 Tbsp of cayenne pepper
2 good splashes of Worcestershire sauce
Salt & Pepper to taste
Start out by adding a couple of teaspoons of olive oil to the same pan you used to brown the Schaschliks in, and sauté the onions for a couple of minutes. Whisk in the tomato paste and 'sweat' it together with the onions for another minute or so. Deglaze everything by adding the OJ until the remnants or bits from browning the meat have been released. Now is a good time to add the diced tomatoes, the tomato sauce, 3/4 quarters of the beef stock (reserve the rest for later in case the sauce becomes too thick), the ketchup and the spices. Bring everything to a light simmer for 15-20 minutes.
In the meantime, peel and chop up a couple of large yellow onions, pull the layers of the onions apart and toss over the Schaschlik, which are already resting in the large roasting pan. When that's done the sauce will be poured over the Schaschlik. Make sure the sauce is distributed evenly and most of the skewers are covered.
Preheat your oven to 385°F, cover the roasting pan tightly with heavy-duty tin foil and set the timer for 1 hour. Once the time's up, take the pan out of the oven and carefully! remove the foil. Don't get burned by the hot steam coming out of it! You will see pools & puddles of hot oil floating on the surface.
Those puddles come from the bacon and meat releasing its fat. Take a spoon or a ladle and skim that fat off, you don't want this in your system. Once most of the fat is skimmed off and discarded, place the pan back into the oven, uncovered this time, for an additional hour to finish it off. If there are more pools of oil at the end, repeat above-mentioned step once more. This will significantly reduce the fat amount toward a healthier version.
After the second hour has passed and time's up again, check on the meat itself. It should be buttery-soft, very tender and easily picked apart with just a fork. The inside should look a little reddish, compliments of the sauce and its spices.
Done.
Like I said before, you can serve the Schaschlik with either Rice, Pommes Frites or a Baguette and, of course...a cold beer! It's excellent with all three of those options. I chose two of them...
German Street Food. Enjoy!