A Gaziantep skewer in which fine bulgur (called simit locally, no relation to the bread ring) is kneaded into spiced minced lamb before grilling. The grain lightens the texture and lets the kebab stretch further, a legacy of frugal Antep cooking.
Also known as bulgurlu kebap, Gaziantep simit kebabı.
Ingredients
- 500 g twice-minced lamb (20% fat)
- 80 g fine bulgur (simit)
- 60 ml warm water
- 1 small onion, grated and squeezed dry
- 20 g mild pepper paste
- 1 tsp Antep pepper flakes
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp black pepper
- 15 g parsley, finely chopped
How to make it
- 1
Soak the bulgur in the warm water 10 min until every grain has swelled.
- 2
Knead it into the lamb with onion, pepper paste, parsley and seasonings for a full 5 min to a smooth paste.
- 3
Chill 20 min, then cloak the mix along flat skewers in slim 20 cm strips, pressing shallow ridges with two fingers.
- 4
Grill over medium-hot coals 3-4 min a side until the ridges brown and the kebab releases from the grate.
- 5
Serve on lavash with grilled peppers.
Pro tip: Hydrate the bulgur completely before it meets the meat; dry grains rob the mince of moisture and the kebab cracks off the skewer.
Where Simit Kebab comes from
Simit kebabı is a Gaziantep skewer, and the word simit here has nothing to do with the sesame bread ring sold on Istanbul streets. In Antep dialect simit means fine bulgur, and this is a kebab in which that fine bulgur is kneaded into spiced minced lamb before grilling.
The dish is a legacy of frugal cooking. Bulgur was cheap and lamb was not, so the grain stretched the meat further — but the result turned out to be genuinely better in texture, not merely cheaper, and it survived into Antep's restaurant repertoire long after anyone needed to economise.
How Simit Kebab is cooked
The bulgur must be hydrated before it meets the meat, or it will steal moisture from the mince on the grill and leave the kebab dry and gritty. Fine bulgur is soaked briefly in a little warm water until it swells and softens, then squeezed and worked into the lamb along with grated onion, pepper paste and spice.
The mixture is kneaded until it is genuinely sticky, then pressed onto flat skewers. Because the bulgur lightens the mass, this kebab holds together more easily than a pure meat kebab, but it also colours faster, so the fire should be slightly less fierce than for Adana. It is done in about six minutes with one turn.
Ingredients and shopping
Fine bulgur — köftelik bulgur — is the correct grade. Coarse pilav bulgur will not hydrate quickly enough and stays hard. The ratio is roughly one part bulgur to five or six parts meat by weight; more than that and it becomes a bulgur köfte rather than a kebab.
Lamb at 20 percent fat, with red pepper paste (biber salçası), grated onion squeezed dry, pul biber and black pepper. Antep versions lean warmer and less fiery than Adana. A spoon of the soaking water can go back in if the mixture seems tight.
How Simit Kebab is served
As with any Antep skewer: flatbread underneath, grilled tomato and long pepper, sumac onions, parsley, and a bowl of yoghurt if you want it. It is lighter than a pure meat kebab and is often ordered as part of a multi-skewer table rather than alone. Şalgam or ayran to drink.
Common mistakes
Adding dry bulgur to the meat
It draws moisture out of the mince on the grill and the kebab comes out dry and gritty. Hydrate it first.
Using coarse bulgur
Pilav-grade bulgur stays hard. You need the fine köftelik grade.
Too much bulgur
Beyond about one part in five, you have made a bulgur köfte. The meat should still be the dominant ingredient.
Grilling it as hot as an Adana
The grain browns faster than meat alone. Ease the heat slightly or the surface scorches.
Simit Kebab: questions and answers
Is simit kebab made with the bread ring?
No. In Gaziantep dialect simit means fine bulgur wheat. The dish has no connection to the sesame bread of the same name.
Why add bulgur to a kebab?
Originally to stretch expensive meat. It also lightens the texture and helps the mixture bind, which is why it survived as a speciality rather than a compromise.
What kind of bulgur do I need?
Fine köftelik bulgur, soaked briefly in warm water before being kneaded into the meat. Coarse pilav bulgur does not work.
Sources and further reading
- Simit (ince bulgur) Kebabı — T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı (Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism)
- Simit Kebabı; Ground Meat and Bulgur Kebabs, Gaziantep Style — Özlem's Turkish Table
