Shashlik for Christmas: a Stress-Free Festive Dinner from the Oven or the Grill

A stress-free Christmas dinner: why shashlik works so well

The biggest source of stress at Christmas is rarely the cooking itself, but everything before it: buying, cutting and marinating the meat, and then the whole meal depends on a single roast. With shashlik from master butcher Konstantin Morgel, that part is done. The meat arrives ready-marinated and chilled, cut in the Meister Morgel Cut®: even pieces that cook through together.

That leaves you three jobs: thread the skewers, switch on the oven, turn them halfway through. The rest of the day belongs to the tree, the children, your guests and a beautifully laid table.

Shashlik also works because there is something for everyone: grandma likes classic pork, the children want chicken, the brother-in-law is waiting for lamb. Guests who don’t eat pork get their own skewers of chicken, lamb or beef.

Shashlik in the oven: how long and how hot?

At Christmas, the oven is the most relaxed method: no smoke, no weather, and you stay with the family. Preheat it to 220 °C fan, or 240 °C conventional, and put the skewers on the rack in the upper half. A tray underneath with baking paper and a little water catches juices and marinade. Turn them halfway through; the last 3 to 5 minutes on the grill function give the crust.

If several types of meat go in, stagger them: pork and chicken thigh first, lamb about 3 minutes later, chicken breast and beef about 5 minutes later, so everything is ready at once. If it doesn’t all fit on one rack, cook in two rounds: the first is your first course, the second cooks while you eat. All the details are in our guide to shashlik without a grill.

Christmas dinner ideas with meat: a festive menu around shashlik

At the mangal, shashlik needs only a few sides, and they make a great Christmas table too: lavash, pickled onions, fresh herbs, tomatoes and cucumbers. A few festive touches turn them into a menu that looks like a holiday and takes hardly any work. Amounts per person and quick instructions are in our guide to shashlik side dishes.

• Lavash as a base: the bread under the skewers soaks up the juices and, for many, is the best part of the evening.
• Pickled red onions with dill: ready in 15 to 20 minutes, and scattered with pomegranate seeds they glow like Christmas decorations.
• Tomato and cucumber salad with dill: dress it just before eating, or it turns watery.
• Red cabbage coleslaw with pomegranate seeds: made the day before, it softens overnight and nods to red cabbage, the German Christmas classic.
• Potato salad with vinegar and oil: in many German families it belongs to Christmas Eve, and it tastes even better made a day ahead.
• Sauces: tomato sauce with garlic and herbs, tkemali with lamb, garlic sauce with soured cream with chicken.

How much shashlik for a family Christmas?

As a main course, plan 400 g of shashlik per person; with plenty of starters, salads and biscuits, 300 g is enough. Children up to about 12 eat 150 to 200 g. A family of 4 adults and 2 children needs around 2 kg.

The minimum order value is €49, and delivery is free from there. Smaller families therefore order for two festive days at once, or for Christmas and New Year’s Eve together, and freeze part of it raw. For a big crowd, the “Friends and Family” pack is made for about 10 people. How to plan the oven or grill for 10 guests is covered in shashlik for 10 people. For any other number, use the calculator.

Grilling at Christmas: shashlik on the terrace

For some, the mangal belongs to December too. If you want to grill at Christmas, the usual times apply: pork 15 to 20 minutes, chicken breast 10 to 15, chicken thigh 15 to 20, lamb 12 to 18 and beef 12 to 15, turned every 2 to 3 minutes. Winter adds a few things, though.

In the cold, charcoal takes longer to reach white embers, more like 30 to 40 minutes than 20 to 30. Wind cools both embers and meat, and it is dark by late afternoon, so a head torch and a probe thermometer matter more than in summer. A division of labour works well: one person grills outside while the oven runs indoors. The full tips for cold, wind and darkness are in our guide to shashlik for New Year’s Eve.

Christmas Eve without kitchen stress: the timetable

Here is how to spread the work so that by evening only the oven is busy:

• The day before: make room in the fridge and prepare the potato salad, coleslaw and sauces, which taste better after resting. In the evening, move frozen portions to the fridge to thaw.
• In the morning: soak wooden skewers for about 30 minutes, thread the skewers and put them back in the fridge, covered and sorted by type. Then lay the table.
• An hour before dinner: pickle the onions, wash the herbs, lay out the lavash.
• 45 minutes before: preheat the oven to 220 °C fan and slide a tray with a little water under the rack.
• Once the oven is hot: put the skewers in staggered by type, turn them halfway through and dress the tomato and cucumber salad.
• To finish: 3 to 5 minutes on the grill function, check the core temperature, rest the skewers under lavash for 3 to 5 minutes and serve on the board.

Ordering shashlik for Christmas: buffer, freezing, thawing

Lots of people order before the holidays, so order in good time and allow a few days’ buffer. The shashlik arrives chilled, and the best-before date is on the pack. Put it in the fridge as soon as it arrives.

Anything you won’t cook by the date on the pack goes into the freezer right after unpacking: in portions, airtight and flat, labelled with variety and date. To thaw, put the bag in a bowl on the bottom shelf of the fridge the evening before; a flat portion thaws overnight. Never refreeze raw meat once it has thawed. More in our guide to freezing shashlik.

Fridge full before Christmas? Clear space beforehand and put the drinks outside rather than the meat, because on a balcony the temperature swings. The meat belongs in the fridge or in a cool box with plenty of ice packs.