Non-VegetarianAbruzzese cuisine Street Food

Arrosticini

Name: Arrosticini
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Abruzzese
Ingredients: 800 g mutton shoulder or leg; 200 g sheep fat; 15 g Fine sea salt; 8 slices pane casereccio; 30 ml Extra virgin olive oil; 1 sprig Fresh rosemary

Tender cubes of mutton and sheep fat threaded onto wooden skewers and grilled over hot coals, known locally as rustell or arrustelle.

🇮🇹Italy· Abruzzo

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 10 min
Total: 40 min
Servings: 4
Difficulty: Easy
Calories: 480 kcal

Ingredients

0 of 6 gathered

Servings

800 g mutton shoulder or leg — trimmed of sinew, cut into 1 cm cubes
200 g sheep fat — cut into 1 cm cubes
15 g Fine sea salt — for seasoning immediately after grilling
8 slices pane casereccio — thickly sliced rustic country bread
30 ml Extra virgin olive oil — for brushing the bread
1 sprig Fresh rosemary — used as an oil brush

Equipment

•Canalina or charcoal grill
•Wooden skewers (20 cm)
•Tongs
•Aluminium foil
•Sharp chef's knife

Nutrition

Per serving, approximate

Calories: 480 kcal
fat: 26 g
carbs: 22 g
fibre: 1 g
protein: 42 g
calories: 480 kcal

Instructions

1
Soak the wooden skewers in cold water for thirty minutes to prevent burning.
2
Cut the mutton and sheep fat into uniform one-centimetre cubes.
3
Thread the meat tightly onto skewers, alternating three lean cubes with one fat cube.
4
Prepare glowing charcoal embers in a narrow brazier without open flames.
5
Lay the skewers across the brazier with wooden handles hanging over the edge.
6
Grill the meat for roughly two minutes until the underside sizzles and chars slightly.
7
Turn the skewers carefully and cook the reverse side for another two minutes.
8
Transfer the hot skewers immediately into foil and sprinkle generously with fine sea salt.
9
Wrap the foil tightly to rest the meat while brushing bread with oil.
10
Toast the oiled bread lightly over the embers and serve alongside the hot skewers.

Chef's tips

Always keep the ratio of roughly twenty-five percent sheep fat to lean meat to ensure juicy skewers. Never marinate the meat beforehand with lemon, herbs or garlic, as authentic arrosticini rely purely on the flavour of good sheep meat, fat and salt.

Ingredient substitutions

mutton shoulder or leg → mature lamb shoulder or hogget, though mature mutton yields the true traditional flavour
sheep fat → unsmoked pork back fat, if sheep fat is entirely unavailable

Storage

Store leftover cooked meat removed from skewers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days.

Reheating

Reheat gently in a dry frying pan over medium heat for two minutes until sizzling.

Common mistakes to avoid

•Marinating the meat with herbs or lemon juice before cooking.
•Cooking over active flames rather than hot, glowing charcoal embers.
•Salting the meat before grilling, which draws out juices and dries out the mutton.

Serving suggestions

Serve wrapped in a bundle in foil or standing upright in a traditional terracotta jug.Eat directly from the skewer using your teeth alongside slices of pane casereccio.Pair with a glass of robust Montepulciano d'Abruzzo red wine.