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Chef critique

Grilled Armenian Lamb Lula

This is a flavorful, well-conceptualized recipe that uses authentic and highly effective techniques for making lamb lula kebabs. The only drawbacks are a few minor errors in how the divided ingredients (parsley, onion, olive oil) are tracked throughout the instruction steps.

Score: 8/10

Suggested fixes

  • Fix the parsley instructions by specifying exact amounts in Steps 4 and 5, or by changing Step 4 to say 'half of the remaining parsley'.
  • Increase the red onion quantity to 1/2 small onion so there is a generous amount to dice for the salad after grating 1-2 tablespoons for the meat.
  • Clarify the olive oil usage in the instructions, and consider adding a note to use a high-heat neutral oil for greasing the grill grates.

Issues

  • medium / ingredient_usage: The recipe calls for 1/3 cup parsley, divided. Step 2 uses 2 tablespoons, and Step 4 says to add the 'remaining parsley' to the salad. However, Step 5 calls for another 1 tablespoon of parsley for the couscous, but the cook will have already used it all in Step 4.
  • low / ingredient_usage: The recipe lists '1/4 small red onion, divided', and instructs to grate 1-2 tablespoons for the lamb and dice the rest for the salad. A quarter of a small red onion only yields about 2-3 tablespoons total, leaving almost nothing for the relatively large cucumber-tomato salad.
  • low / clarity: 2 tablespoons of olive oil are listed, but only 1 tablespoon (for the salad) and 1 teaspoon (for the couscous) are explicitly used in the steps. The remaining 2 teaspoons are unaccounted for, likely meant for oiling the grill, but a high-heat cooking oil should ideally be specified for the grill grates.

Strengths

  • Excellent technique for the lula kebabs: squeezing the moisture out of the grated onion and vigorously kneading the meat ensures the kebabs bind properly and don't fall apart on the grill.
  • Flavor profile is bright, cohesive, and balanced, using lemon zest in the meat and lemon juice in the sides.
  • Food safety is perfectly addressed by specifying a 160°F internal temperature for the ground lamb.