Kefir-Marinated Pork Shashlik
Unbelievably tasty and juicy - melts in your mouth! This pork shashlik is marinated in kefir with onion, herbs, and ground pepper. You can add other spices too; the key is giving it time. The result exceeds expectations: tender meat with a bold, juicy flavor.
Updated : 12 January, 2026
Easy
Ingredients
2000 grams
Pork
500 grams
Kefir
3
Onion
to taste
Greens
to taste
Salt
to taste
Ground black pepper
Table
Table of volume measurements:
- teaspoon - 5 ml
- dessert spoon - 10 ml
- tablespoon - 20 ml
- glass - 200 ml
Preparation
Step 1
How do you make pork shashlik in kefir? Prepare all the products you’ll need. What meat is best for shashlik? The tastiest, juiciest shashlik is made from fresh pork neck - it’s moderately fatty, juicy, and tender. For herbs, cilantro or parsley work great; you can also use fresh basil or oregano to taste.
Step 2
Rinse the meat under running water and pat dry with paper towels. Peel the onion; rinse it and the herbs in cold water. Cut the pork neck into even, medium-size pieces. If the chunks are too large, they’ll be hard to cook through because kefir marinade starts to “burn” on the coals quickly. If the pieces are too small, you risk ending up with dry shashlik.
Step 3
Put the meat into a deep bowl or pot. Add ground black pepper, shashlik seasoning (if you have it), and salt to taste. For 2.2 kg (about 4.9 lb) of meat, I used 1 Tbsp level pepper, 1 Tbsp prepared seasoning without salt, and about 1/2 Tbsp fine salt. Mix everything thoroughly.
Step 4
Slice the onion into rings and roughly chop the herbs. Place onion rings and a little herb mixture on the bottom of a large bowl. Crush the parsley well with your hands so it releases juice.
Step 5
Spread the pork pieces in one even layer.
Step 6
Repeat the layer of onion and parsley, then the meat layer. Continue like this to the top.
Step 7
Shake the kefir well and pour it in a smooth top layer over everything.
Step 8
Use your fingers to make indentations all over the surface so the kefir distributes through all layers. Thorough mixing at this stage isn’t necessary. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap (or cover the pot with a lid) and marinate in the refrigerator for several hours. I marinated the meat from morning and we grilled closer to evening the same day - so it sat in kefir for 5-6 hours.
Step 9
Light the grill. While the wood burns down, take the meat out of the fridge and mix very well so every piece is evenly coated in the kefir marinade.
Step 10
Thread the pork onto skewers. Remove the onion and herbs from the meat; otherwise, they will burn during cooking and spoil the appearance of the shashlik.
Step 11
Level out the coals in the grill and set the skewers to sear.
Step 12
Don’t leave the grill - watch the shashlik constantly. Kefir starts to “burn” very quickly over strong heat. After 1-2 minutes, once the meat has a nice appetizing color, we moved some coals aside and left only a thin layer of heat. We finished cooking the shashlik over that gentler heat.
Step 13
Cook the shashlik until done. To check if the meat is still raw inside, cut into the largest piece - if clear whitish juice runs out, the shashlik is ready.
Step 14
Serve while it’s still hot!
Author note
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