Sac Kavurma (Coban Kavurma)

We will be having an in-depth look at how to make one of our favorite diced lamb recipes. We have created a step-by-step guide and some substitutions that will help you make the best and easiest dinner you can.

If you love meat recipes like this, you might want to see our Turkish beef stew with potatoes too.

What Is Saç Kavurma?

Sac Kavurma, also known as çoban kavurma (shepherd's sautéed meat), is a traditional lamb dish with some vegetables and spices. Just like Turkish lamb stew, aka kuzu guvec, this recipe is pretty basic, but the flavors you get from it are incredible! There are versions of sac kavurma made with goat meat and beef.

What really makes this dish unique as well is that it is prepared in a thin metal pan called a sac. The name of this dish directly translates to "meat fried on an iron plate (sac)".

It is a pan without a lid. It is similar to an Asian wok, which has a similar thickness. But the shape of a sac is flatter. You can look for "Turkish sac tava" at online markets. You can see a sample picture of sac tava that we took ages ago right above the recipe card below.

This large metal plate makes it easy to heat quickly and saute the ingredients over very high heat. You should really try to either use a sac or wok if you can. A thick pan won’t be able to give you the same amazing results.

Are Sac Kavurma and Kavurma The Same?

There are two types of kavurma in Turkey: Saç kavurma and kavurma. These are not the same dishes. 

As we have explained, lamb saç kavurma is a dish made from lamb and onions, more vegetables and some spices. It is cooked in a sac, a traditional cooking vessel.

Kavurma is also a traditional Turkish meat dish, but it is very different. It is essentially the first dish made at the sacrifice festival (Kurban Bayramı in Turkish) known as The Festival of Eid-al-Adha. 

You don't need a special pan to make kavurma. A simple steel pot works fine. The lamb meat and lamb fat are cooked together over low heat for hours. Just like making confit. This dish doesn’t have any vegetables or additional spices (other than salt).

Kavurma is also known as winter kavurma. It is made from the meat of the animal (sheep or goat) sacrificed at the festival for storage. It is a way of storing meat in the freezer for several weeks or months. 

So when you need some meat, remove it from the freezer, cut off some kavurma, use it in the recipe you like and put the rest back into the freezer. You can flavor rice dishes or bean stews with a piece of kavurma throughout winter.

You can even see kavurma in small packages sold at Turkish markets. These are often used when making omelette or menemen (scrambled eggs with tomatoes) for breakfast.

The sign of a good kavurma or sac kavurma is the softness of the meat. In Turkey, it is described as soft as lokoum (Turkish delight) when the meat is perfectly cooked and have a melting-in-your-mouth consistency.

About The Ingredients

• Oil: If you want to make authentic lamb saç kavurma, it is best to cook it in its own fat. However, outside of Turkey, it isn't easy to find unless your butcher is willing to find it for you. So, instead, you can use oil, butter or ghee.
• Lamb Meat: We prefer using lamb meat for its delicious and juicy flavor. But, you can use beef or goat too if you’d like.
• Vegetables: For this recipe, we included some onions, hot or sweet peppers (whichever you prefer), and tomatoes. This is all that you need to create a flavor-packed dish.
• Spices: In terms of spices, we also didn't want to over complicate the recipe. So, we just included some black pepper, cumin, and oregano. If you want to make it spicy, add some red pepper flakes or chili flakes. Alternatively, use about 1 tablespoon of our Turkish spice blend.

How To Make Sac Kavurma

This is one of those dishes that looks impressive but is actually very simple to make. If you have a sac pan, that’s perfect. If not, a wok or any wide pan works just fine.

Start by heating your pan really well over high heat. Add the olive oil and diced lamb, and let it cook for about 7–8 minutes. Don’t stir it too often. The meat will first release its juices, then those juices will cook off and get absorbed back into the meat, which is exactly what you want.

Then reduce the heat to medium and add the chopped onions. Let everything cook together for another 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the meat is nice and tender. If your lamb is on the lean side, you might want to add a little more oil here.

Once the meat is tender, add the peppers and tomatoes. Cook them for about 5 minutes, just until they start to soften. You don’t want them to get too soft.

Finally, add the spices, give everything a good stir, and cook for another 2 minutes.

It’s ready to serve just like this. Some people like to sprinkle a bit of cheese on top at the end, even though it’s not traditional. We usually keep it simple and enjoy it as is.

Tips

• For this kavurma recipe, you can also use beef or goat meat if you’d like. But, you will have to cook the meat for longer (in the first step) to ensure it becomes tender and cooks through.
• We highly recommend trying to get a hold of some lamb tail fat. Use it instead of the oil and add it inside along with the lamb meat. Lamb tail fat will give your food a ton more flavor.
• You absolutely have to cook the meat over high heat first. This is a technique used by professional chefs too. It helps sear the meat and caramelize the outside. This will end up giving your sautéed meat dish a delicious meaty sweetness.
• If you see that your meat starts sticking before it has been completely cooked, add a splash of water. This will help loosen the pieces while adding more moisture. Then, just continue making the Turkish sauteed lamb recipe as per usual.

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