Cağ kebabı

Cağ kebabı

The horizontally stacked meat on the rotating spit is being turned to be served. Note the wood fire behind the system, which is used to cook the meat.
Alternative names	Tortum kebabı, Oltu kebabı
Course	Kebab
Place of origin	Turkey
Region or state	Erzurum
Created by	Disputed, with various lawsuits. Goes back to 18th century.
Main ingredients	Marinated slices of lamb, tail fat, onion, sweet basil, black pepper and salt.

Cağ kebabı (pronounced [ˈdʒaː cebabɯ]) is a horizontally stacked marinated rotating lamb kebab variety, originating in Turkey's Erzurum Province. The cities of Tortum and Oltu in the said province and Yusufeli in the neighboring Artvin province are in a heated debate concerning the origin of the dish. As such, in Turkish metropolises, this dish can be called "Oltu kebabı" or "Tortum kebabı" depending on the origins of the chef.

This uniquely prepared kebab has become, as years passed, a trademark of Erzurum where all the famous Usta, like Şakir Aktaş and Kemâl Koç, run restaurants. each claiming to be descending from the exclusive inventors.

Note that while it is increasingly available in most Turkish cities, the Cağ kebabı is especially popular in Bursa, whereas enjoying an ever-growing success in Istanbul and Ankara.

Ottoman travelbooks of the eighteenth century cite a kebab cooked on wood fire consisting of a horizontal stack of meat, known as "Cağ Kebabı" in the Eastern Turkish province of Erzurum, which is probably the ancestor of döner as we know it.

The Turkish word "cağ" is IPA: [ˈdʒaː] borrowed from Armeno-Georgian. It means "spit" or skewer. Hence the name of the kebab that consists of meat impaled on a huge spit.