Lebanese Kofta Kebabs - wish me luck


 

Brett-EDH

TVWBB Hall of Fame
so, going to use the leftover ground beef/lamb from FD burger day Sunday (around 750g of mix)

i am following Henry's recipe (video link below). he's a really good chef and i think i'm up to this task.

i've tried to make these in the past and with varied results. usually my beef falls off my sword skewers (1" flat metal).

i mixed and incorporated all the ingredients this AM and popped it back into the fridge to firm up. hopefully i've got some magic touch and they'll stay together. wish me luck. more to follow in 2 hours or so.

 
Brett, I've never made these, but, just looking at your ground meat skewers from a structural perspective, your thickness near the edge of the skewer seems to taper down and so there's not much meat surrounding the edge? Optical illusion? Maybe a more even thickness of meat, especially at the edges would help?

If I remember, I'll ask my Lebanese car mechanic the next time I see him (probably soon as I have a leaky axle seal.) :|

R
 
Brett, I've never made these, but, just looking at your ground meat skewers from a structural perspective, your thickness near the edge of the skewer seems to taper down and so there's not much meat surrounding the edge? Optical illusion? Maybe a more even thickness of meat, especially at the edges would help?

If I remember, I'll ask my Lebanese car mechanic the next time I see him (probably soon as I have a leaky axle seal.) :|

R
That’s the trick, even and light amount of meat and proper fat content. Lean falls right off. Too much weight and they delam off the skewer. Too much moisture (my problem on these as I used a wet hand) breaks the fat to metal bond. I’ve gotten them before to stick but I need to continue to work my process.

They taste great. Hit up your local Israeli or Arab market that has a hot deli counter. This is one of our top 10 meals/food to eat.

And the skewered chicken is so moist and the grate never pull moisture out of the meat (these were breast only).
 
A mighty fine cook Brett, nice recovery with the CI Skillet for those that fell. (good thing you had a net)
Maybe add some egg whites to bind them up a little bit
 
I’ve been wanting to try these for a while. I found this recipe in my favorites that I was gonna try. I already had ordered some skewers and bought the Sumac. I’ve only used it in a Mediterranean salad I made once. I’ve waited long enough, I have to try! Even if they fall apart!

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yeah, that's one you'll probably have to try a few times to get dialed in - lots of different things going on there... like gravity... maybe have to keep flipping them so each side stays at about the same weight / moisture content? - don't know.... also as others mentioned, a binder might help... I bet you'll get it soon! everything looks really good - that rice looks super tasty - Great experiment - I like the sword skewers too - very cool!
 
I’ve been wanting to try these for a while. I found this recipe in my favorites that I was gonna try. I already had ordered some skewers and bought the Sumac. I’ve only used it in a Mediterranean salad I made once. I’ve waited long enough, I have to try! Even if they fall apart!

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Right on! I’d recco watching a bunch of kofta recipes online to learn the pressing techniques. My bad last night was using a wet hand and not getting the meat thin and even enough around the skewers.

A major success point is having a rich mix, as in more fat than lean. I learned this experimenting with chicken grind. I’ll do 80% thigh and 20% breast. The ground meat should be cold when applying it onto the skewers.

I also usually use finely chopped onion that I run through the food processor and then squeeze out any liquid as liquid ruins the meat from binding and staying on the skewers.

I’ve had success with chicken and some success with beef or beef mixtures. I will get this! I know I’m close. You can do it! And it’s fun as heck.

The real key is not overweighting the meat onto the skewer and flipping every 30 seconds to get the meat to set. Once set it’ll cook up nice an juicy. We had some nice drippings hitting the JD coals. Small little sizzle flares. The scent was great.

Note, sumac tastes lemony. It’s a very clean taste and plays well versus the meat’s fat when it comes to the surface on these types of cooks.

Looking forward to seeing your success!
 
I’ve seen them made where the meat mixture is formed into smaller pieces, then placed between peppers/onions more like the kebabs that most are familiar with. I thought I might do some like that as well.
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My relatives are Mediterranean. I’ve had kofte a bunch of different ways but never on a skewer.

Most of the time they are small rolls like a breakfast sausage. Some times formed like a burger

Always good…
 
If you all want something else to use your Sumac on, I just posted (another lol) chicken recipe on the Poultry site. Hope you all will like it. The dip that goes with it sounds really good. You know where this recipe is going. lol
 
Found another recipe using sumac, almost like the one here.

Lebanese Kafta Kebabs

8 oz. ground lamb
8 oz. ground beef
1/2 small onion, grated
2 large cloves garlic, pressed
1/3 cup mint, finely chopped
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground sumac
1/4 tsp. allspice
Kosher salt and pepper

1. In medium bowl, combine lamb, beef and remaining ingredients with 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper. Shape into 1 1/2" balls and
thread onto skewers.
2. Heat grill on medium-high and grill skewers, turning occasionally, until cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes. Serves 4

Source: Good Housekeeping mag. June 2018
 
Found another recipe using sumac, almost like the one here.

Lebanese Kafta Kebabs

8 oz. ground lamb
8 oz. ground beef
1/2 small onion, grated
2 large cloves garlic, pressed
1/3 cup mint, finely chopped
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground sumac
1/4 tsp. allspice
Kosher salt and pepper

1. In medium bowl, combine lamb, beef and remaining ingredients with 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper. Shape into 1 1/2" balls and
thread onto skewers.
2. Heat grill on medium-high and grill skewers, turning occasionally, until cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes. Serves 4

Source: Good Housekeeping mag. June 2018
the only change i'd recco here is 75% ground beef (70/30 mix) and 25% ground lamb. too much fat in the meat combo will allow the fat to melt out of the meat when grilling on 1" skewers and you'll run the risk of the meat falling off, like i just did. that 75/25 ratio of meat to fat is like the sweet spot for these blends. but if you're going to place your kebabs on a grill surface, none of this matters.

hopefully you peeps will make these and report back. thanks for posting, @Joan !!!
 
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According to this link:

https://www.thespruceeats.com/kabob-koobideh-5224493

"This is where you must forget everything you have been told about making hamburgers, which is to not over-mix and compress the ground meat. When it comes to kabob koobideh, the meat and other ingredients must be kneaded for up to 10 minutes to create a highly homogeneous and somewhat sticky paste that properly sticks to the skewer and holds its shape while grilling."
 

 

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