Ground Meat Kebab Recipes

KABOB KOOBIDEH (PERSIAN GROUND MEAT KABOBS)

Steps:

• Shave onions with a grater into a fine mesh strainer. Gently press pulp into the strainer to remove juices. Place pulp into the center of the cheesecloth and gently press until no further juice drips out.
• Place lamb and beef in a pot. Add green onion and onion pulp; mix until thoroughly combined. Mix in baking powder, salt, pepper, sumac, and turmeric. Add eggs and mix thoroughly. Cover the pot and place in the refrigerator until flavors have melded, at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Mold meat mixture onto the skewers.
• Cook on the preheated grill, rotating every minute, until nicely browned on all sides, and meat is no longer pink in the center, about 25 minutes.

GROUND MEAT KEBAB

Steps:

• Put all the ingredients together in a bowl. Mix well and work with your hands into a soft paste. Wash your hands and rub them with oil. Take lumps of paste the size of a tangerine and roll them into sausage shapes about 3/4 inch thick, then press them around flat wooden skewers. Alternatively, shape the meat into burgers.
• Place the keftas on a heat-proof serving dish or on a piece of foil on a baking tray and cook under the preheated broiler for about 10 minutes, turning them over once, until browned on the outside but still pink inside.
• Serve hot with good bread and a salad of cucumber, tomato, and red onion, dressed with lemon juice and olive oil.

GROUND MEAT KEBAB

Steps:

• Grate or finely chop the onion in the food processor, drain, and turn it into a bowl. Add the chopped parsley to the onion. Cut the meat into chunks, then blend it in the food processor to a soft paste, adding salt and pepper. Mix the meat paste with the parsley and onion, and knead with your hand until well blended.
• Divide the meat into 8 balls and wrap each one around a skewer, pressing it firmly so that it holds together in a long, flat, sausage shape. Alternatively, flatten the balls into burgers. Place the skewers, or burgers, on the oiled grill of a barbecue, over the embers of a charcoal fire or on a rack under the broiler, and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, turning them over once, until browned outside but still pink inside.
• Using the recipe above, roll the meat into little balls the size of a large walnut. Sauté in batches in a little oil in a large frying pan, turning them until they are browned all over but still a little pink inside. You can do this in advance, if you wish, and heat them through, covered with foil, in the oven when you are ready to serve.
• Open out a pita, toast it under the broiler, and break it into small pieces at the bottom of a serving dish. Just before serving, pour 4 cups plain whole-milk yogurt, which should be at room temperature, over the toast and drop the meatballs on top. Fry 3 tablespoons pine nuts very briefly in 1/4 stick (2 tablespoons) butter and sprinkle them over the dish with their butter.