Grilled Kafta Kabob Recipe – Kafta Mishwiyyeh

In Lebanese cuisine, Kafta usually refers to spiced ground meat that can be fried, baked or bbq’d.  It is then called Kafta Kabob (or Kabab) if it’s meant for the BBQ grill, and this is what we’re featuring in this recipe. There are of course many ways of spicing up your Kafta, it’s a matter of taste and culture, and in this post we’re showcasing a rather mainstream Kafta Kabob recipe that mama makes at home, and that is juicy and delicious.

Grilled Kafta Kabob is a very juicy and delicious bbq treat that is easy to prepare.

Grilled Kafta Kabob Ingredients

1 lb of ground beef (20% fat)
1/2 lb of ground lamb (optional, if not available use 1.5 lbs of ground beef total)
2 large yellow or red onions finely minced
1/2 parsley bunch finely chopped
2 teaspoons of 7-spices
1-2 teaspoons of salt (or to taste)
a dash of Cayenne pepper (optional)

Preparation Method

1. Finely chop or mince the onions in a food processor and strain the liquid/juice that comes out of them. This is important to get rid of, otherwise the meat paste will be loose and won’t hold together easily.
2. Finely chop the parsley leaves (discarding the stems)
3. Mix all ingredients well together and make into patties or put on Kabab skewers
4. Grill on medium heat for about 10-15 minutes max
5. Serve Kafta while hot along with some Lebanese pita bread, grilled onions and vegetables.  Kafta goes VERY well with a side of  Tabbouleh Salad.. try it out 🙂

Making The Kafta Stick 🙂

Putting the Kafta on skewers may be a bit challenging as sometimes it doesn’t stick well, especially if the fat content isn’t enough. Here are some tips to help making the Kafta stick:

Onions: after you grind/mince the onions in the food processor, make sure to strain them very well and get rid of all extra moisture/juice. The more juicy the onion is the less stickier the kafta is.

Parsley: Parsley has a considerable amount of moisture as well, so after chopping it let it dry a bit on a piece of towel

Chilling Kafta: Once you’ve made the Kafta mix, you can skewer it and let it rest on a plate in the fridge for a couple of hours so that it sticks well on the skewers. The colder the meat is the stickier it is. If you have the flat metal skewers as shown in this post those are the best for such Kabobs.

Eggs: As our friend Joumana from Taste of Beirut noted in the comments you may also want to add some eggs or bread crumbs to the mix make it stick.

Preparation time: 20 minute(s)
Cooking time: 15 minute(s)
Diet tags: High protein
Number of servings (yield): 5
Culinary tradition: Middle Eastern.

Source: Mama's Lebanese Kitchen