Unkabobed Kafta Kabobs

Unkabobed Kafta Kabobs: All the great flavor of Kafta Kabobs – no special tools required! Even the outdoor grill is optional… Desirable, but optional!

I recently discovered the deliciousness of Kafta Kabobs and, although it was quite by accident, I’ve sort of become obsessed with it since!

From what I understand, Kafta is a very simple blend of ground meat, — usually beef, lamb, or a combination of both — finely chopped parsley, onions, garlic, and just a little bit of spices. That meat mixture then typically gets turned into Kabobs, a process which involves wrapping it around long flat specialized metal skewers. The kabobs then get grilled, preferably, over an open flame or under a super hot broiler.

Well, I don’t know about you, but I don’t happen to own any of these flat metal skewers and don’t eat Kafta Kabobs often enough (or at least I hadn’t up until now) to justify the investment. Plus, I hear it can be kind of tricky getting that meat to stick to the skewers…

So I decided to skip the skewering altogether — aka unkabob my kabobs — and form my meat into thin, elongated patties instead! They taste just as good, fit just as nicely in a pita bread, take so much less time to make and don’t require any special equipment… except maybe for an outdoor grill!? And even then, I don’ think the grill is entirely necessary, as you could very well cook the patties in a skillet, just like you would hamburgers.

Seriously, though, a lot has to be said for that open flame flavor; for the first time in my life, I’ve kept my outdoor grill out even after it had snowed because I wanted to stretch that grilling season by just a few days, so I could enjoy grilled Kafta a few more times.

And now you might want to do just the same…

Go ahead and preheat that outdoor grill to high heat and then brush the grills with a little bit of oil, if necessary. Then, coarsely chop a bunch of flat leaf parsley, a medium yellow onion and as well as a garlic clove.

Throw all of that into a small food processor and process until really finely chopped, almost paste-like. You could also accomplish the same thing with a knife if you wanted to; just make sure that all the ingredients get chopped super finely.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground lamb, ground beef, (or use just one or the other, if you prefer, but I think a combination of both works the best) finely chopped parsley onion and garlic, salt, white pepper, smoked paprika, allspice, nutmeg and cardamom; knead well with your hands until all the ingredients are well combined.

Theoretically, this is when you should be wrapping your Kafta meat around those long flat specialized metal skewers I mentioned earlier…

If you happen to have said skewers lying around the house — lucky you — then by all means go ahead and do just that! Otherwise, do like I did and form your meat mixture into 8 thin, elongated patties, instead.

Once your grill is super hot, place the patties on the grill, close the lid and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the meat easily detaches from the grill, then flip and cook the patties for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until the meat is nicely charred, cooked all the way through and its juices run clear.

Like I said, you could also cook the patties in a skillet instead, if your outdoor grill was out of commission or stored away for winter…

Remove the cooked meat to a clean plate and serve with a drizzle of tahini paste and a handful of parsley, if desired.

These Unkabobed Kafta Kabobs are totally brilliant served all wrapped up in a pita bread, garnished with a spoonful or two of hummus, a few slices of tomatoes and onions and maybe a side of Lemony Artichoke Salad!

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4.50 from 4 votes

Unkabobed Kafta Kabobs

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Unkabobed Kafta Kabobs: All the great flavor of Kafta Kabobs - no special tools required! Even the outdoor grill is optional... Desirable, but optional!

Servings: 8

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

• 16 oz ground lamb
• 8 oz lean ground beef
• 3/4 cup finely chopped parsley
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 tsp salt, I use Himalayan salt
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom

Optional toppings

• Tahini paste
• Chopped parsley

Instructions

• Preheat your outdoor grill to high heat and brush the grills with a little bit of oil, if necessary.
• Combine the chopped parsley, onion and garlic in a small food processor and process until really finely chopped, almost paste-like. You could also do this with a knife; just make sure that all the ingredients are chopped super finely.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground lamb, ground beef, finely chopped parsley onion and garlic, salt, white pepper, smoked paprika, allspice, nutmeg and cardamom; knead well with your hands until all the ingredients are well combined; form the meat mixture into 8 thin, elongated patties.
• Once the grill is super hot, place the patties on the grill, close the lid and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the meat easily detaches from the grill, then flip and cook the patties for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until the meat is nicely charred, cooked all the way through and its juices run clear.
• Remove the meat to a clean plate and serve with a drizzle of tahini paste and a handful of parsley, if desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 208kcal, Carbohydrates: 2g, Protein: 15g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 58mg, Sodium: 346mg, Potassium: 275mg, Vitamin A: 535IU, Vitamin C: 8.6mg, Calcium: 23mg, Iron: 2mg

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Lebanese

Author: Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

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