Easy Ethiopian Beef Tibs Recipe

⏱ Prep:15 min 🔥Cook: 20 min 👤Serves :4 🌶Heat: Medium-hot

Ethiopian beef tibs recipe is the dish that makes Ethiopian food click for anyone who has not tried it before, cubed beef seared hard in niter kibbeh until deeply browned, then tossed with onions, jalapeño, garlic, ginger and berbere spice in a hot pan until the whole thing smells like the best thing your kitchen has ever produced. It is Ethiopia’s most popular meat dish, served on injera at celebrations, in restaurants, at home on weekdays. Fast, bold and built around two ingredients that most Western kitchens have never used, berbere and niter kibbeh, that once you understand them, you will put on everything.

Tibs just means sautéed. That simplicity in the name conceals something much more interesting in the pan.

Gather these first

For the beef and marinade

• 1½ lbs (680g) beef sirloin or ribeye, cut into 1-inch (2.5cm) cubes. Sirloin is the traditional choice, tender enough to cook quickly, with enough marbling to stay juicy at high heat. Ribeye for a richer result. Avoid round or chuck too tough for this quick cook method.
• 2 tablespoons berbere spice,the defining spice blend of Ethiopian cooking. Available at Ethiopian grocery stores, African grocery stores, Whole Foods and Amazon. This is non-negotiable, do not substitute with generic chili powder. The berbere makes tibs tibs.
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger, in addition to fresh ginger in the pan
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon red wine, traditional in the awaze marinade, adds depth and tenderizes slightly. Optional but worth including.

For cooking

• 3 tablespoons niter kibbeh, Ethiopian spiced clarified butter, the cooking fat that gives tibs its characteristic richness and aroma. Available at Ethiopian grocery stores. Substitute: ghee or unsalted butter, though niter kibbeh’s specific spiced quality cannot be replicated exactly.
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, added with the niter kibbeh to raise the smoke point
• 1 large red onion, sliced into half-moons, red onion is traditional in tibs, sweeter and less sharp than yellow
• 1–2 jalapeño peppers, sliced into rounds, or serrano for more heat. Adjust to preference. Seeds in for heat, seeds removed for milder.
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely grated
• 1 medium tomato, roughly chopped, optional but adds a slight acidity that balances the richness of the berbere and niter kibbeh
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary, appears in several traditional Ethiopian tibs recipes, unusual but correct. Adds a distinct herbal note.

To serve

• Injera flatbread, the traditional and correct accompaniment. Available at Ethiopian grocery stores. Substitute: steamed rice or flatbread.
• Fresh jalapeño slices and red onion rings, traditional garnish served raw alongside

The method

1. Marinate the beef. Combine the beef cubes with berbere, ground cumin, ground ginger, salt, black pepper and red wine in a bowl. Toss to coat every piece thoroughly. Leave to marinate for 15–30 minutes at room temperature, or up to 4 hours in the fridge. The berbere begins penetrating the meat immediately and the flavor deepens significantly with time.Pat the beef dry with paper towels before marinating if it has any surface moisture, dry beef browns, wet beef steams. The difference between a deeply seared exterior and a grey boiled cube comes down entirely to this one step.
2. Get the pan very hot. Heat a wide, heavy skillet or cast iron pan over high heat for 2 full minutes before adding anything. The pan must be genuinely hot, not medium-high, not warm, but properly hot. Drop a small piece of beef in, it should sear immediately and aggressively. If it sizzles gently, the pan is not ready. Wait.Tibs cooked in a pan that is not hot enough steams instead of searing. Steamed tibs is grey and textureless. Properly seared tibs has a dark, crusty exterior that carries flavor. The pan temperature is the single most important variable in this recipe.
3. Sear the beef. Add 1 tablespoon of the niter kibbeh and the vegetable oil to the hot pan. Add the beef in a single layer, do not crowd the pan. Work in two batches if necessary. Let the beef sit without moving for 2 minutes to develop a proper crust. Then stir and cook 2–3 more minutes until browned on all sides. The beef should be cooked through but with a deep brown exterior. Remove from pan and set aside.
4. Build the aromatics. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of niter kibbeh to the same pan over medium-high heat. Add the sliced red onion and jalapeño. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 4–5 minutes until the onion has softened and picked up color at the edges. Add the garlic, fresh ginger and rosemary sprig. Cook 1 more minute until fragrant.
5. Add the tomato and return the beef. Add the chopped tomato to the pan. Stir and cook 2 minutes until it begins to break down slightly. Return the seared beef to the pan. Add a splash of water, 2–3 tablespoons to deglaze any caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir everything together.Those browned bits on the bottom of the pan after searing the beef are concentrated flavor, the deglaze water lifts them into the sauce. Do not skip this. Stir and scrape until the bottom of the pan is clean.
6. Finish and serve. Cook everything together for 3–4 minutes over medium heat, tossing regularly, until the beef is coated in the onion and spice mixture and the sauce has reduced to a thick, glossy coating. Remove the rosemary sprig. Taste and adjust salt. Serve immediately, tibs waits for no one. It is at its best the moment it leaves the pan.

What actually matters here

Niter kibbeh is not the same as regular butter or ghee and the difference is significant enough to track it down before making this recipe. Niter kibbeh is clarified butter infused with onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon, fenugreek and sometimes korarima (Ethiopian cardamom) a cooking fat that carries a whole spice layer before anything else goes into the pan. When you cook tibs in niter kibbeh and add berbere, you are stacking two complex spice systems on top of each other in a way that produces a flavor depth no other cuisine quite replicates. Ethiopian grocery stores in the US sell niter kibbeh ready-made.

The variation worth trying

Claire’s note

Awaze tibs is the spicier, saucier version of this dish, the beef is cooked in awaze sauce rather than dry berbere spice. To make awaze sauce: combine 3 tablespoons berbere + 1 teaspoon black pepper + ½ teaspoon cumin + ¼ cup water + 1 tablespoon oil and mix to a thick paste. Use this paste in place of the dry berbere marinade and add it to the pan in step 4 alongside the onions, cooking it out for 2 minutes before adding the beef back. The result is saucier, more intensely spiced and slightly different in character from the drier version, both are traditional, both are excellent. The dry version is faster and has a better crust on the beef. The awaze version has more sauce and more depth. Worth making both.

What to eat alongside

Ethiopian Beef Tibs is served on injera, the large, spongy, slightly sour teff flatbread that is both plate and utensil in Ethiopian eating. Tear pieces of injera and use them to scoop the tibs directly, no fork needed. The sourness of the injera against the spiced richness of the tibs is a flavor relationship that makes each taste better than either does alone. If injera is unavailable, steamed rice absorbs the sauce well and is an acceptable substitute.

Add Ethiopian Beef Tibs to your weekly meal planner, it is on the table in 35 minutes from start to finish and uses pantry spices you already have once you have berbere and niter kibbeh stocked. And for more recipes, follow us on Pinterest.

Ethiopian Beef Tibs

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• Author: Claire Bennett
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Diet: N/A

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Description

A popular Ethiopian dish featuring cubed beef seared in niter kibbeh and tossed with onions, jalapeño, garlic, ginger, and berbere spice.

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Ingredients

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• 1½ lbs (680g) beef sirloin or ribeye, cut into 1-inch (2.5cm) cubes
• 2 tablespoons berbere spice
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon red wine (optional)
• 3 tablespoons niter kibbeh
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 large red onion, sliced into half-moons
• 1–2 jalapeño peppers, sliced into rounds
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely grated
• 1 medium tomato, roughly chopped (optional)
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• Injera flatbread (to serve)
• Fresh jalapeño slices and red onion rings (for garnish)

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Instructions

1. Marinate the beef. Combine the beef cubes with berbere, ground cumin, ground ginger, salt, black pepper, and red wine in a bowl. Toss to coat and marinate for 15-30 minutes.
2. Heat the pan. Heat a skillet or cast iron pan over high heat for 2 minutes.
3. Sear the beef. Add 1 tablespoon of niter kibbeh and the vegetable oil. Sear the beef in a single layer for 2-3 minutes until browned on all sides. Remove and set aside.
4. Build the aromatics. In the same pan, add remaining niter kibbeh, red onion, and jalapeño. Cook for 4-5 minutes until softened. Add garlic, fresh ginger, and rosemary, cooking for another minute.
5. Add tomato and return the beef. Stir in the chopped tomato and splash of water. Return seared beef to the pan and deglaze any caramelized bits.
6. Finish and serve. Cook everything together for 3-4 minutes until coated in a thick, glossy sauce. Serve immediately on injera with jalapeño and onion garnish.

Notes

Niter kibbeh is essential for authentic flavor; avoid substitutes if possible. Serve with injera for the best experience.

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Category: Main Course
• Method: Sautéing
• Cuisine: Ethiopian

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 serving
• Calories: 400
• Sugar: 3g
• Sodium: 800mg
• Fat: 20g
• Saturated Fat: 8g
• Unsaturated Fat: 10g
• Trans Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 15g
• Fiber: 2g
• Protein: 35g
• Cholesterol: 100mg