⏱ Prep: 15 min 🔥Grill: 10 min 👤Makes: 10–12 skewers 🌡Grill: 450°F–500°F
Beef kafta kebab recipe is the Middle Eastern answer to the question of what to do with ground beef that is not a burger, and the answer is so much better than the question deserves. Ground beef mixed with finely minced parsley, grated onion, garlic and a blend of warm spices, allspice, cinnamon, cumin, sumac, shaped around skewers and grilled over high heat until the outside chars and the inside stays impossibly juicy. Twenty-five minutes from bowl to table. The most flavor per minute of any recipe in this collection.
Kafta in Lebanon. Kofta in Turkey, Egypt and India. Kefta in Morocco. The same essential idea, ground meat seasoned with herbs and spices, shaped and cooked has been made across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia for centuries. Every culture that touches it makes it its own. This version is Lebanese.
Ingredients
For the kafta mixture
- 1½ lbs (680g) ground beef, 80/20 or 85/15 fat ratio. The fat is not optional, lean ground beef produces dry, crumbly kafta that falls off the skewer. 80/20 is the correct choice.
- 1 medium yellow onion, quartered, processed with the parsley until very finely minced. The onion adds moisture and sweetness that binds the meat.
- ½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stems, tightly packed. Flat-leaf only, curly parsley is milder and less aromatic.
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1½ teaspoons Lebanese 7 spice (baharat), available at Middle Eastern grocery stores and Amazon. This single spice blend contains allspice, black pepper, cinnamon, coriander, cloves, nutmeg and cumin. If unavailable, see the substitute below.
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice, added alongside the baharat for extra depth
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground sumac, adds a bright, tangy note. Substitute: ¼ teaspoon lemon zest if unavailable.
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, adjust to heat preference
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
7 spice substitute: mix ½ teaspoon allspice + ¼ teaspoon black pepper + ¼ teaspoon cinnamon + ¼ teaspoon coriander + ⅛ teaspoon cloves + ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg + ⅛ teaspoon cumin.
For cooking and serving
- Metal skewers, preferred over wooden. Metal conducts heat into the center of the kafta for more even cooking. If using wooden skewers, soak in cold water for 30 minutes.
- 1 tablespoon avocado or vegetable oil, for brushing the grill grates
- Warm pita bread, hummus, sliced tomatoes, sliced onions and fresh parsley, for serving
- Tahini sauce or garlic toum, the traditional Lebanese accompaniments
How to make Beef Kafta Kebab
- Process the aromatics. Add the quartered onion, parsley and garlic to a food processor. Pulse 8–10 times until very finely minced, the mixture should be almost liquid, with the onion releasing its water. Transfer to a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth and press firmly to drain as much liquid as possible. This step is critical, excess moisture from the onion is the primary cause of kafta falling off the skewer.Squeeze hard. Then squeeze again. The drained onion and parsley paste should feel almost dry to the touch. This sounds aggressive. It is correct.
- Mix the kafta. Place the ground beef in a large bowl. Add the drained onion-parsley mixture and all the spices, baharat, allspice, cinnamon, cumin, sumac, cayenne, salt and black pepper. Mix with clean hands, pressing and folding the mixture together until everything is evenly incorporated and the texture is slightly pasty and cohesive. Do not overwork, stop as soon as it is combined.The mixture should feel sticky and hold its shape when pressed. If it feels loose, refrigerate for 15–20 minutes, the cold firms up the fat and makes shaping significantly easier.
- Shape onto skewers. Divide the mixture into 10–12 equal portions, roughly 2 oz (55g) each. Wet your hands with cold water. Take one portion and press it around a metal skewer, squeezing firmly from top to bottom to create a compact oblong shape about 4–5 inches long and 1 inch thick. The surface should be smooth with no cracks. Repeat with remaining portions. Refrigerate for 10–15 minutes while the grill heats.If the kafta cracks when you shape it, the mixture needs more mixing, press everything together more firmly with your palm before reshaping.
- Heat the grill. Preheat an outdoor grill or indoor grill pan to 450°F–500°F (230°C–260°C), high heat. Brush the grates with oil immediately before adding the kafta.
- Grill. Place the kafta skewers on the hot grill. Do not move them for the first 3 minutes, let them develop a crust and release naturally from the grate. If they stick, they are not ready to turn. After 3 minutes, turn carefully using tongs. Grill the second side 3–4 minutes more. The kafta should have distinct char marks on both sides and reach an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C).Total grill time is 6–8 minutes. Kafta cooked beyond this will be dry. Pull them at 160°F and rest 3 minutes, they continue cooking off the heat.
- Rest and serve. Remove from grill. Rest 3 minutes. Slide the kafta off the skewers onto warm pita. Serve with hummus, tahini, sliced tomato, sliced onion, fresh parsley and pickled turnips alongside.
What actually matters here
The fat ratio in the beef and the draining of the onion are the two variables that determine whether your kafta stays on the skewer or falls into the fire. 80/20 ground beef provides the fat that binds the mixture around the skewer and keeps it juicy through the high-heat cook. Draining the onion removes the water that makes the mixture loose and slippery. Do both of these things correctly and kafta that stays on the skewer and arrives at the table juicy is essentially guaranteed. Skip either one and you will be retrieving crumbles from the grill grate while your guests wait politely.
If something goes wrong
Claire’s note
If the kafta is falling off the skewer before it even hits the grill, the mixture is too wet, the onion was not drained sufficiently or there is too much parsley. Press the shaped kafta firmly from both ends toward the center along the skewer, compressing the meat tightly. Refrigerate 20 minutes before grilling, the cold makes the fat firm enough to hold. If it still falls: shape without skewers into oblong patties about ½ inch thick and cook on a grill pan or cast iron skillet. They cook identically without the skewer and taste exactly the same. No one needs to know they were not on sticks.
What to eat alongside
Kafta belongs on the same table as hummus, warm pita, Lebanese mezze and a simple tomato and onion salad dressed with olive oil and lemon. A drizzle of tahini sauce over the kafta directly, sesame paste thinned with water, lemon juice and garlic, is the traditional finish. The full Lebanese recipes collection have everything you need to build the full spread.
Add kafta to your weekly meal planner, the mixture takes 15 minutes to make and can be shaped and refrigerated the night before, then grilled in 10 minutes the next day. And for more recipes, follow us on Pinterest.
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Beef Kafta Kebab
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 10–12 skewers 1x
Description
Delicious Middle Eastern beef kebabs made with seasoned ground beef mixed with herbs and spices, grilled to perfection.
Ingredients
- 1½ lbs (680g) ground beef, 80/20 or 85/15 fat ratio
- 1 medium yellow onion, quartered
- ½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stems
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1½ teaspoons Lebanese 7 spice (baharat)
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground sumac
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon avocado or vegetable oil, for brushing the grill grates
- Warm pita bread, for serving
- Hummus, for serving
- Sliced tomatoes, for serving
- Sliced onions, for serving
- Fresh parsley, for serving
- Tahini sauce or garlic toum, for serving
Instructions
- Process the aromatics by adding the onion, parsley, and garlic to a food processor. Pulse until very finely minced. Drain the liquid.
- Mix the kafta by combining the ground beef, drained onion-parsley mixture, and spices in a bowl. Mix until evenly incorporated.
- Shape onto skewers by dividing the mixture into 10–12 equal portions and pressing it around metal skewers. Refrigerate for 10–15 minutes.
- Heat the grill to 450°F–500°F (230°C–260°C) and brush with oil.
- Grill the kafta skewers on the hot grill without moving them for the first 3 minutes. Turn and grill the second side for 3–4 minutes until charred and cooked to 160°F (71°C).
- Rest the kafta for 3 minutes before sliding them off the skewers onto warm pita. Serve with accompaniments.
Notes
Ensure to drain the onion thoroughly to prevent the kafta from falling off the skewers.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Grilling
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 skewer
- Calories: 250
- Sugar: 1g
- Sodium: 600mg
- Fat: 20g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 10g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 18g
- Cholesterol: 60mg
