Whether it’s Indonesian satay, French brochette or Turkish kebab, food on a stick is just plain fun! Widely enjoyed throughout the Middle East and other parts of the world, kofta are made from ground meat mixed with aromatic spices. Enjoy these grilled on wooden skewers with flatbread and a homemade tzatziki sauce.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 5 min |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Inactive: | 30 min |
| Cook: | 20 min |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus a pinch
- 1 pound ground beef chuck or lamb
- 3 tablespoons grated onion
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Olive oil, for brushing the grill
- Tzatziki, recipe follows
- Grilled flat bread
- 2 cups plain whole milk yogurt or 1 cup Middle Eastern-style plain yogurt
- 1 medium cucumber, peeled, halved, and seeded
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus a pinch
- 1/2 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon dried mint, crumbled
Instructions
- Smash the garlic cloves, sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt, and, with the flat side of a large knife, mash and smear mixture to a coarse paste. Mix the paste and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt with the meat, onion, parsley, and spices.
- Line a pan with aluminum foil. Divide the meat mixture into 28 rough balls. Mold each piece around the pointed end of a skewer (if you use wooden ones, soak them in water for 15 minutes before threading them), making a 2-inch oval kebab that comes to a point just covering the tip of the skewer. Lay the skewers on the pan, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 12 hours.
- Heat a grill pan over medium heat or prepare a grill. Brush the pan lightly with olive oil. Working in batches, grill the kebabs, turning occasionally, until brown all over and just cooked through, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter and serve with tzatziki and flat bread.
- If you’re using plain whole milk yogurt, line a small sieve with a coffee filter. Put the yogurt in it, set it over a bowl, and refrigerate 12 hours. Discard the expressed liquid and put yogurt in the bowl.
- Grate the cucumber on the large holes of a box grater into another bowl. Sprinkle with the 2 teaspoons salt and rub into the cucumber with your hands. Set aside 20 minutes, then squeeze the cucumbers to express as much liquid as possible.
- Smash the garlic, sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt, and, with the flat side of a large knife, mash and smear the mixture to a coarse paste. Stir the cucumber, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and mint into the yogurt. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 213 |
| Total Fat | 12 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4 g |
| Carbohydrates | 8 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 5 g |
| Protein | 20 g |
| Cholesterol | 58 mg |
| Sodium | 500 mg |
Reviews
Wow! I’ve been making gyro meat with Alton Brown’s recipe and I love it, but this is a quicker way to use ground lamb *and* tastes just as good in greek flatbread. I didn’t have coriander (darn husband and not letting me know when he takes the last of a spice), so I ground up caraway seeds as my bible ‘sub’ book says it is the closest and best sub. Not sure why everyone thinks this is so salty and I’m wondering if they oopsed and used regular salt instead of kosher which would definitely make it too salty. I think this was perfect and a great meal for a sweltering hot day. I served it on greek flat bread with some chopped up tomato and lettuce. My husband doesn’t like tzatziki but Hidden Valley Ranch Cucumber is an excellent substitute. Thank you for the recipe!
Used ground lamb and fried in a cast iron. It came out a little dry even though searing the outside just enough for nice color. Didn’t make the tzatziki, prob would have tasted better with some sauce.
Delicious. 1 teaspoon of salt was perfect for us. Had to use dry parsley (pandemic cooking) but it was still amazing. Served with homemade Baba ghanoush, tzatziki, and hummus. Will definitely go into rotation
Followed the recipe and WOW..great tasting Kofta!! This was the trial run…making it next weekend for a dinner party!
It was perfect and delicious. Followed the recipe exactly.
I salt all meats in advance (dry-brining) EXCEPT for ground meats. If you do this the denaturing of the proteins will render a rubbery texture to your kebab. Leave the salt out of the meat and salt 1/2 tsp per lb of meat just before grilling and I promise it will yield a better result. Google Dr. Greg Blonder of MIT for a scientific explanation of this phenomenon.
This recipe was great! I used significantly less salt than the recipe called for due to the other review comments. I also made them into meat balls and used half ground beef and lamb. This will be a new “go to” recipe for the future.
The flavors were great, but holy SALT Batman. I love well seasoned food, but the salt needs to be cut in half.
This was a go to recipe for me from a while ago, but as stated in another review, I think the salt amount is off, should be a teaspoon, not a tablespoon. I made it as written, way too salty, but otherwise great flavor. I guess I don’t remember making it a while ago and being so salty.
A show stopper. Succulent. Flavorful. Wonderful. Best thing I’ve eaten in a long time.