Grilled Turkish Kofta Kebabs

Kofta Kebabs are a popular Middle Eastern delicacy: skewers of spiced-up ground lamb or beef, served with fresh vegetables, pita and garlicky yogurt sauce. Here's how to make authentic grilled Turkish Kofta Kebabs at home. 

KOFTA KEBABS IN ISTANBUL

When I was in Istanbul kebabs were everywhere: shish kebabs: grilled chunks of meat or chicken on a skewer; doner kebabs: meat cooked on a rotisserie and sliced off for serving; and kofta kebabs: ground lamb or beef shaped onto skewers and grilled.

They were served with tomatoes (raw or grilled), fresh parsley, assorted salad ingredients, seared peppers, rice or pita, and tahini or yogurt sauce - perfect complements to the rich, flavorful meats.

Here's an iPhone photos of one f my kebab dinners in Istanbul. It was as delicious as it looks!

When I returned from Istanbul I couldn't not stop dreaming about delicious kofta kebabs. I finally got around to developing a recipe and here it is! 

HOW TO MAKE KOFTA KEBABS

Kofta is a mix of ground meat, herbs and spices that's formed into a meatball or meatloaf. Kofta kebabs are formed around a skewer. These Turkish kofta kebabs can be made with either ground lamb or beef. I've done it both ways with great success.

The meat is mixed with finely chopped onion, parsley and spices. Next comes the fun part, shaping the kofta around the skewers.

HOW TO SKEWER KOFTA

In Turkey I was intrigued by the unusual shape of the kofta kebabs - long and flat with ridges. I wondered how it was done. Now I know! It's not required that you do this, by the way. You can simply form a long sausage shape and flatten it a bit, and your kebabs will be just as delicious. But if you're up for trying the fancy technique, here's how to do it:

• Keep a bowl of ice water handy to dip your hand in, if the meat starts to stick to you.
• Slide a portion of meat onto the skewer and stand the skewer upright - pointy side down - holding the top with one hand.
• Use the other hand form the meat into a long, ridged, sausage shape by gently squeezing it from top to bottom, and pressing the side of your thumb in as you go, to make the ridges.
• Flip the skewer over and repeat the process, squeezing and ridging the other side. Keep flipping and repeating until you have a long, flat, ridged kebab.
• If you want more instruction, check out this YouTube video.

BEST SKEWERS FOR KOFTA KEBABS

I highly recommend flat skewers for this recipe, if you can get them. The meat clings better and holds its shape. Here's the kind I use: flat stainless steel barbecue skewers or flat bamboo skewers.

HOW TO SERVE KOFTA KEBABS

I like to serve these kofta buffet-style, with the kebabs and warm pita on one platter, the fresh vegetables on another platter, and the garlicky yogurt sauce in a bowl on the side.

This is a fantastic dish for entertaining. Set it all up and let people help themselves. It's always a big crowd pleaser with my friends and family.

If you like Turkish cuisine, here are a few other delicious Panning The Globe recipes to try:

• Turkish Sigara Börek: Crispy Feta Rolls
• Turkish Hot Layered Hummus
• Turkish Manti: Tiny Lamb-filled dumplings with three sauces
• Spicy Turkish Tapenade

Here's the type of skewers I recommend: flat stainless steel barbecue skewers or flat bamboo skewers.

For more great grilling recipes, check out this roundup of The 16 Best Foods To Grill This Weekend

If you try this recipe I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment and a rating. I'd love to know what you think!

Recipe

Grilled Turkish Kofta Kebabs

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4.9 from 11 reviews

• Author: Lisa Goldfinger
• Total Time: 45 mins
• Yield: 6 1x

Print Recipe

Description

Grilled skewers of spiced-up ground lamb or beef, served Turkish style with fresh vegetables, pita and garlicky yogurt sauce. These flavor-packed lamb (or beef) kofta kebabs are great for summer grilling and perfect for feeding a crowd.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

Equipment: 6 long metal skewers, preferably flat (12 inches or longer) or 12 shorter skewers. If you use bamboo skewers, soak them in water first, for at least 30 minutes.

For the Garlicky Yogurt Sauce:

• 1 ¼ cups plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 small garlic clove, finely minced
• 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sumac
• ½ teaspoon salt

For the Lamb:

• 2 pounds ground lamb (or beef)
• 1 small yellow onion, grated, blotted with paper towel to soak up excess liquid
• 1 large bunch flat leaf parsley leaves, divided
• 3 tablespoons Urfa pepper
• 2 teaspoons sumac
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

Accompaniments for Serving:

• 2 ripe tomatoes, sliced thinly
• 1 english cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced, soaked in cold water for 10 minutes, drained
• Parsley leaves, remaining from above
• 12-18 romaine lettuce leaves, washed and dried
• 3-6 pitas, sliced in half
• Additional sumac, for sprinkling over the vegetables and kebabs

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

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Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine yogurt sauce ingredients: yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, sumac and salt. Cover and store in the fridge until ready to use. Can be made up to a day ahead. When ready to use, transfer to a small serving bowl and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon sumac.
2. Finely chop ¼ cup of the parsley leaves to use for the kebabs. Leave the rest whole and set aside.
3. In a large bowl combine lamb, grated onion, chopped parsley, urfa pepper, sumac, and salt. Work the ingredients together with your hands for a couple of minutes until they are fully incorporated.
4. Divide the meat mixture into 6 or 12 equal portions, depending on the size of your skewers. You can simply skewer them them squeeze them into long sausage shapes or you can try the ridge technique: Keep a bowl of ice water handy to dip your hand in if the meat starts to stick to you. Slide a portion of meat onto the skewer and stand the skewer upright - pointy side down - holding the top with one hand. Use the other hand form the meat into a long, ridged, sausage shape by gently squeezing it from top to bottom, and pressing the side of your thumb in as you go, to make the ridges. Flip the skewer and repeat the process, squeezing and ridging the other side. Keep flipping and repeating until you have a long, flat, ridged kebab. Store the kebabs in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap, until ready to grill. (see photos in the post for help with shaping the kebabs onto the skewers)
5. Arrange tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, parsley and lettuce on a large serving platter. Sprinkle onions and cucumbers with ½ teaspoon sumac. Set aside while you grill the kofta kebabs.
6. Heat the grill to high. Charcoal grilling is more authentic but gas works well, too. Oil the grates of the grill to prevent sticking. Grill the kebabs for one minute on each side to seal them, then grill them for about 8 minutes longer, flipping them halfway through. Remove the kebabs from the grill, turn off the heat, and set the pitas on the hot grates for a few minutes, to warm.
7. While the pita is warming, carefully remove the skewers from the kofta (they'll be hot!). Set the kofta onto a large platter and season with ½ teaspoon sumac. Add the warmed pitas to the platter.
8. To serve, set out the platters of kofta, pita and vegetables with a bowl of the garlicky yogurt sauce on the side and let everyone help themselves.

Notes

Nutrition Information: The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and is not a substitute for the advice of a professional nutritionist. This nutrition calculation includes everything in the recipe except the pita bread.

• Prep Time: 35 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Barbecue
• Cuisine: Turkish