In Lebanese cuisine, Kafta usually refers to spiced ground meat that can be fried, baked or bbq’d. It is then called Kafta Kabob (or Kabab) if it’s meant for the BBQ grill, and this is what we’re featuring in this recipe. There are of course many ways of spicing up your Kafta, it’s a matter of taste and culture, and in this post we’re showcasing a rather mainstream Kafta Kabob recipe that mama makes at home, and that is juicy and delicious.
Recipe: Grilled Kafta Kabob Recipe – Kafta Mishwiyyeh
Summary: Grilled Kafta Kabob is a very juicy and delicious bbq treat that is easy to prepare.
Grilled Kafta Kabob Ingredients
- 1 lb of ground beef (20% fat)
- 1/2 lb of ground lamb (optional, if not available use 1.5 lbs of ground beef total)
- 2 large yellow or red onions finely minced
- 1/2 parsley bunch finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons of 7-spices
- 1-2 teaspoons of salt (or to taste)
- a dash of Cayenne pepper (optional)
Preparation Method
- Finely chop or mince the onions in a food processor and strain the liquid/juice that comes out of them. This is important to get rid of, otherwise the meat paste will be loose and won’t hold together easily.
- Finely chop the parsley leaves (discarding the stems)
- Mix all ingredients well together and make into patties or put on Kabab skewers
- Grill on medium heat for about 10-15 minutes max
Serve Kafta while hot along with some Lebanese pita bread, grilled onions and vegetables. Kafta goes VERY well with a side of Tabbouleh Salad.. try it out 
Making The Kafta Stick
Putting the Kafta on skewers may be a bit challenging as sometimes it doesn’t stick well, especially if the fat content isn’t enough. Here are some tips to help making the Kafta stick:
- Onions: after you grind/mince the onions in the food processor, make sure to strain them very well and get rid of all extra moisture/juice. The more juicy the onion is the less stickier the kafta is.
- Parsley: Parsley has a considerable amount of moisture as well, so after chopping it let it dry a bit on a piece of towel
- Chilling Kafta: Once you’ve made the Kafta mix, you can skewer it and let it rest on a plate in the fridge for a couple of hours so that it sticks well on the skewers. The colder the meat is the stickier it is. If you have the flat metal skewers as shown in this post those are the best for such Kabobs.
- Eggs: As our friend Joumana from Taste of Beirut noted in the comments you may also want to add some eggs or bread crumbs to the mix make it stick.
Preparation time: 20 minute(s)
Cooking time: 15 minute(s)
Diet tags: High protein
Number of servings (yield): 5
Culinary tradition: Middle Eastern.
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You just reminded me we used to eat kafta every week but in Lebanon we’d ask the butcher to make the mix and we’d simply grill it on the balcony in the tiny grill… much easier than making it in the food processor and worrying about it falling apart. I have added eggs and breadcrumbs to the meat dough to try and make it stick and it seems to help.
Good tip thank you Joumana. I think many people have a challenge making Kafta or ground beef stick on a skewer so I hope this helps. I’m assuming that the eggs would not alter the flavor right?
Not really; I noticed recently while testing a Kurdish kebab recipe that egg yolks are added there, assuming this is to add richness. Also, if one salts the onions, let them drain their water, the onion juice problem is solved.
How do u make these kebabs (or any other) really soft? Wats the secret behind it?
Hi Sara – making the Kabab soft depends on many factors.. it needs to have some fat in it, and also it needs to not be overcooked because that will dry it. And one trick you could use is to place the Kababs in an empty cooking pot immediately after being pulled from the BBQ and cover them for 5 mins…
Thanks for your tips! Does taking out moisture thoroughly help as well in making them soft? Some ppl recommend adding soaked bread. Wat r ur comments on this?
To be honest Sara I wouldn’t know – I’ve never heard of anyone adding soaked bread to Kababs but you know people have different tricks to make things work. For us, using fresh meat that has some fat in it, perhaps 15-20% makes a very moist and lovely Kabab if cooked just right.
I m trying ur Shish tauk recipe for a BBQ tomorrow. Looks yummy!
Awesome let us know how it goes