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Lebanese beef kafta on a plate with garlic cream sauce drizzled on top
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Lebanese Kebabs

Once you try grilled Lebanese Kebabs made with ground beef, herbs, and aromatic seasoning, they will quickly become one of your favorite easy summer dinners!
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Lebanese
Keyword beef kebabs
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 8 kebabs
Calories 391kcal
Author Isabel Laessig

Equipment

  • 8 metal skewers (if using wooden skewers, soak in water for 30 minutes)

Ingredients

Beef Kafta

  • 1½ pounds ground beef 80 or 85% lean
  • 1 tsp. sea salt
  • ½ tsp. ground white pepper
  • ½ tsp. red pepper flakes
  • ¼ tsp. cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp. ground ginger
  • ½ tsp. allspice
  • ½ white onion chopped
  • 4 Tbsp. fresh parsley finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp. fresh mint finely chopped

Garlic Cream Sauce

  • 4 Tbsp. butter salted
  • 4 cloves garlic grated, or 1 tsp. minced garlic
  • 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups half and half not fat free
  • ⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1-2 Tbsp. fresh parsley minced, or 2 tsp. dried parsley

Instructions

Lebanese Kebabs

  • In a small bowl, combine sea salt, white pepper, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, ground ginger, and allspice. In a large bowl, add ground beef, parsley, mint, white onion, and the spice mix.
    combining spices and ground beef in a bowl
  • Form ground beef mixture into about 8 logs. Skewer each log, packing the mixture evenly and tightly around each skewer. Pull the ground beef lengthwise from the tip of the skewer toward the handle, leaving four inches of skewer to hold the kebabs.
    Skewering the beef onto kebabs
  • Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight before grilling.
    Uncooked lebanese kebabs on a white plate on metal skewers
  • Grill skewers over medium-high heat until cooked through and browned on all sides, approximately 2 minutes for each side. The internal temperature should reach 160°F on a meat thermometer.
    Grilled Lebanese kebabs on a white platter

Garlic Cream Sauce

  • In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat, then add garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Stir constantly so the garlic doesn't burn.
    Add in flour, stirring, and cook for about 1 minute, until lightly browned. Stir frequently.
    Whisk in half and half gradually and season with salt and pepper. Simmer until it thickens, about 1-2 minutes - keep stirring now and then. Whisk out any lumps that form. Cook the sauce just until it thickens. When it thickly coats the back of a spoon, it's ready.
    Stir in Parmesan and parsley, then remove pan from heat. Serve immediately for best results. It will thicken further off heat.
    Garlic cream sauce in a bowl with a spoon

Notes

  • Nutrition includes garlic cream sauce.

Nutrition

Calories: 391kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 101mg | Sodium: 400mg | Potassium: 408mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1382IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 158mg | Iron: 3mg