Kabab Koobideh Recipe

The Grill

The koobideh skewers should not touch the grates when grilling. The classic approach to making kabab koobideh calls for mangal, a rectangle charcoal grill with removable or no grates. Using this type of grill is recommended since the kabob skewers won’t touch anything (including grates) while being cooked.

However, since mangals are not available to everyone, here are a couple of tips on how to use whatever charcoal or gas grill you have at home:

• If using a gas grill, make sure it’s heated to high heat (about 450 degrees F). This will prevent the meat from falling off the skewers. If using a charcoal grill, make sure they are glowing, have no smoked and are lightly covered with ashes.
• If you have a grill with grates that you cannot remove, buy a couple of flat sided metal pipes from the hardware store and place them parallel to each other on top and bottom of the grill and set the skewers on them so the kabobs don’t touch the grates. Alternatively, you can use bricks instead of pipes.

Kabob Koobideh Ingredients

• Meat: You can use lamb, beef or a combination of both. I recommend using half lamb and half beef. Lamb already contains enough fat but you need to make sure the beef has at least 20% fat content for the mixture to have the right consistency. It’s possible to grind the meat at home, in which case I recommend using lamb ribs and beef chuck to get the proper fat content.
• Onion: What makes a good koobideh is the onion to meat ratio. The amount of onion used in the recipe should be 1/4 of the amount of meat. For example. If you’re using 2 lbs of meat, you need 1/2 lb onion. You should grate or puree the onion in a food processor, place it in a cheese cloth and squeeze to remove all the excess liquid prior to weighing it.
• Saffron: Make sure to check out my tutorial on how to bloom saffron. While saffron adds a lot of flavor to the kabob, if you don’t have it, simply leave it out and still make the recipe, it’s going to be good.
• Spices: All you need is salt and pepper. Season generously.

How To Make Kabob Koobideh

Begin by thoroughly mixing ground meat and grated onion until well combined. If available, use a meat grinder or the meat grinder attachment for a stand mixer to process the ground beef, lamb, and onion once, then continue mixing by hand.

Add bloomed saffron, salt, and pepper to the meat and onion mixture. Knead the mixture by hand for an additional 10 minutes. Cover the mixture and refrigerate for one hour.

When ready to grill, remove the mixture from the fridge and keep a bowl of warm water nearby to prevent sticking. Take a handful of the mixture and shape it into an oval ball. Press the ball onto a 1-inch wide skewer. Wet your hands again and use your fingers to spread the meat along the skewer, forming a 6-inch long kebab with a thickness of ¼ to ½ inch on each side.

Create indentations from top to bottom using your thumb and index finger to ensure the meat sticks to the skewer. Using your index and middle finger, remove a small piece from each end of the meat on the skewer to secure it completely. Repeat these steps with the remaining meat and skewers until all kabobs are formed.

Arrange the prepared skewers on a rimmed baking sheet, ensuring the meat doesn’t touch the sheet. Thread tomatoes onto a separate skewer.

Preheat the grill until the charcoal is uniformly glowing and partially covered with ashes, or until the grill reaches a very high temperature to ensure the meat sticks to the skewers. Have a pot with a lid and some lavash nearby.

Once the grill is ready, place the skewers on the grill and continuously flip them to prevent the meat from falling off. Each kabob skewer should take about 3 to 4 minutes to cook, while the tomatoes will require approximately 15 minutes.

Using a piece of lavash, loosen both ends of the kabab from the skewer and slide it into the pot. Cover the pot with the lid to keep the kabobs warm while you continue grilling the rest.

How to Make Kabob Koobideh Without a Grill

No grill? You can make koobideh under your oven broiler with great results. Set your oven to broil on high and place the rack in the highest position. Lay your skewers across a rimmed baking sheet so the meat is elevated and not touching the pan. Broil for 4 to 5 minutes, flip, then broil for another 3 to 4 minutes until cooked through with some color on the outside.

The result won’t have the smoky char of a charcoal grill but the flavor and texture will still be excellent. For a stovetop option, my kabab tabei recipe was designed specifically for cooking Persian kabob in a pan at home.

Serving Suggestions

Traditionally, koobideh kabob is served with Persian rice with tahdig (chelow) and a generous sprinkle of sumac. You can find chelow kabab (rice and kabob) in many Iranian restaurants and it’s usually served with an egg yolk that you would mix into the hot rice. Alternatively, you can serve koobideh with saffron rice as well.

Every plate of koobideh is always accompanied by some grilled tomatoes and sabzi khordan (herbs) and mast o khiar (Persian yogurt and cucumber). It’s also common to have some mast-o khiar (yogurt and cucumber) and well as freshly baked lavash on the side.

How to Store and Reheat Kabob Koobideh

This Persian minced meat kabob is always best right off the grill, but if you have leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. To reheat, wrap them in aluminum foil or place them in a pan and cover the pan with aluminum foil. Then reheat in the oven at 300 degrees F for 10-15 minutes until fully warm.

Frequently Asked Questions