Prepare meat mixture: Place ground veal, onion, garlic and mint into a large bowl. Place all of the spices into a smaller bowl, stirring to combine. Sprinkle spices onto meat. Using clean hands, mix everything together until well combined. Divide mixture into 12 equal sized meatballs.
Shape kebabs: Place a sheet of parchment on work surface. Shape meatball into cigar shape, placing it into the centre of the parchment. Push a bamboo skewer into the meat lengthwise. Bring parchment over the kebab. Use a bench scraper to push against the fold to create a tube shaped kebab. Push the skewer into the meat so it goes to the very end of the meat mixture. Transfer kebab to parchment-lined baking tray. Repeat to create 12 kebabs. Cover with wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Make sauce: Place all of the ingredients for the sauce into a medium bowl. Stir or whisk to combine. Transfer to squeeze bowl or bowl. Refrigerate until use.
Cook kebabs: Before turning on grill, lay a piece of foil down the centre section of the grill to prevent the ends of the skewers from burning. Turn left side of grill on to moderate high heat, about 500°F.
Once grill is hot, lay kebabs onto grill so that the meat touches the grates but the ends of the skewers are positioned over the foil. Leave kebabs to cook for at least 2 minutes or until they release without sticking. Roll or turn them to cook the flip side for 2 minutes more or until centres of the kebabs are no longer pink.
To serve: Transfer kebabs to a platter either on their own or on a bed of Easy Summer Salad. Drizzle with sauce. Serve with our Easy Summer Salad and Easy Flatbread Recipe.
Kofta Kebabs with Ground Veal
Ingredients
For the kebabs:
2 pounds grass-fed ground veal
1 cup finely diced red onion
3 garlic cloves, grated
½ cup finely chopped fresh mint
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground sumac
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
For the sauce
1 cup plain yoghurt
3 tablespoons tahini
1 lemon, juiced
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon spice, such as sumac, paprika or cumin
To serve:
Easy Summer Salad
Easy Flatbread Recipe
Directions
Prepare meat mixture: Place ground veal, onion, garlic and mint into a large bowl. Place all of the spices into a smaller bowl, stirring to combine. Sprinkle spices onto meat. Using clean hands, mix everything together until well combined. Divide mixture into 12 equal sized meatballs.
Shape kebabs: Place a sheet of parchment on work surface. Shape meatball into cigar shape, placing it into the centre of the parchment. Push a bamboo skewer into the meat lengthwise. Bring parchment over the kebab. Use a bench scraper to push against the fold to create a tube shaped kebab. Push the skewer into the meat so it goes to the very end of the meat mixture. Transfer kebab to parchment-lined baking tray. Repeat to create 12 kebabs. Cover with wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Make sauce: Place all of the ingredients for the sauce into a medium bowl. Stir or whisk to combine. Transfer to squeeze bowl or bowl. Refrigerate until use.
Cook kebabs: Before turning on grill, lay a piece of foil down the centre section of the grill to prevent the ends of the skewers from burning. Turn left side of grill on to moderate high heat, about 500°F.
Once grill is hot, lay kebabs onto grill so that the meat touches the grates but the ends of the skewers are positioned over the foil. Leave kebabs to cook for at least 2 minutes or until they release without sticking. Roll or turn them to cook the flip side for 2 minutes more or until centres of the kebabs are no longer pink.
To serve: Transfer kebabs to a platter either on their own or on a bed of Easy Summer Salad. Drizzle with sauce. Serve with our Easy Summer Salad and Easy Flatbread Recipe.
Kofta Kebabs with Ground Veal
5 / 5. 1
Grass-fed ground veal mixed with red onion, fresh herbs, garlic and fragrant spices, grilled kebab-style…
Restaurant-worthy grilled veal KOFTA KEBABS for the win!
There are no two ways about it; these KOFTA KEBABS made with grass-fed veal are phenomenal. Not only do they come off the grill perfectly cooked, tender, and juicy, but their presentation is also appetizing thanks to our ingenious trick. Our way of shaping the kebabs is so perfect. I swear your family and guests will think they were made by a professional.
Before listing our expert tips and suggestions on preparation, we want to invite you to visit THINKVEAL.CA. Their wonderful website offers lots of details on all the ways you can prepare veal. They also have an excellent guide on different cuts, plus suggestions on cooking, doneness, and additional resources that may be of interest.
Here’s how to make KOFTA KEBABS WITH GROUND VEAL:
INGREDIENTS
Believe it or not, there really aren’t a whole lot of ingredients needed to make this fabulous meal idea. The most important ingredient is the ground veal—more about that in the next section. Additionally, you’ll also need a gathering of fragrant and flavourful spices, about a cup of finely diced red onion, some grated garlic, and then a fresh herb. We used fresh mint for this post, but feel free to try the recipe using your favourite fresh herbs. We also like flat-leaf parsley, oregano, fresh basil, chives, cilantro or dill.
GROUND VEAL
Traditionally, KOFTA KEBABS are made using a ground meat, though sometimes crafted using pork, ground beef or lamb. We opted for what we consider to be the most perfect ground meat available, ground veal. Note: we also asked our butcher for grass-fed ground veal, which has a pleasing and easily identifiable reddish-pink colour compared to the pale meat that comes from the grain-fed variety. Veal is rich in protein, low in calories and dense with nutrients like vitamin B6, zinc and niacin. You’ll need two pounds for this recipe, yielding 12 kebabs.
SPICES
The selection of spices you choose really makes the flavour of these KOFTA KEBABS so memorable. We stirred up cumin and sweet paprika with turmeric, cinnamon, sumac, kosher salt, and black pepper. Other spices that will work in a kofta recipe include cardamom, coriander, allspice, chili powder, nutmeg, and za’atar.
Two things on the spices. First, don’t add too much spice into the meat mixture; the goal is a subtle flavouring. Second thing is to follow our lead and combine the spices and seasonings together in a small bowl before you sprinkle them over the meat. This will ensure the flavours are distributed evenly throughout.
THE VEAL KOFTA MEAT MIXTURE
We love the simplicity of this recipe where everything for the kofta meat mixture is added into a large bowl and then mixed together by hand. Spoiler alert: your hands will get messy, LOL! That said, we suggest having the tools needed to shape the kebabs at the ready before you mix the meat. This will allow you to shape the kebabs without needing to stop and start and restart.
ESSENTIAL TOOLS
Getting ready to test this recipe, my friend Emily asked, “Have you seen those vids where people make kebabs using freezer bags?” I instantly thought, “This I gotta see!” After watching a few, I started wondering why people make it so complicated. We use three essential tools to make KOFTA KEBABS like a pro: bamboo skewers, wood skewers or metal brochettes, parchment paper, and a bench scraper. Seriously? Absolutely. Make sure to watch this VIDEO to see the ease of our tried-and-true technique.
HOW TO SHAPE KOFTA KEBABS
The first step to making kofta kebabs is dividing the meat mixture into 12 portions, rolling each into a meatball make eyeballing the equal sizes easy.
Next step is to take a meatball, roll it into a cigar shape, and place it down onto a piece of parchment paper. Then lay a bamboo or wooden skewer or brochette down onto the meat lengthwise, pressing it down into the centre. Draw the parchment over the kebab, then using the bench scraper, push the flat blade against the bottom edge of the kebab, rolling it forward in the paper to create a smooth and even roll. The last step is to gently push the skewer further into the meat so it almost peeks out of the very end.
Once the VEAL KOFTA KEBABS are shaped, cover with wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. This will firm up the meat mixture before the kebabs are cooked on the grill.
HOW TO GRILL KOFTA KEBABS
Though you can cook these kebabs on a flattop griddle or in the oven under the broiler, we discovered grilling them works best. Wait, there’s a caveat. Grilling them works best if you follow this pro tip to prevent your skewers from burning. Again, watch this VIDEO, but here’s our winning trick in a nutshell.
Since we grill this kofta kebab recipe over direct medium-high heat using only the left and centre burners, we lay a strip of foil over the grill to the right of the cooking area. That third area to the right remains off during the grilling. Then when laying the KOFTA KEBABS onto the heated grill, the meat mixture sits directly on the hot grill grates, while the skewers lie on the protective foil. This simple trick prevents the skewers from burning. Brilliant!
GRILLING DETAILS
For best results, we suggest grilling these kebabs on a moderate-high heat. We preheat the barbecue to 500°F. Regarding cook time, we grilled the kebabs for 2 minutes before turning them over to cook the flip side for an additional 2 minutes. The kebabs are done when they are no longer pink inside, and they’re firm to the touch. If using a probe thermometer, the safe internal temperature of 160°F / 71°C is your goal.
SERVE
There are so many wonderful side dishes and condiments that pair well with the lovely meal idea. This CHIMICHURRI comes to mind, as do our POTATOES WITH BLUE CHEESE and our famous MEDITERRANEAN SALAD. Yet, having now enjoyed these KOFTA KEBABS a few times, we’re kind of loving the lemony tahini sauce featured in this post as well as our EASY FLATBREAD RECIPE. We also created a SIMPLE SUMMER SALAD with quinoa, cucumber, tomato, green onions and a lemon vinaigrette dressing. Recipe coming soon! Any or all of these things with a light red or chilled white and you’ll be set to enjoy. Bon appétit!
KOFTA KEBABS WITH GROUND VEAL are exceedingly delicious!
Cook Mode Use cook mode to keep your screen on while cooking.
Ingredients
For the kebabs:
2 pounds grass-fed ground veal
1 cup finely diced red onion
3 garlic cloves, grated
½ cup finely chopped fresh mint
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground sumac
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
For the sauce
1 cup plain yoghurt
3 tablespoons tahini
1 lemon, juiced
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon spice, such as sumac, paprika or cumin
To serve:
Easy Summer Salad
Easy Flatbread Recipe
Directions
Prepare meat mixture: Place ground veal, onion, garlic and mint into a large bowl. Place all of the spices into a smaller bowl, stirring to combine. Sprinkle spices onto meat. Using clean hands, mix everything together until well combined. Divide mixture into 12 equal sized meatballs.
Shape kebabs: Place a sheet of parchment on work surface. Shape meatball into cigar shape, placing it into the centre of the parchment. Push a bamboo skewer into the meat lengthwise. Bring parchment over the kebab. Use a bench scraper to push against the fold to create a tube shaped kebab. Push the skewer into the meat so it goes to the very end of the meat mixture. Transfer kebab to parchment-lined baking tray. Repeat to create 12 kebabs. Cover with wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Make sauce: Place all of the ingredients for the sauce into a medium bowl. Stir or whisk to combine. Transfer to squeeze bowl or bowl. Refrigerate until use.
Cook kebabs: Before turning on grill, lay a piece of foil down the centre section of the grill to prevent the ends of the skewers from burning. Turn left side of grill on to moderate high heat, about 500°F.
Once grill is hot, lay kebabs onto grill so that the meat touches the grates but the ends of the skewers are positioned over the foil. Leave kebabs to cook for at least 2 minutes or until they release without sticking. Roll or turn them to cook the flip side for 2 minutes more or until centres of the kebabs are no longer pink.
To serve: Transfer kebabs to a platter either on their own or on a bed of Easy Summer Salad. Drizzle with sauce. Serve with our Easy Summer Salad and Easy Flatbread Recipe.
Until Labour Day
