Turkish Beef Köftes (Meatballs)
"There’s something very special about seeing my son eat my homemade Turkish cuisine."
Equipment
- Grill or cast iron skillet (you may also use a non-stick pan)
- Box grater
- Good quality knife
- Food chopper (I use a small KitchenAid one)
- Medium mixing bowl
- Food thermometer (optional)
- Garlic press
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground chuck (80/20)
- 1 cup bread crumbs (use fresh Italian or sourdough bread for best results)
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup chopped, fresh parsley
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1/2 tsp. cumin
Instructions
- A few hours before you start this recipe, lay out your slides of fresh bread at room temperature. This will start to dry the bread and get it ready for you to pulse finely into crumbs for your recipe.
- Peel your onion, cut it in half, and grate using the larger side of the box cutter. Grating the onion is key here because it adds the flavorful onion juice into the köftes!
- Wash your parsley and chop finely, measuring out a full 1/3 cup to add to your mixture.
- Using a food chopper, place your dried bread (I used 2 large slices of Italian bread that made a full cup of crumbs) and pulse until the bread is in crumbs.
- Using a garlic press, press one clove of garlic into your mixing bowl.
- Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and knead the mixture with your hands for about 1 minute.
- Now we get ready to grill! Form small ovals out of the dough and flatten on top. This recipe makes about 20 köftes for me.
- Grill on each side until the internal temperature reaches 160F.
- Let them cool, and enjoy! They pair very well with some rice and vegetables – so you can keep the sides pretty simple! You can also enjoy it with your favorite hummus in a pita wrap.
Notes
Storing Instructions:
These can stay in the fridge for 2 days in an air-tight container.
You can freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw them at room temperature and then grill as described in the recipe.