Kebbeh Factory

Insert the word "Kebbeh" in the search button on the blog and you'd have dozen articles around this purely Lebanese delicacy. 

However, none of those articles give Kebbeh making credit compared to the way mom makes it (which is also a simplistic version of the old authentic Kebbeh making).

The ingredients are few. Extremely lean beef or lamb (none of our extra lean meat makes it to how red and lean the Kebbeh meat should be).

Then there is bulgur wheat. But not any bulgur; only the finest (texture-wise) must be used for Kebbeh. Onions and salt and you are set.

 (Click here for recipe).

The old fashioned way is to pound the meat with the bulgur and grated onions in a large stone mortar with a humongous wooden pestle. In the absence of this, mom uses her hands and kneads the mixture over and over again (adding cold water as needed).

A food processor? No way.

Once you have the meat ready, Kebbeh can be made in endless versions (my favourite is raw).

Tonight's Kebbeh Factory produced "Kebbeh Mamdoudeh" - a thin layer of kebbeh covered with cooked ground beef, onions and pine nuts and covered with another layer, soaked with oil and baked.

The other version produced tonight was "Kebbeh Arass" - those are hamburger shaped round Kebbeh patties that are deep fried and munched on.

Getting them perfectly round and equal in size is a requirement of a professional Kebbeh maker. Methinks those are professional enough, what do you think?

 

As the "Kebbeh Arass" were being deep fried (in very hot oil; turn during frying - they don't take that long), the "Kebbeh Mamdoudeh" was baking (450 oven for close to 40 minutes).

Ah the smell of the Kebbeh factory - Lebanese comfort food at its best.

 

The nice thing about Kebbeh is that it freezes well. The factory produced several of those foil-wrapped "Kebbeh Mamdoudeh" freezer packs (anyone wants to seduce a Kebbeh dinner invite?).

The "Kebbeh Arass" were dinner (and the leftovers were packed for the freezer).



Thank you mom for this wonderful factory.