Kibbeh Balls

By Maverick19

This recipe comes from a very old cookbook, from the Lebanese Church Ladies' Guild, from Cleveland, OH. This is a VERY traditional Lebanese Kibbeh recipe.

Ingredients

• Kibbeh:
• 1 lb lean ground lamb
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 3 cups cracked wheat, (bulghur #1)
• 1 medium onion, grated
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp either nutmeg, cloves or cumin
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Stuffing:
• 1 lb ground lamb or beef, ground twice
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp butter
• salt, pepper and allspice to taste

Preparation

Step 1

Rinse and drain cracked wheat in cold water, 15 minutes before needed. Drain and squeeze excess water out of wheat. (Cheesecloth works best)

Grate onion. Mix with meat and other spices. Add cracked wheat and knead, mixing all ingredients well. Keep ingredients cold. Run the kneaded mixture through a meat grinder once or twice for a finer consistency (you can also use food processor - if you use processor, you do not have to grate onions)
Processor method: Place small amount of meat, onions and cracked wheat into processor, pulverizing in small quantities until all has been processed.

Make the filling:
Brown the pine nuts in the butter. Add meat, onions and spices and saute for 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

After mixing, shape the meat/cracked wheat mixture into footballs, the size of lemons. With index finger, make a hole in the kibbeh ball and keep working the finger pressing the opening with the index finger and thinning out the opening just to the middle of the kibbeh. After you have thinned the opening up to the halfway mark of the kibbeh ball, remove index finger and then hold the ball with the left hand. With thumb and index finger of right hand, close opening to form a point at the end; then on the opposite side of this point, make another opening the same as the first side. Before closing the second opening, place a teaspoonful of stuffing into the shell. Close opening to form a point.

You can Bake or Fry the Kibbeh Balls:
Bake: Brush tops of kibbeh balls with melted butter or oil. PLace kibbeh balls in a well buttered pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, turning occasionally until golden brown.
Fry: Place enough oil in the skillet to cover half the ball. Brown and turn to ensure even cooking. Drain on paper towels.