Grilling may be a favorite American pastime, but you can cook with flavors from around the world. This kebab burger, fashioned after a traditional Persian Ground Beef Kabob (Koobideh) is robust, refreshing, and ready for your table in (half the time) of a regular beef kabob.
Summer break has begun for my family and we are loving these lazy mornings, longer days and soaking in the warmer temps. The casual schedule follows the So Cal casual way of living, and that means keeping it simple even at dinner time.
Slow summer days means meals cooked on the grill. Whether it’s just the five of us or a small family dinner for 20, we just love cooking over fire. And to celebrate Independence day and our general love for summer, I’m sharing this kebab burger recipe with you.
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Why you must try this recipe
Fourth of July barbecues just beg for flame kissed burgers, so it might seem odd that I’m suggesting a Persian burger to celebrate America’s birthday. But you see, that’s the beauty of this country. We all came from some place else at one point in time, and American cuisine is equally a melting pot influenced from all over the world.
My father’s parents arrived as kids with their families from Poland and Lithuania around 1915. My mother came from Iran in the 1960’s to earn her graduate degree.
I grew up eating Persian food and pickled herring along with Tex-Mex in Houston, and now my own children are enjoying Persian food and many other great fusion dishes here in San Diego.
This Persian influenced kebab burger is a simpler and yes, Americanized way of enjoying koobideh kabob, ground beef kabob (kebab/kabab) prepared on long flat skewers. If you ever tried to make koobideh kabab at home, you know it’s a challenge to get the mix just right and cook it evenly so the meat does not fall off the skewers.
Unlike regular hamburger mix, this kabab burger mix includes a lot of grated onions, which is a key ingredient to making koobideh kabab. By grating the onions by hand or in the food processor, they completely melt and mix in with the ground beef giving uniform flavor. You don’t want to bite into a piece of onion for this kabab burger.
I also added more flavor into the kabab mix by including fresh parsley, mint, garlic powder, salt, pepper and another Persian touch, sumac.
Ingredients you need
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- Ground beef: The higher quality of your meat the better flavor your burger will have. You do want fat in the burger, for moisture and flavor, so choose 80/20 ground meat.
- Onion: You can use white or brown onions.
- Fresh herbs: Fresh herbs give so much more flavor than dried. I use parsley and mint.
- Sumac: This is a Persian crimson colored spice that is used often with kabob. It has a tangy flavor and is fabulous on most meats. You can find it at middle eastern stores or online.
- More seasonings: Salt, black pepper and garlic powder.
- Serve with burger buns, radishes, tomatoes, mast o khiar (yogurt with cucumbers), fresh basil and fresh tarragon.
Step-by-step directions
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- Combine the mix. In a bowl, combine ground beef, grated onions, parsley, mint, sumac, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Let mixture sit for 2-3 hours for the flavors to meld together.
- Form the patties. Divide meat into 6 equal portions and shape each into a patty that is ½-inch-thick and roughly ½-inch wider than the burger buns. Using your thumb, make an indentation into the center of each burger patty. This prevents burgers from doming up in the center while it cooks.
- Grill the burgers. Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Brush grate with oil then place hamburger patties on the grill indentation-side up. Grill burgers for 4-5 minutes on each side (8 minutes total for medium-rare, 10 minutes total for medium). Let burgers rest 2-3 minutes.
- Assemble the burgers. To assemble the kabab burgers, place a patty inside a hamburger bun and and sprinkle with a little sumac and spread cucumber yogurt on top. Add slices of tomatoes, radishes and herbs and finish with the bun top. Serve with additional yogurt sauce.
Expert tips and recipe FAQs
When it comes to koobideh kabob, it is served on a bed of incredible basmati rice topped with saffron. Fresh herbs are always on hand, as well as sumac. For side dishes, nothing beats a bowl of mast o khiar (persian yogurt with cucumbers) or shirazi salad (Persian cucumber tomato salad).
I wanted to create a burger that ultimately tastes like a kabab sandwich, but in a burger form. So this kabab burger is topped with additional sumac, a spoonful of mast o khiar, sliced tomatoes and radishes, and of course, fresh herbs.
For the herbs, feel free to choose any variety. My favorites are fresh basil and tarragon. You can also use mint, green onions and watercress.
When I enjoy a delicious steak, there is no question to I like it cooked: medium rare. With steaks, any harmful bacteria sits on the surface of the cut meat. They are killed off by searing and cooking the meat, even when the center is left rare.
But ground beef is minced and mixed together, so the harmful bacteria is all over the mixture, including the center. So the only way to completely kill of any harmful bacteria is to cook it completely. This is the case whether you are using any ground meat, whether it is ground beef or ground lamb.
Cooking your kabab burger to medium heat internally doesn’t mean you’re left with a dry burger. This is why we use the 80/20 meat, ground beef with 20% fat. The fat melts into the burger, with the excess fat dripping off into the fire, leaving you a moist and delicious burger.
Want more non-traditional ways to enjoy koobideh kebab? Try my air fryer koobideh or my ground beef jerky that tastes just like koobideh! And you can use that jerky to make your own koobideh backpacking meal while out in the wild!
And similar to this kabob burger, my lamb burger has all the flavors of the Mediterranean in every bite!
Storing/Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Store any leftover burgers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
TO FREEZE: You can also freeze leftovers. Once the cooked patties have cooled, transferred to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months.
When raw meat is cut, bacteria is formed where it was cut. On a steak, this the surface of the steak, which is exposed to high heat and killed during the cooking process. But ground beef is minced and mixed together, so the harmful bacteria is all over the mixture, including the center. So the only way to completely kill of any harmful bacteria is to cook it completely. This is the case whether you are using any ground meat, whether it is ground beef or ground lamb.
I wanted to create a burger that ultimately tastes like a kabab sandwich, but in a burger form. So this kabab burger is topped with additional sumac, a spoonful of mast o khiar, sliced tomatoes and radishes, and of course, fresh herbs.
The Kebab Burger
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef 80/20
- 1 medium onion grated
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoon chopped mint
- 2 teaspoon sumac
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 6 burger buns
- 6 radishes sliced
- 6 slices tomatoes
- 2 sprigs fresh basil
- 2 sprigs fresh tarragon
- 1 tablespoon sumac divided
- Mast o khiar yogurt with cucumbers
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine ground beef, grated onions, parsley, mint, sumac, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Let mixture sit for 2-3 hours for the flavors to meld together.
- Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.
- Divide meat into 6 equal portions and shape each into a patty that is ½-inch-thick and roughly ½-inch wider than the burger buns.
- Using your thumb, make an indentation into the center of each burger patty. This prevents burgers from doming up in the center while it cooks.
- Brush grate with oil then place hamburger patties on the grill indentation-side up.
- Grill burgers for 4-5 minutes on each side (8 minutes total for medium-rare, 10 minutes total for medium). Let burgers rest 2-3 minutes.
- To assemble the kabab burgers, place a patty inside a hamburger bun and and sprinkle with a little sumac and spread cucumber yogurt on top. Add slices of tomatoes, radishes and herbs and finish with the bun top.
- Serve with additional yogurt sauce.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
Do you drain the juice from the grated onions like regular koobideh or keep the juice when making the burgers?
For burgers, I usually just give the grated onions a little squeeze or just tip the bowl and bowl out the excess juices. I don’t drain them as much as I do when I make skewered koobideh.
Laura
You had me at “Hi”. The photo of this burger got me. It was something about the radishes and yogurt sauce that made me think of the times your husband would sit and share while turning the kabobs over the hot coals. His stories were fabulous but the kabobs were the BOMB. Now I have an opportunity to make this same kabob but in a burger! You made my weekend.
These burgers are pretty delish. Can’t wait for us to meet up and cook together again! xoxo
Wow, a Persian burger! You come up with the best recipes. Thank you, Laura!
This looks delish! Love the flavoring of the meat. Thanks!
I wish Iived closer because I totally want to grab one of those burgers.
Laura, this is a magical burger. I can tell because of all the time and attention you put into developing it. What an incredible mixture of flavors and textures!