I’ve never made Lebanese Kafta before and thought it would be fun to try it with some Flannery Kali blend. Does anyone have any recipes, tips, or techniques? Seems pretty straight forward for the most part. I just made and toasted a fresh batch of Lebanese 7-spice (a blend of allspice, coriander, cinnamon, black pepper, clove, cumin, and nutmeg). Also, what wine would you drink with it?
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Musar 
Will you be grilling on skewers? I’ve found the following procedure makes the meat mixture more firm and able to adhere to the skewers: add around 1/2 tsp of baking soda per roughly two pounds ground meat when you make your meat and spice mixture, then knead the meat mixture for a solid 5 min and then let it stand at room temp for 15 minutes. Have fun! I make an Iranian kebab, so somewhat different taste, but I’ve paired a D and R Mourvèdre and Rosé Champagne with good success.
Great opportunity to try a Lebanese red wine I think. A modest wine where expectations aren’t too high but the wine is enjoyable might fit the bill and also allow you to pay more attention to the Kefta. Kefraya Les Breteches comes to mind (~$15 and widely available). At about the same price, I have also enjoyed Massaya Le Columbier. Musar Jeune Rouge is another possibility (~$20). Enjoy!
Great advice on the baking soda, Jason. I chili recipe from cooks illustrated recommended using a little BP in with the raw meat, but I can’t remember (chemically speaking) why. But, I did include it in this. This turned out really well…absolutely delicious. I don’t think I’d bother using Flannery again, though, as the aromatic spices were at the fore and the real Flannery flavor was somewhat buried. Regardless, a tasty dish.
I posted pics in the, “What Did You Cook” thread.
I use lamb and chopped pistachios, sometimes golden raisins as well. Not sure if that is authentic in any way, but we’ve been happy with the results. Musar is a good suggestion, but a simple N.Rhone, syrah-based CdR also works well.
My paternal grandmother’s family moved from Lebanon to the southern area of Louisiana in the early 1900s. We grew up eating Cajun food and certain Lebanese dishes side-by-side on certain holidays.
Pine nuts were frequently added to kibbeh and kafta. I could see where pistachios or golden raisins would taste good.
A Cajun and Lebanese holiday spread sounds like something I could get behind! I’ve also used pinenuts. Very good as well, though I believe I switched to the pistachios because they don’t burn quite as easily where they are exposed from the meat.
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For a change of pace I recommend trying Romanian mititei. I use something like a combo of the first two recipes on Google. Instead of skewers you form them into little cigars and let them rest overnight. Grille on super high heat. I use a mix of beef and pork or beef and lamb. Similar spice mixture but with a bunch of thyme too.
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Glad baking soda worked out - those pics looked awesome!
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Great ideas and variations above…thanks, All. The only change I might make to the version I used is to dial down the “sweet” spices just a tad, as the cinnamon was a little too forward. I’d also add more cayenne for some heat, but my kids would’ve 86’d it had I done so.