Brief Summary
This video discusses common mistakes and expert techniques for making perfect Koobideh kebab. It highlights the importance of proper meat preparation, including temperature control and the right order of ingredient mixing, to achieve a juicy, tender, and non-falling-apart kebab. The video also reveals a secret ingredient for enhancing the kebab's texture and moisture.
- Mixing all ingredients at once prevents proper binding.
- Grinding meat at room temperature causes fat separation.
- Adding fillers like breadcrumbs turns the kebab into a cutlet.
- Using ground chicken breast as a binder improves texture and moisture.
Mixing Ingredients the Wrong Way
The biggest mistake in making Koobideh is mixing all the ingredients—meat, onions, and spices—together at once. The moisture from the onion prevents the salt from activating its binding properties in the meat, causing the kebab to fall apart during cooking. The best approach is to knead the cold meat with salt alone for five minutes. This allows the salt to properly bind the meat fibers, resulting in a kebab that doesn't fall apart and has a light, airy texture, eliminating the need for baking soda.
Improper Meat Grinding Temperature
Grinding meat at room temperature is a significant error because the heat from the meat grinder causes the fat to melt. This leads to the kebab separating, becoming tough, and having a rubbery texture after cooking. The most effective method is to partially freeze the meat before grinding it, ensuring it's icy but not completely frozen. This keeps the fat intact, resulting in a juicy, tender kebab that stays on the skewer.
Using Fillers Instead of Proper Binding
Adding ingredients like gizzard, eggs, flour, or breadcrumbs to prevent the kebab from falling apart is a critical mistake. This transforms the Koobideh into a large cutlet on a skewer, rather than a traditional kebab. The secret is to grind 100 grams of chicken breast for every kilogram of meat. The chicken breast acts as an invisible glue, retaining the meat's juices and fat within the kebab's structure, ultimately improving the kebab's texture and moisture.

