Koftas falling off of their skewers
 

For some time - sadly - I've been obsessed with making different types of koftas that I grill over my lava brick grill in the kitchen. I make several different types including adana, beyti, some pork ones, some turkey ones as well as sheftalia (which go directly onto the grill).

I can make them into small poo shapes ie cigar shapes and put them directly onto the grill - and that's fine - although they are clearly more vulnerable to burning - but what I want to do is put them onto skewers so that they end up looking a bit like:

http://halalquality.com/wp-content/u...dana-kebab.jpg

or

http://lh6.ggpht.com/-MXSo9RC3YWY/S4...SheekKebab.jpg

The latest set of thicker, fatter skewers are:

http://www.gardengiftshop.co.uk/acat...%20skewers.jpg

When I talk to chefs making them in Turkey - they all say they are hand formed and I can see that. But when I make them they always fall off the skewer. Although I follow recipes and make them with 100% meat - I've also tried thickening the mixes with breadcrumb but they always still fall off.

Anyone offer personal knowledge of solutions?

Thanks.

Chances are there's too much fat in the meat and that's why they are not sticking together. It could also be that it is too fine of a grind, a coarser grind for the meat usually results in it sticking a bit better. You could try adding breadcrumbs or flour along with some egg or egg white and see if that works.

It may also help if you start off with them cold before you start cooking them, it will give them a chance to form a crust before they start cooking.

Thanks Mike,

The grind is in fact course, and the meat is lean - including turkey breast meat which is as lean as you can get. I'm already adding crumb, I'm refrigerating the mix before applying to the skewer and refrigerating again once skewered. The egg will only help firm them after they have started cooking - but will make them wetter before. They currently start falling off pretty much straight away!

I must admit some time ago I acquired some skewers that were very wide and I now wonder whether koftas need a much wider skewer.

Thanks again for your suggestions.

Add egg as binder.

Don't make them too big.

Oil them before putting them on the grate.

Don't have the heat too high.

Don't turn them too soon.

How about using a rack with less space between rods? Then the meat is better supported. You might try a grill rack intended for flaky fish.

I think you need to treat the mix like a sausage, and work it a bit. Mix it, knead it. That should develop the proteins in it so it sticks together.

Audrey

Please don't do too much of that. Makes it tough, too.

the top photo looks more like it was cooked in one of those burger grill baskets than on skewers...

No - it's a style used in many countries ie Turkey, Lebanon, Afghanisatan, Persian/Iranian etc and when not done with a press - it's actually the fingers that cause the indentation.

These look like hand formed and cooked over charcoal.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3164/...7236e83dd3.jpg

..... and these look machine formed:

http://www.zeytoon.co.uk/files/menu/...9_makhsoos.gif

The skewers used are very flat and large when making adana style.

http://www.aturkishcookinamerica.com...OnTheGrill.jpg

...... or thick and square when making round eg

http://www.gourmetbritain.com/cms_im...27_1_large.jpg


I bought some years ago off of ebay and it looks like I'm going to have to hunt them out as I stored them somewhere .............!

Appreciate all the ideas ....

Would the ground mince meat mixture you make fall off of wooden/bamboo skewers/lollipop sticks in the same way?

Perhaps you could 'roughen up' your skewers by caramelising some sugar onto them first and then press the meat around them?

Here are some photos of tsukune yakitori (with chicken rather than turkey)
http://www.google.com/search?q=%23+%...w=1024&bih=858
Not much metal to be found there

Thanks.

I've tried using bamboo skewers and these are fine for very thin sort of Chinese stype stuff and in particular satay size meat pieces, and very fine thin kofta mixes, but it would slice through the wheight of an Adana or Beyti kebab. Also you're suppose to soak the bamboo skewers in water before using in order to delay them scorching and catching alight (something I've never been successful at .....) and I suspect that adding sugar is going to make the burning issue worst.

Thanks anyway.

Hope this helps:

http://kebab-house.blogspot.com/p/is...bab-house.html

Huh?

I don't understand how caramelising sugar onto your metal skewers would make the burning issue worse - haven't you been saying that you can't get the meat mix to stay onto your metal skewers to begin with???

I am not suggesting that you use wood/bamboo or coat wood or bamboo with sugar. I'm suggesting that you replicate some of the properties of wood (the rough surface) with the metal skewers you are having a problem with.

Can you put the meat on to the skewers (I would use egg too btw to bind), and then rather than lift the skewer, put the skewers on to a metal grill to start to cook them and only move the individual skewer once they have cooked on one side?

Thanks - in fact the skewers go on the frame in the last picture in my opening post so they are proud of the grill bars. I think substituting the wider skewers will do the trick.

Egg would definately not be added - it's not the right thing to add. And in any event they full off before they would firm up. But the solution of wider skewers and a dryer mix by substituting chopped onion for the grated onion I'm currently using with a touch of crumb will do it. Thanks again for the suggestions.

It does thanks .... as I thought - I need to go back to the flat skewers. I must also use chopped rather than grated onion. That I think will cure it.

Thanks again.