Coobie

Ingredient List

2kg lean beef
1kg cracked wheat
3 onions
3 cloves garlic
8 or 9 birds eye chillis
2 tsp salt
A medium dish of mint - the more the better

Method

Add water to cracked wheat to just cover surface and allow to absorb - 20 minutes or so.
Slice meat and onions then add all ingredients and mid together in a large container.
Blend and mix mixture two times through the mincer.

To cook in frypan, form rissoles and cook in olive oil for six minutes on each side on medium heat.
To bake, put in dish with a drizzle of olive oil, 35-45 minutes at 190 degrees C.

Extra Information

The above method is exactly how Grandad had written it on a piece of paper he sent me. It feels rude to change it, but it's potentially missing some details if you've never made it before:

It says lean beef, but you can substitute mince instead. I've even made it with the cheaper fattier beef, and it still tasted excellent.
Cracked wheat is normally bought as Bulgur. When you purchase it, there are a various levels of coarseness, and coarse or fine might be the right option depending on the brand. You're looking for chunks just under 1mm³ so that when they absorb the water, they're about 1mm³.

Click here to read that long and convoluted story recipes normally put at the top (you're welcome)

Optional Story

I'm a measly 1/8th Lebanese. My Grandad is 1/2 Lebanese, and this recipe has been transfered to us through him. We think that Coobie (that's how we pronouce it) is a version of Kibbeh or كبة, that has slowly morphed over the years to become an entirely different dish for our family. I think 50% of the meals I've had with my Grandparents have involved coobie. Grandad has a big steel mincer we used to clamp to a wooden table outside. When I was a little kid, I'd watch him mince the meat, and as I got older, I'd be assigned mincing duty. We'd pick the mint from two giant pots that sat outside. I remember once I had to back the mincer up because I spotted a big caterpillar under a leaf I'd just stuffed into it. Grandad said something along the lines of: "Just a bit of extra protein". I wonder how many caterpillar's I've eaten over the years...

Also, I don't know how you're supposed to eat Kibbeh, but it's not sacrilegious to drown our coobie in tomato sauce.