- Hey everyone, hope you're having an amazing day.
It's Mark Wiens.
I'm in the north of Lebanon,
in a small village that's known for a dish called kibbeh.
Now kibbeh is,
it's a dish known throughout the Levant,
especially in Lebanon and Syria
of minced meat and bulgur wheat.
And before coming to Lebanon,
all I really knew was one type of kibbeh,
but in fact there are many different types of kibbeh
prepared in many different ways.
And so today we have a very special opportunity.
Kamel has arranged with one of his friends
to prepare for us a full kibbeh spread of dishes,
different varieties, types of kibbeh.
I'm very excited to see the entire process
and I'm gonna show everything with you in this video.
(upbeat music)
(coffee splashing and dripping)
My favorite time in the afternoon.
Oh, it's about to spill,
is afternoon coffee time,
especially when I'm at home editing videos.
Before getting started with the main video,
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and let's get back to the food video.
This location, this restaurant, first of all,
is just spectacular.
These trees, this entire courtyard
is just fully shaded by huge trees, huge leafy trees,
right next to a rushing river.
You hear the sound of the water,
you're sitting in the shade, the fresh air.
This village specifically
is known for kibbeh throughout Lebanon.
Many say this is where the best kibbeh comes from.
(upbeat music)
(speaking foreign language)
A beverage that I could continuously drink
throughout the entire day, non-stop.
At the restaurant though,
you typically serve just all types of Lebanese food?
All types of mezze? - Yeah.
- [Mark] Okay, but specializing in kibbeh?
- [Kamel] So we try to crumble it as much as possible.
- If there's one thing
I have learned so far being in Lebanon
is that there's always food before food.
- [Fadi] Now I'm smiling.
- The mezze is the different dishes, the vegetables.
So we're enjoying a little breakfast and coffee
before getting into the kibbeh.
- Fell in love with the Lebanese breads.
- Yeah. - And for a good reason.
One for me
and one for you.
- Okay, so with the crispy Lebanese bread,
the shanklish mixed with tomatoes,
green onions and olive oil.
And you kind of get that,
it looks like that crumbly cottage cheese-y texture.
Oh. - If I may,
just follow it up. - Oh yeah.
Follow it.
Oh, thank you, Kamel. - And tomato.
- Follow it.
There's always a chaser in Lebanon as well.
And for the shanklish, it should be mint and tomato.
- Perfect. - Oh, yeah.
Ooh, wow, that mint.
Like it's mild but strong at the same time.
I'm gonna chase the shanklish with a tomato as well.
The juiciest tomatoes.
- Look at the hummus, look at the labneh.
There's something really really wrong with these two dishes
that we need to fix.
What is it?
- Add an oil. - Aha!
There you go.
Immediately, no hesitation.
You're a local now.
- [Mark] Okay.
Fadi.
- [Fadi] Wow.
(speaking foreign language)
- Okay, it's time for a hummus.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, wow.
Yeah, that hummus is amazing.
You can taste the lemon in it, right?
More than others.
That hummus is amazing.
For me I think it's so good because of the lemon bite in it.
You can taste the lemon in it.
For the eggs, and we just got a piece of man'oushe
which is bread topped in za'atar.
More food just always appears when you're in Lebanon.
I think I'm gonna put the egg.
I'm gonna set the egg right on top of that.
Look at that za'atar.
The lemony zest, the thyme in there, the sesame seeds.
I just have to add some hummus to this.
Okay, they're calling me now.
It is time.
They're calling me now.
It's time to start on the kibbeh.
(upbeat music)
Yes.
It's awesome.
- Traditional stone mortar for the kibbeh.
It's very traditional.
So back in the day,
whenever someone wanted to marry a girl from town,
the challenge to test whether the guy was strong enough
was to carry the whole thing with one hand, one arm,
just above his head and put it back.
(loud pounding) (speaking foreign language)
- The bulgur? - Bulgur.
- This is something that is not done very often anymore
but this is the traditional way to make kibbeh.
To pound the meat using a,
it's a really huge, like an entire stone mortar
and it's like a mallet, a very thick pestle.
It's a very very fine mince, this time of beef,
and then the other mixture ingredient
is cracked bulgur wheat
which is also mixed with a variety
of I think about seven different spices they said.
- She said seven spices and salt.
- It's called the all spice mix.
- All spice mix.
It's kind of cinnamon-y though, generally, right?
- [Kamel] These tendons and stuff when they're pounding,
you see a white string?
You just pull it out
as opposed to just mixing it in.
So they're pounding.
And that's the traditional.
- You can tell her experience.
I guarantee, she makes that look way easier than it is.
(speaking foreign language)
That deserves a-- - I mean, it's perfect.
- That deserves an ovation for sure.
You do not get that skill overnight.
She did it so fast.
She made two of them,
then all of a sudden she took a couple spoons of the beef,
pure beef fat,
put it into the center of one
then put them both together both bowl shapes,
of the dome shape, half domes together
into making a full sphere of meat and fat.
(applauding)
That is the most perfect ball of meat you'll ever see.
It's perfect.
It's symmetrical and that's just straight minced meat
and bulgur with fat in the center.
- [Kamel] This one, we're taking to the traditional bakery.
- Ah okay. - In the town.
(speaking foreign language)
- She's moving onto the next kibbeh.
She added more water so to give it a more,
I guess a less stick consistency.
She's about to put it into this giant pan full of olive oil.
(speaking foreign language)
- [Kamel] Mark, olive oil is sacred in this part of town.
- Sacred. - Yeah.
I immediately notice the olive trees.
- [Mark] That is a huge base of meat.
(speaking foreign language)
- [Kamel] So now patterns need to be applied.
- You can see how even it is, the entire thing,
just from her experience.
- [Kamel] Yes.
(speaking foreign language)
- They said that's both for art, for design,
and that's their design,
and then also for function, for cooking
so that everything is even.
So the olive oil probably oozes up.
I can already imagine the oozing olive oil
and meat juices and fats.
(speaking foreign language)
Ah, okay.
(speaking foreign language)
Now she's gonna demonstrate, show us the raw version.
(speaking foreign language)
- [Kamel] It's gonna be eaten raw.
- That was just a totally new experience for me.
I've never, I know so little about kibbeh
other than the,
I think it's the little football-shaped fried ones
that I've had at Lebanese restaurants.
But this is a whole different perspective.
It's such, I can already tell,
I know that kibbeh is the king of dishes,
in Lebanon, especially in this village.
For that big pizza pan meat spread at the bottom,
we're going to go to a traditional bakery.
So they're gonna bake it in a traditional Lebanese,
that's the way it's cooked.
Going actually to a traditional bakery to do that.
I can sit in the back.
I can sit at the back.
(laughing)
You've got a lot of responsibility, Fadi.
- Yes, yes, I do.
I'm holding the prized, handmade with love.
- [Kamel] And care.
- With history.
Look at that, look at that. - The shimmer.
- No no, look at the oil, how--
- [Kamel] Oh, yeah.
- [Mark] It's sprouting from that little hole.
- Back in the days,
the bakeries used to do all the bread in the morning
and then at noon all the women would come here
with trays of kibbeh to bake them
because they used to have no ovens at home.
So all the kibbeh in town
used to be baked in that bakery.
- The church. - Ah, okay.
- And we have--
(speaking foreign language)
- Precious cargo.
- I'm just enjoying,
it's like waves of olive and just--
- Meat and olive oil.
- Yes. - In my face.
(laughing)
- Food has never been so much fun.
- Oh, it's right there. - There's kibbeh inside.
- [Kamel] There's a kibbeh inside.
- This is one of those days where the food excitement
is at an all time high.
I'm shivering.
I'm so excited.
- [Fadi] I want the song,
♪ Here comes the bride ♪
- [Mark] Directly from the van into the oven.
(laughing)
- Now fourth generation.
- Fourth generation bakery.
Amazing.
Hundred, how many years?
120 years old,
the oven.
Fourth generation bakery.
So generations have grown up
putting their kibbeh into this oven.
And even somebody beat us to the oven today.
There's another kibbeh already in the oven.
If you could see the oils are just sloshing.
The olive oil and the meat juices
are just sloshing around in that pan.
But it is a tradition
that people would bring their pan of kibbeh
especially on Sunday
when you have to have kibbeh in this village,
to the local baker.
What a beautiful tradition.
I cannot even believe it.
This is gorgeous.
This is, it's gonna be so incredibly good.
Oven is over 800 degrees Celsius in there.
So it's extremely, extremely hot,
that cooks,
the whole kibbeh is gonna cook in about 15 minutes.
You almost dehydrate it.
Oh, it's ready. - Yes.
It's already done.
- [Mark] Be careful.
- [Fadi] Kamel is asking me to say some poetry.
(laughing)
- Oh, that aroma.
With cardboard, it's time to carry the pan.
Thank you very much.
- Welcome, nice to meet you. - Thank you.
Amazing. - You are welcome.
- Beautiful bakery. - Now is the time
for the taste
after this hard work. - It is, it is time.
- Okay, you are welcome.
- Oh, that's the greatest meat aroma I've ever smelled.
On the floor, yeah? - Yeah.
- [Ying] Over here.
- Will it burn the? - It's too hot.
- It's too hot.
(speaking foreign language) (laughing)
Okay. - Oh, yes.
(speaking foreign language) (upbeat music)
- [Kamel] Mission accomplished.
(laughing)
- Okay, we're back in the kitchen now.
Actually they have a whole group that's eating here
so they're preparing a lot of food for today.
That is a basin of tabbouleh.
Oh, I love tabbouleh.
That is a beautiful, beautiful thing.
(sizzling)
(speaking foreign language)
A taste of the--
- Yeah. - Fattoush.
(laughing)
- I don't know if you like it. - Mmm!
- Really, it's-- - Oh, wow.
- Really, really.
One more, one more. - It is so good.
- One more. - Okay.
Mmm.
(speaking foreign language)
Okay, that's the greatest fattoush I've ever tasted.
It's unbelievable.
(speaking foreign language)
You could drink that dressing. - Mmm!
- Yes, yes.
You can do it, you can do it.
We do it usually for the tabbouleh.
- [Kamel] Yeah.
- I,
drink the--
(speaking foreign language)
- One of the best I've had. - Yeah.
(upbeat music)
So then kibbeh nayyeh is the mezze course.
But then the cooked one is the next course.
I'm learning many things about kibbeh today.
I mean, the different versions.
But also the different courses of Lebanese cuisine
and the way it's served.
So mezze comes first which are the cold,
well especially the cold appetizer.
Mezze is like the hummus, the baba ganoush,
just the vegetable platters.
And the first kibbeh is served with that course
because it's cold appetizer.
The raw kibbeh, the raw meat, the raw minced meat.
The other cooked kibbeh is the heavier meats,
that ball and that platter kibbeh,
they'll come later after we sit
and relax and eat the mezzes.
- [Kamel] You know what some people do, Mark,
that's a local touch.
They say it goes very nicely with that.
Sorry, I'm using my fingers
but this is how it's done.
- The family. - The only way.
- Style.
Just came out of the kitchen now.
And at restaurants outside of Lebanon,
really the only form of kibbeh that I've ever had actually,
the only form of kibbeh is those little football-shaped,
bite-sized little dumpling-like fried,
that's the fried kibbeh.
Kamel, what's the name of the fried kibbeh?
- It's just, we call it kibbeh plain.
So whenever you say kibbeh, that's just kibbeh.
- Oh that's just kibbeh. - The balls.
Yeah. - Fried ones.
And the local way to eat this one
is to kinda break it in half.
Oh, you can see the minced meat in there,
the bulgur wheat and then also the pine nuts in there.
And then dip it in the hummus or other dip.
Oh, I just lost my pine nuts.
Okay, I'll add one to this side, one to this side.
But I'm gonna taste one half of it,
just plain first.
(speaking foreign language)
Oh, wow.
That's the best I've ever had.
The meat is so incredibly fragrant.
And you taste the nuttiness, the cinnamon, all spice.
That is incredible.
So then the other way is to dip it in the hummus.
That is another delicious vessel for hummus.
- So I'm gonna give you
another-- - Oh, the raw, okay.
- [Fadi] I'm gonna give you another perfect bite.
Some tabbouleh juice. - Juice to rejoice.
- Yeah, do it, do it. - The kibbeh
rejuiced with the tabbouleh.
Okay.
Yeah.
That makes it, because of that citrus,
because of that lemon.
Yeah, that's the best combination for sure.
(speaking foreign language)
What is the best technique?
- [Kamel] Best technique is to make like a vessel for oil.
- So that it holds it in? - Holds it in.
(speaking foreign language)
There you go.
(speaking foreign language)
So that with every bite you can dip it in the olive oil.
- Kamel made me almost like a donut-shaped.
So that you can fill it all the way up with olive oil.
That way you get some of the raw meat,
some of the oilve oil, all in one bite.
And then often you can also eat it with garlic.
But you really wanna taste,
you really wanna taste the flavor of that raw meat.
Oh, yeah.
Cheers.
It's almost so fine
and so neutral tasting
that it's almost cheesy.
And the texture is almost gummy, sticky,
because it's such a fine mince,
because it's mixed with that bulgur
because there's olive oil.
Stunningly delicious.
And for this bite,
I'll scoot over some of that garlic.
Some of that garlic sauce in with the meat
and use the baked bread.
Wow!
Wow, with the garlic,
immediately you feel a slight burn in your cheeks,
come from the powerfulness of that garlic.
The kibbeh just melts in your mouth.
(speaking foreign language)
Okay, I'm moving into that tabbouleh that we saw her make.
This tabbouleh looks incredible.
Yeah, tabbouleh is just one of the greatest salads,
greatest mixes, greatest dishes.
I mean the simplicity of it.
And then the herbaceousness of the parsley.
It's one of the kibbehs that I just cannot wait to try.
This was the one that we went to the baker
to cook the entire tray of meat
and when it's in the oven, in that scorching hot oven,
it cooks in its own juices
but it also deep fries in its own juices
from all of that oil, olive oil.
And then they also say
it's very good to dip in the tabbouleh
to eat with the tabbouleh,
the lemon juices, the olive oil as well.
The crispy layers,
you can almost see the bulgur wheat in there too,
with the minced meat.
You can actually see that texture.
Oh, yeah.
It's one of those things,
as you keep on chewing,
the flavor keeps on coming.
The more meatiness that comes out
and it's got this crunchy,
this crumbly texture from that bulgur.
It's so flavorful.
But it actually takes time to chew it
before all the flavors are released.
It's almost like you're eating bread,
like a meat bread.
(upbeat music)
- It's amazing. - Heaven, heaven.
- It's so good that I couldn't even wait to change my plate.
So I just got the rest
of a whole entire kibbeh nayyeh plate.
- [Kamel] Fadi, having some garlic with a bit of kibbeh.
- Yeah, another excuse to eat garlic.
(upbeat music)
- [Mark] Right in the center.
- [Kamel] The pita bread that we have, Mark.
They spread chili paste first,
a bit of tomatoes and onions
and then you use it to eat the grilled meat,
the grilled kefta.
- Whoa, they have cranked up the music over on that side.
But we're going to the kitchen now
to grill the ball of kibbeh.
But in the meantime,
they brought out a whole mixed grill plate.
I gotta have a piece of,
I gotta snack on a piece of kefta
all the way to the kitchen.
(laughing)
Oh, wow.
Oh, that kefta is amazing.
The parsley in there.
Okay, I need another piece of meat.
That kefta is amazing.
With hummus?
Oh, thank you.
See, that kefta's insanse. - Yeah.
- That kefta's amazing. - It is.
Absolutely.
- One of the best keftas ever.
The ball kibbehs are on the grill.
I thought there was just one.
There's like eight of them, 10 of them on the grill.
Slow grilling.
You can the crackling of the wheat,
of the meat on the grill.
They're like the size of grapefruits.
Grapefruits, they're the size of grapefruits.
They're the size of softballs.
- [Kamel] Just cook on one side and then flip.
- Like the whole? - Just slowly rotate it.
(speaking foreign language)
This could almost be considered a sport,
rolling the kibbeh balls.
And they just slow roast, they have to roast on every side.
So they just slowly rotate them over the hot fire.
You can see the juices starting to drip out.
(speaking foreign language)
Kamel.
- I'm taking care of the kibbeh.
- [Mark] I got it under control.
- Only if everyone can smell what I'm smelling now.
- [Mark] Oh, wow.
The trophy has arrived.
- [Kamel] Ah, king of the table.
- Yeah, what I like to do
is to remove the fat from the inside.
Oops.
It's still a little bit hot.
- It is hot. - It's very hot.
- [Kamel] Sorry.
- [Fadi] This is the Julie way.
- Okay, it's open Julie. - She's from here.
- She's a local. - So you see.
- [Crowd] Whoa!
- [Mark] It's like a coconut.
It's like opening a coconut. - You wanna drink?
- [Julie] I like to remove it.
I remove it in the water so that it doesn't ruin the--
- [Kamel] I mean for me, it's done its purpose--
- [Julie] But I keep it like this.
- That's just sloshing around fat.
That is a beautiful thing.
And actually a lot of people like to throw that fat
because the fat served its purpose.
It coated the inside of that kibbeh.
But other people like to eat that fat.
And then they're explaining the different ways.
Some people like to then
dip pieces of the kibbeh into the fat.
Other people like to empty the fat, the oil,
and then put tabbouleh on the inside.
- [Kamel] I think you can't get enough of just, watch it.
- Mark. - I'll have the fat.
- Have the fat. - The tabbouleh inside.
- [Mark] The tabbouleh on the inside.
- [Julie] And you can eat it
like this. - Oh, like a sandwich.
- Yeah. - Nice.
It is time.
This is like a once in a life food opportunity.
Oh it's just the perfect soft ball.
And I'm just gonna cut.
Oh, it's amazingly hard because, bready,
because of that bulgur.
Yeah, it's thick, it's hard.
I'm gonna slice all the way through.
And here it is.
(laughing)
Just a puddle.
A puddle of fat.
And immediately, you get that aroma.
The meat aroma plus that spice.
I'm gonna do this method first.
Take a piece of the kibbeh.
Oh yeah, and that's bready
because of the content of the bulgur in there.
I'm gonna just dip that.
Try to get as much of the oil juices as possible.
When you're gonna eat fat, you gotta make it count.
(laughing)
Oh, wow.
That's the bite.
That is the bite of the meal.
That is extraordinary.
(upbeat music)
- [Kamel] Solid already.
- [Mark] A bite with tabbouleh, with the fat.
- [Crowd] Cheers!
(laughing)
- Fat dripping everywhere.
- Fat is, oh yeah.
It's juicing, it's juicing. - Yes!
(upbeat music)
- When you eat the fat,
it just coats your lips in a meat glaze on your lips.
Meat lipstick.
I've got the meat lipstick.
(speaking foreign language)
I love Lebanese desserts to finish as well.
Always platters of fresh fruit
and I love cherry season in Lebanon.
Fruit is all you need
after a meal of such glory,
after a meal like that.
Again, like I mentioned before,
before today, actually,
the only kibbeh that I even knew
were those little fried football-shaped kibbehs
which are incredibly delicious as well.
But just to learn about this entire experience
and how there's so many different types.
As she was explaining,
she said there's over 10 types,
even more just from this village alone.
It's really one of the most respected,
one of the most family,
bringing together dishes of Lebanon.
I wanna say a massive thank you
to Julia and her restaurant, her family.
This is still a family-run and how they prepared everything,
showed us their culture through kibbeh.
It was an amazing experience.
Huge thank you.
Thank you to Kamel for arranging, for setting it up.
I also wanna say a huge thank you to USAID,
USAID for funding my trip to Lebanon,
for bringing me to Lebanon and for sponsoring our trip.
Also if you haven't watched
all the Lebanese food videos in this series,
we're traveling around Lebanon,
eating, meeting amazing people,
learning about Lebanon and its food and culture and people.
And I'll leave the link in the description box below,
then you can watch the entire playlist, all the videos.
Thanks again for watching.
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