Turkish Style Big Sky Beef Kabobs (Shish Kebabs)

Easy Turkish Style Big Sky Beef Kabobs (Shish Kebabs) made with Felton Angus Beef ground beef. With a heavy Turkish influence, this reinvented burger is like a flavorful skewered meatloaf in tube form like a sausage! This blog and recipe for Big Sky Beef Kabobs are from guest blogger Jon Bennion (@intermediatechef).

Big Sky Beef Kabobs

I don’t think I can ever get tired of eating a good burger. When done right, it’s satisfying and hits a special spot in your stomach. And it doesn’t always have to be patties and buns. Sometimes it’s fun to throw a culinary curveball. 

 
That’s how you get this dish – Big Sky Beef Kabobs. These kabobs are often made with lamb on the other side of the world, but when you have beef as good as what comes from Felton Angus Beef, you don’t hesitate to sub in something special. With a heavy Turkish influence, this reinvented burger is part like a flavorful skewered meatloaf in tube form like a sausage.

 The hamburger gets mixed with minced onion and garlic, fresh herbs like parsley and cilantro, and well-seasoned with salt, pepper, and cumin. In places like the Middle East, they often have sword-like skewers with wide surface areas that can hold a lot of the meat on the metal stick. To substitute for that, I doubled up the regular skewers and packed the meat on close until they were hugging those skewers tight. You should be able to get 3 large skewers or 4 medium skewers from the one-pound recipe. Your grill should be extra hot, where you can cook the skewers a few minutes on each side – about 6-8 minutes total. That kiss of flame goes so well with that cumin in the recipe. 

 
This awesomely grilled kabob is not paired with a bun, but a nice and soft flatbread. I made some of my own, but you can use pita, lavash or even a warmed-up flour tortilla if that is what you have on hand. On top of the lettuce and tomato, a garlicky lemon and herb white sauce was just the right element to tie this reimagined burger together.  While this dish has so many elements of a typical burger with the works (beef, bread, tomato, lettuce, onion, sauce), it is anything but typical. You’ll make it a regular part of your meal rotation since it’s so unique and simple. 
 
Ingredients for Skewers

• ½ minced onion
• 1 pound Felton Angus Beef Ground Beef
• 2 minced cloves garlic
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro

• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise 
• 3 tablespoons plain yoghurt
• 2 tablespoons of buttermilk or heavy cream
• Zest of ½ lemon
• 1 clove of garlic ground into paste or ½ teaspoon of granulated garlic
• Pinch of salt and black pepper
• Optional: freshly chopped parsley and/or cilantro

• 3-4 flatbreads, pita, lavash, or flour tortillas
• Two small tomatoes or one large tomato 
• Chopped lettuce

DOWNLOAD RECIPE FOR EASY BEEF KABOBS

Jon Bennion is a Montana lawyer by day, but a home chef (@intermediatechef) and wood-carver (@bennionlumber) in his spare time. He lives in Clancy with his wife, Jessi, and son, Jack.