Spicy Kebabs
these spicy kebabs are packed with warm spices, harissa, and fresh herbs — the kind of thing that makes your kitchen smell insane while it's cooking.🍢🌶️ mix everything together, grill, pan-sear or throw it on a sheet pan until charred and juicy. served with rice, grilled tomatoes, sumac onion salad and a green herb sauce — its so good it’s easily in our weekly rotation 🫶
Ingredients
Kebab
1 lb ground lamb
1 lb ground beef
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 sweet onion, grated
3 tbsp harissa
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp avocado oil
Serves 3-4
Prep time ~15mins
Cook time ~15mins
Cooking Instructions
Make the kebab mixture
In a large bowl, combine ground beef, ground lamb, grated onion, garlic, harissa, smoked paprika, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground ginger, ground turmeric, parsley, cilantro and salt.
Mix thoroughly until evenly incorporated. The mixture should be well-seasoned and slightly sticky.
Shape and cook the kebabs (two ways)
🔥 Option 1 — Cast Iron / Grill Pan (my old method until I got sick of getting splattered with oil)
Divide mixture into even portions. Shape each one into a long, flat log — about 1 inch wide and 4-5 inches long.
Heat avocado oil in a cast iron skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat.
Cook kebabs 3–4 min per side until deeply browned and cooked through. Work in batches — don't overcrowd the pan.
Optional: if you have roma tomatoes, cut them in half horizontally and cook on the pan after all the meat is cooked for about 5-8 mins or until charred.
🔥 Option 2 — Sheet Pan Air Fryer (my most recent easy clean up method)
Spray or brush the entire baking sheet lightly with avocado oil.
Flatten the meat mixture until even on the baking tray. With 2 lbs of meat, this fills our whole baking tray.
Use a bench scrapper or the back of knife to make horizontal lines to make logs.
Air fry for 10 mins at 350°F, turn up to 450°F for 5 more mins — until browned and cooked through (internal temp 160°F).
Plate & serve
Serve kebabs over basmati rice dusted with sumac
Since I didn’t have roma tomatoes, I made a red onion, cherry tomato and sumac salad. Dress with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, lemon juice.
Check out my zhoug sauce recipe - dropping soon!
Tips & Notes
The beef and lamb combo is the move — beef holds structure, lamb adds richness and flavor.
Don't overmix the meat — it can get dense and tough
Grate the onion — use a box grater OR my trick (because this is the worst part for me) is to blend the onion in a food processor
Chilling the mixture before shaping is key — much easier to handle and they hold together better.
Cast iron gives the best crust and char. The air fryer is the easier weeknight option with less cleanup.