98% Lean Ground Beef Ideas: Cinnamon Stick Skewered Kafta Kebab

Mix 98% extra lean ground beef with:

-fat-free, plain Greek yogurt, or goat's milk yogurt: adds moisture, tenderness to the extra lean beef
-Middle Eastern kafta kebab spices (za'atar, ground sumac, ginger, allspice, coriander, cumin, cinnamon)
-finely minced onion or shallots
-garlic paste (refridgerated section, next to fresh cooking herbs of grocery stores, in tubes, has salt in it already, sometimes parsley)
-parsley finely minced
-mint, finely minced or in paste form
-about one pound ground lamb to one pound ground beef (50/50 ratio): adds flavor, moistness to meat
-some ppl add chopped tomatoes, vine-ripened, de-seeded to their kebab mixture also
-saffron threads, freshly ground in mortar and pestle with a pinch of sea salt (only get the saffron thread as the powdered form loses flavor quickly)

Shape into kebab around cinnamon sticks (get the longest cinnamon sticks you can find)
The cinnamon sticks will be the kebab skewer.  Try to get the 12 inch long ones.

Grill on a well-soaked cedar grill plank

Link for purchasing 12 inch cinnamon sticks:

http://www.myspicesage.com/cinnamon-sticks-12-inches-p-491.html?s_kwcid=TC%7C8504%7Clong%20cinnamon%20sticks%7C%7CS%7Cp%7C19044898082&gclid=CMLwmtjghrcCFeNhMgodkUQAjw

Serve with tabbouleh salad, tahini sauce, baba ganoush, warm pita bread and garnish plate w/ toasted pine nuts (toast it in olive oil)

http://mideastfood.about.com/od/dipsandsauces/r/tahinisauce.htm