Hidden Beef Liver Kebabs
If you’re looking for a simple way to eat more nutrient-dense organ meats, this sheet pan beef and liver kebab recipe is an easy place to start.
The liver is blended into ground beef so the flavor stays mild while boosting minerals like iron, zinc, copper, choline, vitamin A, and B vitamins.
Everything bakes on one sheet pan and pairs beautifully with saffron rice & a simple yogurt sauce that my kids couldn’t get enough of.
Ingredient Note:
If at all possible source grass-fed & finished beef liver as quality is key in all meat especially organ meat.
Where I source liver: SugarHill Farmstead
(code MUMWITHABUN25 saves $25)
How to “Hide” / Blend Liver Into Ground Beef
(Masks The Strong Liver Flavor)
When adding liver to ground beef, the trick is cutting off the tough bits & blending it first so it disappears into the meat mixture.
Ideal ratio:
2 lb ground beef
½ lb beef liver
This keeps the flavor mild whilst still boosting nutrition.
Method
Trim any connective tissue from the liver. It’s a bit slippery - be careful!
Cut into small chunks.
Add the liver pieces to a food processor.
Pulse until it becomes a smooth paste.
Add the liver paste directly into the ground beef.
Use your hands to mix thoroughly until evenly combined.
The liver paste distributes evenly so you won’t get strong bites of liver.
Beef & Hidden Liver Kebabs
Serves 6 servings
Ingredients
Meat Mixture
2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb beef liver
½ white onion
4 cloves garlic
¼ cup chopped chives or parsley
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp fennel seeds
pinch white pepper (or 1 tsp black pepper)
3 tsp sea salt
Simple Yogurt Sauce
1 cup yogurt of choice (Cocojune/Bellwether A2 work well)
juice of 1 lemon
½ tsp sea salt
(optional) ½ chopped english cucumber
Saffron Rice
1/2 cup short grain organic white rice
1 tsp of saffron threads
1 c filtered water
2 tsp grass-fed tallow (code MUMWITHABUN)
½ tsp sea salt
Instructions
Step 1: Preheat Oven
Preheat your oven to 375°F.
Lightly grease a quarter or half sheet pan.
Step 2: Blend the Liver
Cut the beef liver into 2-3 inch chunks and add it to a food processor.
Pulse until it becomes a smooth paste.
Step 3: Blend in the Aromatics
Add the following to the food processor:
½ white onion
4 cloves garlic
Blend until finely minced and slightly liquidy.
Step 4: Mix the Meat
In a large bowl combine:
ground beef
liver paste + onion/garlic mixture
chopped chives or parsley if using
cumin
garlic powder
fennel seeds
paprika
white pepper
salt
Use your hands to mix very thoroughly until the mixture becomes slightly sticky and uniform.
This helps the kebabs hold together.
Step 5: Shape the Sheet Pan Kebabs
Spread the meat mixture evenly onto the parchment lined sheet pan into about a ½–¾ inch thick layer.
Using a knife, gently score the meat horizontally and vertically to create kebab-style rectangle strips.
This makes them easy to separate after baking. (Shout out to @kalejunkie for this scoring & sheet pan baking hack!)
Step 6: Bake
Bake for 20 minutes.
Then switch the oven to broil and cook an additional 5 minutes until lightly golden on top.
Remove from oven and cut along the scored lines to separate the kebabs.
Yogurt Sauce & Saffron Rice
YOGURT
1 cup yogurt of choice (cocojune and A2 yogurt work well here!)
juice of 1 lemon
½ tsp salt
½ English cucumber (chop into coins and then quarter the coins)
Stir until smooth in a small bowl.
Serve drizzled over the kebabs.
SAFFRON RICE
1/2 cup short grain white rice
1 cup hot water
1 tsp of saffron threads
2 tsp grass-fed beef tallow (code MUMWITHABUN)
½ tsp sea salt
Prep the rice: Submerge & soak white rice in water.
In a separate bowl, add saffron threads to 1 cup hot water and let it steep for 15 minutes.
Rinse soaked white rice and add into a saucepan with the saffron water, tallow, and salt. Bring to a boil and then lower it to a tiny simmer for 15 minutes with lid on. Let it cool and serve!
Special thanks to @kalejunkie for inspiring me via your sheet pan kebabs!
