Juicy Beef Chebureki
Chebureki
Chebureki
Introduction
Chebureki is food of my childhood. When I think of Chebureki, I think of boardwalks of the Black Sea, music, warm summer breeze, and air filled with aroma floating from a mile away: the amazing fried, crispy, bubbly, airy, delicate dough filled with juicy, tender meat - Chebureki.
Many years passed by since then, and we moved to another place, thousands of miles away from the Black Sea, our hearts were left with nothing but tender memories.
So here I present you with one of my favorite dishes: Chebureki.
In my recipe, Chebureki are made with beef, onions, and greens. I used a mix of parsley and cilantro. However, greens are not required so you may skip them completely if you’d like. But do not skip on yellow onions.
If you want to substitute or mix beef with lamb, that is totally fine.
Recipe
Before you get started, consider few tips:
Salting your meat:
My recipe calls for using 1 teaspoon of salt for the meat filling. For most people, this ratio of salt is perfect. However, if you like more salt in your food, I suggest the following: after you are done with preparing your meat filling, go ahead and take 1 spoon of meat and cook it fully in a small pan. Taste the meat. If you feel like the meat needs more salt, feel free adjust it and add more.
How much oil to use for frying:
The amount of oil to use depends on how big your frying pan is. It could be as little as 1 cup of or as much as 4 cups. The bigger the pan the more oil you will need. Remember that the entire Cheburek should be covered in oil completely and it should be able to float.
Measuring the temperature of the oil:
My recipe calls for the oil to be heated to about 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 Celsius) before you can start frying in it. Don’t have thermometer to measure the temperature of oil? No problem. Drop a small amount of your leftover dough into the oil, if the oil is bubbling, then it is ready for frying.
The entire process was photographed:
In order to make my instructions easier to follow, please look at the photos at the bottom of this page that illustrate the entire process.
Now let’s get started with the recipe!
Ingredients (for about 20 Chebureki)
Meat filling:
600 grams of minced or ground beef
300 grams of yellow onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro
1 cup of water
vegetable oil (2-4 cups depending on the size of your frying pan)
Dough:
900 grams of all purpose flour
450-460 mL of water
1 teaspoon of salt
Directions
Start with the dough. Add 900 grams of flour to the bowl, mix it with 1 teaspoon of salt. Then slowly start adding 450-460 mL of water. Once the dough forms into one uniform piece, take it out of the bowl and knead it for at least 15 to 20 minutes until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. After that, cover the dough and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.
Take the beef and either mince it yourself into tiny pieces or just use ground beef. Add 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of black pepper, 300 grams of minced onion, 1 tablespoons of cilantro and 2 tablespoons of parley. Then slowly add about 1 cup of water and mix everything until the filling is uniform. The beef should be able to absorb some of the water.
After the dough is rested, take it and cut it into two equal halves and roll each piece into a log. Then take each log and cut it into 10 equal balls. You should now have 20 pieces that will make 20 Chebureki.
Take each ball and press your palm on it, making it into a flat disk. Then take the rolling pin and roll it out into a circle with about 2 mm thickness. The diameter of the circle should be about 20 cm (8 inches).
Then take 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of meat filling and place it on the dough, spreading it evenly into a thin layer. Then close the Cheburek into a half moon shape, pressing on the edges, making sure that there would be no leaks. Then if you have pastry cutter, roll it across the edges. Or you can use a fork and press it across the edges. Now your first Cheburek is ready. Repeat until all of your Chebureki are prepared.
Heat up the oil in the frying pan until it reaches about 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 degrees Celsius). Once your oil is ready, carefully drop in your first Cheburek and start deep frying it. Right after the bottom part of the Cheburek turns golden, it is time to flip it and fry it again until the other side turns golden too. The entire process should take about 1 to 2 minutes. If your pan is big enough to fit 2 Chebureki, feel free to fry 2 of the at the same time.
Remove your Chebureki and place them on paper towel to absorb excess oil. Repeat the frying process until all Chebureki are fried.
Let each Cheburek rest for few minutes, you don’t want to burn your mouth! Then eat while still hot and fresh. Enjoy!
