Back in the 70s and early 80s, I grew up with Meat Loaf Night, once a week, every week. Three strips of bacon on top that my siblings and I would fight over, side of mash, and iceberg salad with Thousand Island dressing that we had to finish, or no dessert. A couple of years ago, I introduced Koobideh Night in my own household. If I’m being honest, it’s because I was looking to save a few bucks. I have a teenage son who is of the mindset that however much protein is on the dinner table, double it. Try doing that with strip steak at $46 a pound.
Koobideh, though, is a different proposition. You could argue that every culture has some form of koobideh—seasoned ground meat, formed into a patty or ball and grilled—from kofta to hamburgers to meatballs to tsukune. The Persian kebab, made of ground beef, lamb, and onion, is both relatively affordable and relatively easy to make. Meat, skewer, grill. What can go wrong? Well, a lot, as I learned a couple of weeks ago when I met up with Ali Saboor, chef-owner of Eyval, a popular Persian restaurant in Bushwick, Brooklyn.