The Best Homemade Lebanese Grape Leaves!
Lebanese Grape Leaves are meat and rice filled grape leaf rolls that are traditionally done with ground lamb. This recipe uses ground beef (80% lean/20%fat) and tastes amazing! This is a great Mediterranean dish that will keep your family full for days! The infamous grape leaf is sometimes called dolma or dolmades.
Equipment
- 1 1 Large Cooking Pot with Lid (I use a Stainless Steel 20 Quart Sized Pot)
- 1 1 Glass Dinner Plate
- 1 1 Brick
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Slicing knife Used to cut Lemons
- 1 Strainer Used for Washing the Leaves
- 1 Heavy-Duty Mixing Spoon
- 1 X-Large Mixing Bowl
- 1 Normal Size Spoon for Scooping the Meat
- Heavy-Duty Tin Foil
- 2 Large Ziplock Bags
- Oven Mitts
- Cooking Tongs
- X-Large Measuring Cup (Larger than two cups or use a large bowl)
Ingredients
- 3 Jars Grape Leaves (Krinos Brand HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
- 3 Pounds Ground Beef (80% Lean/20% Fat)
- 2 Pounds White Rice
- 2 Cans Tomato Paste (Normal Sized Cans)
- 12-14 Lemons (You can use more if desired)
- 1 Bottle Minute Maid Lemon Juice (Found in the freezer sections at the grocery store)
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (You can use Regular Olive Oil but Extra Virgin Olive Oil is preferred)
- Salt (Eye-ball it)
- Pepper (Eye-ball it)
- Garlic Powder (Optional but recommended) (Eye-ball it)
- Accent Seasoning (Optional) (Eye-ball it)
Instructions
Prep First!
- Start by slicing all of the lemons into thin to medium-sized slices. Make sure the slices are as evenly cut as possible, it makes the layering process much easier!
- After all the lemons have been sliced, get the Krinos leaf jars and empty them into your strainer in the sink. You want to wash all the leaves so that any juices from the packing are washed off.
- After you have washed the leaves, start creating the meat mixture. Mix the following into the X-Large Mixing bowl...3 pounds of Ground Beef (80% Lean/20% Fat)2 Pounds White Rice1 normal size can of Tomato PasteSalt (Eye-ball it)Pepper (Eye-ball it)Garlic powder (if using, eye-ball it)Accent Seasoning (if using, eye-ball it)2-3 squirts of Minute Made Lemon Juice (If you want extra lemon flavor do more squirts if you want less do less.)
- Next take the Extra Virgin Olive Oil and pour it into the bottom of the pot. Pour enough that it's about 3/4 of an inch to a full inch high from the bottom of the pot. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP, it helps to prevent burning on the bottom of the pot!
- After you have added in the oil, put one full layer of lemons to cover the entire bottom of the pot. You can also do two layers if you desire but you must do at least one full layer, again this step helps with burning at the bottom.
Start Rolling!
- Now that your ingredients are mixed, your leaves are washed, and your pot is prepped, the next thing to do is start rolling. Take a grape leaf and lay it flat with the smooth side on the bottom, and the vain side on top.
- Next scoop the meat mixture onto the center of the leaf. Depending on the size of the leaf will depend on how much of the meat mixture you will use, so you must eyeball this measurement.
- Fold the stem side down on top of the meat first then roll a little bit and fold in each of the sides and then finish the roll. Pretend like you are rolling a tiny burrito!
Fill the Pot!
- After you've rolled your leaves and they look like perfect little tightly rolled cigars... tightly pack an entire layer of rolled grape leaves into the pot.
- Once the entire layer is full add another layer of lemons. After another lemon layer, do another layer of grape leaves and repeat the process until you've run out of grape leaves.
- After your pot is tightly layered and packed, take the second can of tomato paste and mix it into your x-large measuring cup with two cups of warm water. Take the water paste mixture and pour it over the lemons and leaves in the pot until all the leaves are covered.
COOK IT!
- Place the glass plate upside down on top of the leaves and use the bagged brick to push down and apply pressure. Cover the pot with the lid half on (so it's not fully sealed) and cook on high until it starts to boil.
- Once the pot has started to boil turn the heat down to medium/low and cook for at least another hour. Cooking time will vary as it depends on how many you are cooking.
- To test to see if your leaves are done after an hour, take one from the top and try it. Make sure the meat is cooked and the leaves are tender. If the top one looks and tastes cooked, you are done!
FINALLY
- ENJOY!!!!!!