Looking for bifteki (hamburger) and other Greek recipes

September 22, 2013 9:57 AM

My fiancee and I recently returned from a vacation in Greece. We thoroughly enjoyed the food in Greece. We want to recreate some of the dishes we enjoyed. In particular, I want to know how to make "bifteki", the small hamburger patties served with tomatoes, onions and tzatziki. The few recipes I find on Google seem too simple to believe.

Searching "Greek hamburger" gives me recipes for normal-looking burgers with tzatziki on top. The bifteki we ate were not served on buns.

Are dill, mint, oregano and garlic mixed with beef and lamb really all there is to it? Should I use dried or fresh herbs? Is it worth tracking down Greek oregano?

If you don't have a bifteki recipe, do you have any other tips or recommendations for authentic Greek cookie? Meat, vegetarian, appetizer or entree, what is the secret your best Greek recipe?

posted by KevCed to Food & Drink (11 answers total)

Best answer: Are dill, mint, oregano and garlic mixed with beef and lamb really all there is to it?

Yes! Most of the magic is just in the mixed meats. Also I find that using lean meats, and allowing for a really thorough well done cook leaves it dry but this is authentic. Let the moisture come from the veg sides.
posted by Meatbomb at 10:52 AM on September 22, 2013 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Is it worth tracking down Greek oregano?

This may not be as difficult as it seems. At most stores you may find oregano labeled as Greek, or more commonly Italian or Mediterranean, but basically it won't be Mexican oregano. There is a subtle difference, and I do have both, but I've also got a Penzy's Spices store in the neighborhood.
posted by Room 641-A at 1:30 PM on September 22, 2013

I can give you my grandmother's recipe for spanakopita if you want, it is pretty awesome. I have it at home (work now) so let me know, if it's not your thing I won't type it all in. :)
posted by Athanassiel at 9:42 PM on September 22, 2013

Best answer: Are dill, mint, oregano and garlic mixed with beef and lamb really all there is to it?

Try some finely chopped onion as well. Some people also add small amounts of egg, milk and toasted breadcrumbs in varying proportions to mess with the texture, but opinions vary.
posted by Dr Dracator at 11:43 PM on September 22, 2013

Best answer: This might sound strange if you're not used to it but adding a bit of ground cinamon and a drop of lemon (especially in beef) brings all the flavours together. You won't necessarily taste the difference but it's good stuff. Also freshly chopped parsley and mint are a classic combo.
posted by mkdirusername at 12:31 AM on September 23, 2013

Response by poster: Room 641-A: I didn't realize Greek and Italian oregano were the same. I will check my local spice store to get the good stuff.

Athanassiel: Yes please!

Dr Dracator: There was definitely finely chopped onion in the bifteki we ate. As for the milk and breadcrumbs (a panade?) that will take some more experimenting. That might be required to keep the patties moist as they get cooked. Thanks.

mkdirusername: Lemon with meat was a delicious custom/garnish we noticed. I will definitely have some on hand for experimenting. Thinking back, cinnamon might be the secret ingredient. It plays well with the cumin. Thanks! (Wasn't there a Seinfeld about cinnamon being the ultimate mystery ingredient?)

Thanks everyone. I'll keep looking for more tips and report back with my findings.
posted by KevCed at 11:31 AM on September 23, 2013

As for the milk and breadcrumbs (a panade?) that will take some more experimenting.

You just mix it in with the other ingredients - if it comes out too crumbly when grilled, or too dry or whatever you fiddle with the proportions until you get it right. I just eat the stuff, I don't pretend to know how it works.
posted by Dr Dracator at 2:18 PM on September 23, 2013

Best answer: KevCed, for stuffed veggies - aka gemista - I use mint, parsley, a bit of lemon juice, cinnamon (more than you think is necessary), salt and pepper, and grated tomoatoes and grated onions. Mix with raw beef and cooked soft rice, add stuffed veggies to a pan with just a finger of water, tomato paste, lemon juice and olive oil to half cover the bottom layer of veggies and pile them on. Let everything simmer in very low heat for a very long time (more than an hour), and I promise you a tasty meal. Any veggie works, courgettes, bell peppers, big tomatoes. Place the hardest ones on the bottom of the pan and the softest further up the pile. Stuff some onions too - they are super tasty and play well with the rest. There are various recipes along these lines, but this is mine. Some people use an oven but I find that letting everything steam in a pan on a hob is tastier and less dry. Leftovers keep well and are good cold.

You can basically use the same principles for vegetarian gemista by replacing meat with carrots and mushrooms and you can try any variation you like. Almost everyone I know has their own take on the dish. The key is slow, patient cooking.

And yes, cinnamon is a secret ingredient for a lot of these recipes.
posted by mkdirusername at 2:28 AM on September 24, 2013

Best answer: Ok, spanakopita! Sorry for the delay, has not been enough time this week!

1kg fresh spinach or 500g frozen
1 large onion, finely chopped
5 eggs, beaten
500g feta cheese
10 filo pastry sheets
olive oil
very soft butter
salt & pepper

- If using fresh spinach, wash and drain. Grown-up spinach needs the leafy part stripped off from the stems and ribs and torn into smallish pieces. Baby spinach is easier because usually you just have to take off the really long stems. Put it in a very big bowl with about 1tbsp salt rubbed into the leaves. Let it stand for about 15 minutes, then drain in a colander for 30 minutes. The salt will leach out a lot of the moisture and make it much more manageable.
- If using frozen spinach (extremely tempting) steam, drain and cool.
- Preheat oven to 190C.
- Put spinach in a very large bowl. Sauté onion lightly in olive oil, add to spinach. Let it cool a bit. Pour in beaten eggs. Break the feta into the bowl in small pieces/chunks with your fingers - it's better if it's not evenly cut in pieces. Season to taste with salt and pepper, mix well to combine.
- Mix together some very soft butter (about 30g) and olive oil. Brush the bottom and sides of a large baking pan with the butter/oil mixture. Line with a filo sheet. Depending on the dimensions of your pan and the filo sheets, you may need to trim.
(It's probably better to use a pan smaller/same size as the filo sheets rather than splice things together, but if you only have a big one, make sure you stagger the joins with each layer of filo - the way you do when building a lego wall.)
(Notes on filo: it dries out really quickly because it's so thin. Keep it between slightly damp tea towels as you work, covering it as much as possible.)
- Brush the top of the filo sheet with the butter/oil. Add another filo sheet, brush. Repeat until you have added the fifth filo sheet, which you don't need to brush on top.
- Spread in spinach/cheese mixture evenly.
- Cover with 5 more filo sheets, brushing each with the butter/oil as before. Brush the top sheet this time. Tuck in the sheets around the edges.
- Cut through the top filo sheets in three places for venting.
- Bake about 30-40 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.
- Serves a lot of people if cut into small pieces, or fewer if you're having big chunks as a main meal. Also refrigerates well (or if not too hot can store covered at room temperature) although the pastry does get a bit soggy. Still tastes good though! It's never lasted long enough for me to try freezing it but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't work.

Enjoy!
posted by Athanassiel at 5:16 PM on September 25, 2013

Response by poster: Thanks all for the recommendations. I'll report back with my successes and failures.
posted by KevCed at 12:31 PM on October 6, 2013

Response by poster: I made bifteki using the milk and bread as suggested. I used relatively lean beef, relying on the milk and bread for moisture, as well as tzatziki and onions and tomatoes. Delicious.

In the future I would add less cinnamon (1/2 tsp. in ~500g (~1 pound) of beef was overpowering). Lemon in the meat mixture was excellent.

I made tzatziki without straining the 2% fat greek yogurt and it came out precisely as we ate it in Greece. Maybe other brands of yogurt are wetter and need straining?

Thanks for all the recommendations.
posted by KevCed at 6:19 AM on November 18, 2013 [1 favorite]