Easy and Delicious Mari's Kipes!
Kibbeh or Kipes, popularly known as Quipes, represents an exquisite Dominican street food delight. This delicious preparation consists of a charming blend of seasoned ground meat, carefully wrapped in a crispy and golden shell made of hydrated wheat. Our detailed step-by-step guide will accompany you throughout the entire process of crafting these delightful creations, ensuring that each bite provides an authentic experience of the distinctive flavor of Dominican kipes.
Kipe, Quipe, Kibbeh, or Kibbe, regardless of the name you use, this appetizer is highly beloved in the Dominican Republic, holding a prominent place in local festivities, special events, cafeterias, and the vibrant streets of Dominican street food. With deep roots in Arab cuisine, particularly in Lebanon, this dish has been affectionately adopted by Dominican culture and is now known as Dominican kipe.
Embarking on a personal journey to learn how to make Kipe has been an exciting adventure for me, and I am thrilled to have mastered the art of its preparation several years ago. If you are interested in preparing this delicious appetizer, look no further, as this recipe and step-by-step guide on how to make Kipes (Quipes) are perfect for you.
This is how I learned to make kipes, but if you don't have a meat grinder you can still do the kipes buy kneading the meat and bulgur wheat mixture.
Dominican Kipes Recipe (Quipes)
Recipe and Step-by-Step Guide on how to make Lebanese-style Dominican Kipes at Mari's Cakes.
Ingredients:
1 pound whole-grain bulgur cracked wheat (2 ⅔ cups = 455 grams)
1 pound of ground beef (+ more for the filling)
1 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon black pepper Salt to taste (I use 2 tsp)
¼ cup of fresh peppermint leaves
Tabasco to taste
¼ cup raisins for filling (optional)
Enough oil for frying
Ground Beef Filling:
½ pound of ground beef
1 clove of garlic
¼ cup onion
¼ cup bell or cubanelle pepper
1 teaspoon tomato paste
Pinch of oregano
Salt to taste
* The highlighted ingredients in yellow can be replaced with 1 Tablespoon of Dominican Sazon.
Preparation:
1. For the filling: Cook ½ pound ground beef with the above ingredients. Leave the meat to cook thoroughly and dry (no sauce) and set aside. I recommend you follow the steps on how I make the picadillo de Res found here.
2. Rinse and soak bulgur wheat in water for 1-2 hours. With a strainer squeezing all the water out of the wheat. It is very important to drain well.
3. Mix hydrated wheat with 1 pound of ground uncooked beef, minced onion, allspice, oregano, black pepper, salt to taste (I use 2 tsp), peppermint leaves, and Tabasco to taste. Combine all these ingredients and process through a meat grinder twice, check for salt. If you don't have a grinding machine, you can mix the hydrated bulgur wheat and the meat by kneading it by hand for a few minutes, until you obtain a compact dough that is easy to shape.
4. To form Kipes: Take about ½ cup or less of wheat mixture. The amount depends on the size you want your kipe to be, the larger you make it the deeper your fryer should be, and the more oil you will need. Form a compact ball, then form and hole in the middle to make room for the tablespoon of meat filling, close in the hole, and form the kibbeh into an oval, round, or spike form at the tips. You can rub your hands with oil or cold water to help keep the dough from sticking to your fingers.
5. The oil should be hot and abundant enough to cover your kipes. Fry them until they are golden brown on both sides and drain in a container with an absorbent paper towel. Note: If the oil is cold, the Kipes will lose their shape and crumble. Serve with ketchup or mayo-ketchup sauce. Enjoy!
Yield: 36 kipes small size (3 "= 7.5), 25 -29 kipes medium size.
Notes:
My Amazon recommendation is the - Kibbeh Rolls Maker Mold Manual Press. This Kipes (quipe) press is very helpful as it makes the task faster and neater, producing uniform-size rolls.
If you found this Kipe step-by-step guide helpful, you'll love Mari's:
"This is because I want faithful love,
not sacrifice.
I want people to know God,
not to bring burnt offerings." - Hosea 6:6
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