Bifteki Recipe

By
Joshua Bousel
a photo of Joshua Bousel, a Contributing Writer at Serious Eats
Joshua Bousel
Joshua Bousel is a Serious Eats old-timer, having started sharing his passion for grilling and barbecue recipes on the site back in 2008. He continues to develop grilling and barbecue recipes on his own site, The Meatwave, out of his home base of Durham, North Carolina.
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Updated August 09, 2018
Greek bifteki on a plate with tomato slices, red onion slices, mint leaves, and tzatziki.

Serious Eats

Over the summer, I raved about a batch of keftedes, the Greek meatballs, I had put together. I didn't think they could get much better, but alas, I was wrong. When you stuff that tasty Greek meat mixture with some feta cheese and grill it, the awesomeness meter totally cranks up, plus they get a new name—bifteki.

Like the keftedes, a combination of oregano, mint, and onion create the traditional Greek flavor of the meat. Luckily, this particular recipe created a much firmer mixture, more in line with a traditional burger, that was perfect for forming into patties to hold the cheese, which later held up great on the grill.

The feta softened just enough over the heat to make smooth, creamy innards that added new flavor and texture, heightening an already fantastic beef. So if you haven't tried this out yet, skip the keftedes and go straight to the bifteki, I promise that you won't be disappointed.

Recipe Details

Bifteki Recipe

Prep 10 mins
Cook 40 mins
Total 50 mins
Serves 4 patties
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Ingredients

  • 2 slices white bread

  • 1 pound ground beef

  • 1 small red onion, finely chopped

  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme

  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped mint

  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh parsley

  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano (preferably Greek)

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1 egg

  • Freshly ground black pepper

  • One 2 x 2 x 1-inch block feta cheese, drained

For Serving

  • 1 tomato, thinly sliced

  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced

  • Tzatziki

Directions

  1. Place the bread in the bowl of a food processor and pulse into fine breadcrumbs. Pour the breadcrumbs into a large bowl and add the ground beef, chopped red onion, thyme, mint, parsley, oregano, salt, salt, egg, and black pepper. Mix together with your hands until evenly combined. Break of quarter-sized piece and fry in skillet until cooked (or microwave on high power for 30 seconds). Taste for seasoning and adjust with more salt and pepper as necessary.

  2. Cut off 4 slices of feta 1/2-in wide each. Break off 1/4 of the meat mixture and work into an oval patty. Using your thumb, create a depression running longways through the middle of the patty and place 1 slice of the feta inside it. Form the meat around the cheese and seal, making sure to enclose the entire piece of feta inside of the meat. Repeat 3 more times with the remaining meat and cheese slices.

  3. Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread the coals evenly over entire surface of coal grate. Alternatively, set all the burners of a gas grill to high heat. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Grill the meat patties over high heat until browned on all side and just cooked through; center should read 135° to 145°F (57° to 63°C) on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes. Transfer to a platter and serve with onion slices, tomatoes, and tzatziki.

    Greek bifteki on a plate with tomato slices, red onion slices, mint leaves, and tzatziki.

    Serious Eats

Special Equipment

Grill, chimney starter, instant-read thermometer

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
593 Calories
31g Fat
37g Carbs
43g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 593
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 31g 39%
Saturated Fat 14g 69%
Cholesterol 181mg 60%
Sodium 883mg 38%
Total Carbohydrate 37g 13%
Dietary Fiber 5g 19%
Total Sugars 16g
Protein 43g
Vitamin C 33mg 164%
Calcium 321mg 25%
Iron 5mg 30%
Potassium 1217mg 26%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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