Stuffed Grape Leaves with Meat- Dinner Style (Dolmades me Kreas )
Stuffed Grape Leaves
Dinner Style
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Cook time: 1 hour |
Prep:
1 hour |
Makes:
about 30-40 |
Stuffed grape leaves (dolmades) are served either as an appetizer using a teaspoon of meat-rice mixture or made into larger stuffed grape leaves for dinner filled with a couple of tablespoons full of meat-rice mixture drizzled with avgolemono sauce.
Ingredients
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3 pounds 73% lean ground
beef 1 cup long grain white rice 2 packages dried onion soup
mix |
Water, ¼ to ½ cup Salt and pepper, to taste 1(16-ounce) jar grape leaves |
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2 tablespoons dried mint |
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Thoroughly mix ground beef, rice, onion soup mix,
water and mint. Add water (about ¼–½ cup, to desired consistency). Line the
bottom of an 8-quart pot with grape leaves to prevent the stuffed grape leaves
from burning. Cut stems off grape
leaves. Place glossy side down with vein side showing. Place about 2
tablespoons of meat mixture at wide end of leaf (with vein side showing) and
roll, folding outer edges in toward point of leaf. Place stuffed grape leaves in bottom of
8-quart boiling pan while laying additional stuffed grapes on top of each
other. Add enough water to almost cover stuffed grape leaves and place a plate
on top of stuffed grape leaves to prevent them from unraveling. Bring water to a boil in pan with the stuffed
grape leaves; then reduce heat and simmer for one hour. Remove cooked dolmades with tongs and place
on a platter (or individually plate). Drizzle avgolemono sauce over the stuffed
grape leaves before serving.
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Cook: 10-15 minutes |
Prep: 5 -10 minutes |
Serves: drizzle over
stuffed grape leaves |
Egg-lemon sauce is very versatile. It can be used to drizzled on stuffed-grape leaves (appetizer and dinner style). It is the basis of egg-lemon soup (avgolemono soup) with or without chicken. Whole eggs, separating egg whites and eggs yolk or may use only egg yolks, as in this recipe, which makes for a rich, creamy sauce.
Ingredients
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3 egg yolks, room
temperature 2 tablespoons lemon
juice 2 tablespoons olive
oil |
1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup
double-strength stock, room temperature
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Mix egg yolks in a heat proof medium sized mixing bowl (4-5 quarts) that can be placed over an 8-quart pot (to make your double-boiler). Mix together lemon juice, olive oil, salt and broth and then add to bowl with egg yolks. Place the bowl on an 8-quart pot with 2-3 inches of boiling water. Stir frequently until sauce becomes frothy and continue stirring until sauce thickens. The sauce will change from a bright gold to a paler, creamier, frothier yellow. Continue to beat vigorously while still on heat for a couple of minutes. Drizzle over stuffed grape leaves.
Prepping and Rolling the Leaves
Cutting Stem Off
Leaves
1. I like taking the leaves right from the jar. Some may like to wash off the brine water, but we prefer to use as is.
2.
I prefer Orlando leaves
for their great taste and consistency of size. They are grown in Fresno, CA. I
have tried other varieties of locally grown leaves, but found some to be tough. Other brands are o.k., too.
3.
Count of leaves in a jar
of Orlando Leaves on 12/17/25 is 82. Count on 5/25 was #78. They were all nice
leaves of a good, consistent size.
1. Pull leaves gently apart by holding them by their stem to
easily pull separate.
2. Don't forget to cut stems off grape leaves and to place
glossy side down with vein side showing before rolling leaf with meat.
3. May line the bottom of an 8-quart pot with grape leaves to
prevent the stuffed grape leaves from burning on the bottom of the pan. I don’t
and haven’t had a problem. Place a plate or a lid on top to prevent separation
with the rice popping out. I don't typically do that either; it’s up to you.
4. If grape leaves are tough once cooked, place in the microwave
for about a minute or so to soften. Once I had very tough leaves and I continued
to boil them which didn't help. Only by accident did I learn the microwave tip.
5. May wash brine off of the grape leaf before using (I
don't).
6. If you have leaves left over, you may freeze them to use
later.
Meat
1. The higher fat content meat makes for tastier stuffed grape
leaves which I rationalize to be o.k. because I typically make them only for
special occasions. I wear gloves to thoroughly mix the meat with rice and
herbs.
2. I use 3 pounds because I like having some left over to make
meat ball soup meatball lemon soup (youvarlakia avgolemóno).
It is a bit time consuming so I would rather have enough meat than not enough.
Rice
1. I use Ben's rice original long grain rice which use to be marketed as Uncle Ben's. I have used other brands of rice, but find Ben's to be the best. It is already parboiled and holds its texture without becoming mushy.
Home Made Double-Boiler Like my Grandma's
One More Thing:
I
joke that my mom used a 1950's secret ingredient, dried onion soup mix. It
really isn’t a joke because onion soup mix adds so much. You can use fresh
dill, mint, maybe some chopped onions in place of the soup mix, but I find the
mix handy with added flavor. Dried herbs can be very flavorful.
1.
How much mint is really needed?
Answer:
1.
When you think you have enough, add more.
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