Food Finds - Food find: Mohammed’s special lamb kabobs

Preparing ground meat kabobs isn’t as easy as it seems. They’re inevitably too crumbly, too bland, or just won’t stay on the skewer no matter how much you manhandle the meat. Getting them right almost requires a little black magic. Imagine my delight, then, when I happened upon Mohammed’s special lamb kabobs at the Buford Highway Farmers Market.

Mohammed, “your culinary market ambassador,” makes the kabobs fresh every day at the renovated treasure trove just past I-285 on Buford Highway. He uses American lamb that’s all natural, grass-fed, and always ground on site. The type of lamb used is mild, not aggressive, so the kabobs will appeal to your kiddies, who may not be lamb-ready. There’s also a nice amount of fat in the kabobs, so don’t worry if you overcook them. They’ll still be juicy.

The kabobs are seasoned with garlic, fresh cilantro, onions, and a special blend of seven Middle Eastern spices. All you need to do to prepare the kabobs is to sprinkle them with some coarse kosher salt - there’s no salt in the blend so don’t be shy - and a fresh crack of black pepper. The best way to cook them is on a charcoal grill, lending them that nice smoky flavor to amp up the lamby goodness. You can cook them in a heavy bottomed cast iron pan if you don’t have a grill, but watch the fat - because it spits and splatters.

Serve the kabobs with some buttery long-grain white rice and a crunchy romaine salad dotted with feta cheese, chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, sliced red onion and a little crumbled dried oregano. If you want to add a little spice to the meal, you can add some pretty white containers of the deliciously untraditional Indian mango pickle from the Indian aisle in the market to your table. A little pita bread or a crusty loaf of something ain’t a bad idea, either.

Mohammed’s special lamb kabobs are available exclusively at the Buford Highway Farmers Market.