Kiymali Borek

Kiymali Borek is a savory Turkish pastry filled with spiced ground beef and onions and wrapped in thin yufka sheets. They are much easier than they look, and I have never had any left at the end of a party.

This Meat Borek Recipe makes 12 parcels, and they keep in the freezer for three months. You use shop bought yufka, so there is no dough to make from scratch. I double the batch every time and freeze half, because they bake straight from frozen.

If you would rather watch than read, the video below shows you how to fold the parcels.

In Turkey these folded squares are called zarf böreği, which means envelope börek, after the way the corners fold in over the filling. You will also see the dish written as kıymalı börek or etli börek. In the Balkans the meat filled one is the version called burek.

For a meat free version, try Potato Borek, Spinach and Feta Pie, Sigara Boregi, or Spinach Borek.

What is Yufka?

Yufka is a thin unleavened Turkish flatbread, sold in round sheets about the size of a large plate. It is close to filo but a little thicker and more flexible, so it does not tear as easily when you fold it.

You will find yufka in Turkish and Middle Eastern shops, and online. It turns up in plenty of other recipes too, like Cheese Borek and Beyti Kebab.

Why This Recipe Works

• The filling goes in cooked and cooled, so nothing leaks out in the oven and nothing is left raw in the middle.

• The sauce between the layers stops the pastry drying out, and there is enough of it left to brush the tops.

• Every parcel is its own portion, so there is nothing to cut and they go into a lunch box exactly as they are.

• You do not need a mixer or a food processor. A frying pan, a bowl and a pastry brush is the whole list.

• Nothing in the filling is hard to find. Meat, onion, garlic, salt, pepper and paprika, and that is it.

• Folding them neatly takes a few goes, and it makes no difference at all, because a rough parcel bakes the same as a tidy one. That is my favorite thing about this recipe.

Ingredients You'll Need

Please scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredients list with measurements, complete recipe method, recipe notes, and nutritional information.

• Yufka - You need three round sheets. If you can only get filo, use about four filo sheets in place of each yufka sheet, since filo is much thinner.

• Ground meat - Use beef or lamb, or a mix of both. Go for 15 to 20 percent fat. Fatty meat releases enough fat to cook the onions in, so you may not need any oil at all.

• Onions - Three medium onions, chopped as small as you can. Big pieces make the parcels hard to fold flat.

• Olive oil - Only for the onions, and only if your meat is lean and has not released enough fat.

• Paprika, salt and black pepper - Sweet paprika is what I use. Swap in hot paprika or chili flakes if you want them spicy.

• Egg - One medium egg goes into the sauce you brush between the layers.

• Milk - Whole or semi skimmed, both work. It thins the sauce so it spreads over the yufka easily.

• Yogurt - Plain or natural yogurt with no sugar or flavoring added. It gives the borek a light, fluffy texture.

• Melted butter - Brushed over the parcels before they go in the oven. If you would rather skip the butter, brush them with egg yolk mixed with a little yogurt instead.

• Sesame, nigella or poppy seeds - Scattered over the top before baking. Pick whichever you have in the cupboard.

How to Make Kiymali Borek?

Make the Meat Filling

Put a heavy-based pan on medium heat and brown the ground meat until it releases its fat.

Depending on the fat ratio of your meat, you might have enough fat to sauté the onions. If not, add the olive oil to the pan and then sauté the onions along with the garlic until soft and translucent.

Add salt, freshly ground black pepper, and paprika, remove from the heat, and then let it cool down while preparing the sauce.

Make the Sauce

To make the sauce, whisk an egg in a medium-sized bowl.

Add vegetable oil, milk, yogurt, and vinegar to the eggs, and then whisk until combined.

Layer the Yufka Sheets

Preheat the oven to 180° C - 356° F and then start building the borek parcels.

Lay one sheet of yufka on a clean work surface and then drizzle 1-1 ½ tablespoon of the sauce, spread it evenly using a brush. Fold one rounded side towards the middle and then fold the opposite rounded side to meet in the middle.

Drizzle some more sauce, just enough to lightly cover the pastry, and spread it with the brush. Fold the other rounded sides towards the middle to form a square parcel.

Cut and Fold the Parcels

Brush lightly with sauce and then cut them into four squares. Place a large spoonful of the meat filling in the middle of each pastry square.

Fold each of the corners toward the middle to form a square parcel.

Gently press in the middle where all the corners meet, and then turn the pastry upside down.

Repeat the same steps for the 2 other yufka pieces. Line a baking sheet with silicone paper and then place the borek parcels ¼" (½ cm) away from each other.

Brush and Bake the Borek

Add melted butter to the sauce. If you have no sauce left, do not worry, the melted butter on its own gives them plenty of crunch. Brush your pastries with the sauce evenly. Sprinkle on some sesame seeds, nigella seeds, or poppy seeds. 

Place the tray in the hot oven and then bake the boreks for 30 to 35 minutes, until they have turned golden brown and crispy.

How to Make Kiymali Borek as a Tray Bake

If you would rather not fold anything, the same filling and the same sauce work as a tray bake. Use the same three sheets of yufka, and tear or cut each one to fit your dish. Keep the offcuts, because they fill the gaps at the edges.

Brush the dish with butter, lay in a sheet, spoon over some sauce and spread it out, then do the same with a second sheet. Spread all the filling over the top, then finish with the remaining pastry, brushing sauce between every layer.

Cut it into squares before it goes anywhere near the oven, then pour whatever sauce is left over the top and scatter on the seeds. Bake at 180° C - 356° F for 40 to 45 minutes.

Recipe Tips From the Chef

• Let the filling cool completely before you start building borek parcels. Warm filling turns the yufka soggy and it tears as you fold.

• Chop the onions as small as you can. Big pieces poke through the pastry when you fold the corners in.

• Keep the yufka you are not working with under a clean damp tea towel so it does not dry out and crack.

• Brush the sauce right out to the edges of the yufka. Dry edges are where the parcels split open in the oven.

• Do not overfill them. One heaped spoonful per square is enough, and any more will burst the corners open.

• Press the middle where the corners meet, then turn the parcel over onto the tray so the folds sit underneath.

• If you have ten minutes to spare, let the folded parcels rest before baking so the sauce soaks into the yufka.

• Leave about ½ cm between the parcels on the tray. Packed too close together they steam instead of crisping.

• Double the recipe up and keep extra borek parcels in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Variations

• Swap the beef for lamb, or use half of each.

• Ground chicken or turkey works too. They are much leaner, so you will need the olive oil for the onions.

• A teaspoon of cumin in the filling is common in Turkey and gives it a warmer, earthier flavor.

• Stir a handful of chopped parsley through the filling once it comes off the heat.

• Use hot paprika or pul biber in place of the sweet paprika if you want them spicy.

• Some versions cook a chopped green pepper and a grated tomato in with the onions.

• Chopped walnuts stirred into the filling are another Turkish touch worth trying.

Storage and Make Ahead Instructions

Cooked borek keeps for up to 5 days in the fridge in an airtight container, and up to 3 months in the freezer. Let them cool completely first, then freeze them in a single layer on a tray before you bag them up, so they do not stick to each other.

You can freeze the parcels raw as well, which is what I usually do. Fold them, freeze them flat on the tray, then bag them and bake them straight from frozen with an extra 5 to 10 minutes on the time.

To reheat cooked ones, wrap them in foil and put them in a preheated oven at 180° C - 356° F for about 10 minutes, or 15 minutes from frozen, until they are hot in the middle. A microwave works if you are in a hurry, but they will not be crisp afterwards.

The filling keeps for 2 days in the fridge, so you can cook it one day and fold the parcels the next. Folded parcels can also sit in the fridge for a few hours before they go in the oven.

Serving Suggestions

These are breakfast food first in Turkey, served with a glass of Turkish Tea - Çay. They also work for lunch, for a picnic, or handed round warm at a party.

For lunch, a bowl of soup and two or three parcels makes a proper meal. Turkish Red Lentil Soup is the one I make with them most often, and Tomato Soup with Fresh Tomatoes, Orzo Soup, or Roasted Butternut Squash Soup all work just as well.

If you want something lighter, serve them with a salad. Greek Cucumber Salad and Gavurdagi Salatasi are the two I go back to, and Indian Chickpea Salad turns it into more of a meal.

Recipe FAQs

Related Recipes

For more delicious Turkish savory pastries why not try:

Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.

I hope you enjoy the process of making this scrumptious Kiymali Borek (Turkish Meat Borek) as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂