Lebanese Stuffed Grape Leaves (Warak Enab)

5 from 8 votes

Lebanese stuffed grape leaves, aka warak enab, are stuffed with minced meat and rice and then slow-cooked with lamb chops and garlic.

Servings:

100 grape leaves 2 lbs (1kg) of wet weight or 18 oz (500 gr) of dry weight**note 1
2 lbs rack of lamb about 8 lamb chops
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium tomato sliced
8 whole garlic cloves
½ cup of lemon juice about 4 lemons
6 cups of water rough estimate, you may need more
1 lb of ground beef 90% to 95% fat content
1½ cups short-grain rice
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1-½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground pepper
salt to taste start with ½ teaspoon

Prepare the grape leaves. Clean and remove the stems from the grape leaves.
Jarred grape leaves: The stems might already be removed and the grape leaves are clean. Just rinse the grape leaves in water. Also, the grape leaves are tender and easy to roll, so they don't need to be boiled.
Fresh grape leaves: Start by removing the stems one by one. Wash the grape leaves by soaking them in water. Boil a pot of water. Dropping a stack of 20 grape leaves at a time, just submerge the grape leaves for a couple of seconds in the boiling water. Drain and set aside. Continue for all grape leaves.
Prepare the grape leaf stuffing. Mix the ground beef, short-grain rice, garlic powder, allspice, ground cinnamon, salt, and pepper in a bowl with your hands.
Roll the grape leaves. Get a workstation ready that has the grape leaves stacked and the rice stuffing in a separate bowl. It takes about 30 minutes to 1 hour to roll 100 grape leaves. Grab about 2 teaspoons of the stuffing and place it at the base of the grape leaf. Fold the bottom of the grape leaf upward and then fold over the sides of the grape leaf. Continue rolling the grape leaf upwards tightly. Place the grape leaf with the seam down in a container.

Salt and pepper the lamb chops. Grab a large pot that has high sides (the grape leaves expand as the rice cooks). Heat up about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the pot. Add the lamb chops and brown on both sides. Take the lamb chops off the stove to cool down for 5 minutes.
Cut the tomato into slices. Layer the tomato slices on top of the lamb chops. Add a layer of unwrapped grape leaves, trying to make a flat surface to place the rolled grape leaves on. Arrange the rolled grape leaves in the same direction tightly with the seam face down. Place some garlic cloves in between. Make a second layer in the opposite direction with the grape leaves seam face down. Place a few leaves on top of the rolled grape leaves and turn a plate upside down (to help the leaves not unravel while cooking).
Boil some water. Add about 6 cups of boiling water to the grape leaf pot. Cook for 30 minutes on medium to medium-high heat. Monitor the water level to just cover the grape leaves. Add the lemon juice and continue cooking for 30 minutes on low heat covered. The grape leaves are done when the rice is cooked (about 1 hour total cook time).

If using jarred grape leaves, this is 2 small glass jars that is 1 lb wet weight or a large jar that's 2 lbs wet weight. Fresh grape leaves can be substituted, however, they must be cleaned well and the stems removed.