• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer
CASA Veneracion

CASA Veneracion

Connie Veneracion's Modern Filipino Cooking

  • Devour Asia
  • Aging Like Wine
  • Renaissance Mom
  • Search

  • Breakfast
  • Lunch / Dinner
    • Main Courses
    • Side Dishes
    • Soups
  • Noodles
  • Snacks
  • Drinks
  • Sweets
  • Christmas
  • Slow Cooker Recipes
  • About Us
  • Privacy
  • Devour Asia
  • Renaissance Mom
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch / Dinner
    • Main Courses
    • Side Dishes
    • Soups
  • Noodles
  • Snacks
  • Drinks
  • Sweets
  • Christmas
You are here: Home / Mighty Meaty / Biftekia: grilled beef patties, Greek style

Biftekia: grilled beef patties, Greek style

Happy with the Greek food we had at Mano’s Greek Taverna in Tagaytay, I decided to make biftekia, or Greek style grilled beef patties, at home. Ground beef, bread soaked in red wine, fresh oregano, onion and garlic went into my beef patties.

Biftekia: grilled beef patties, Greek style | casaveneracion.com

Biftekia is a burger, basically, so I served them with French fries and a simple salad, and it was a great Father’s Day lunch. No need to try and squeeze into jam-packed restaurants.

Oh, the difference that red wine makes! Amazing, I tell you! Of course, there are a lot of other versions of biftekia and some don’t contain any wine. Some soak the bread in milk; others, in water. I’ve made burgers with milk-soaked bread but it’s not half as good as the ones made with red wine. Something to try, definitely. Might prove habit-forming. :)

And for those of you who worry about the alcohol — alcohol evaporates during cooking. What you’re really after when you add red wine to the food is the rich and robust flavor that remains after the alcohol has disappeared into the air.

Ingredients

  • 4 slices of day-old bread, torn into small pieces
    1/2 to 3/4 c. of semi-sweet or dry red wine
    1 kg. of finely ground beef (a little fat will make the burgers very juicy)
    2 medium-sized onions
    4 cloves of garlic
    4 sprigs of fresh oregano
    1 egg
    4 tbsps. of olive oil
    2 heaping tsps. of salt
    lots of freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. casaveneracion.com | How To Make Biftekia: grilled beef patties, Greek style

    Place the torn bread in a wide dish. Pour the red wine over and stir to make sure that every piece is soaked. Set aside.

    casaveneracion.com | How To Make Biftekia: grilled beef patties, Greek style

    Peel and roughly chop the onions and garlic. Strip the oregano leaves off the stalks; discard the stalks. Place them all together on the chopping board.

    casaveneracion.com | How To Make Biftekia: grilled beef patties, Greek style

    Chop finely. If you use a food processor, make sure that you do NOT liquefy the onions. The fine chop will give the burgers a nice balance in texture.

    casaveneracion.com | How To Make Biftekia: grilled beef patties, Greek style

    Place the ground beef in a large bowl. Squeeze out the excess wine from the bread; add to the beef. Throw in the onion, garlic and oregano. Crack an egg into the bowl. Pour in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Mix lightly but thoroughly (by hand is best). Do NOT overwork the meat.

    casaveneracion.com | How To Make Biftekia: grilled beef patties, Greek style

    Form into patties and chill for about 30 minutes before grilling or broiling (see tips on making juicy burgers).

    casaveneracion.com | Biftekia: grilled beef patties, Greek style

    When the burgers are done, allow to rest for a few minutes before serving.

Cooking time (duration): 20 minutes excluding chilling time

Number of servings (yield): 8 to 10 burgers

Meal type: lunch / supper

More Modern Filipino Recipes to Try!
Skinless chicken longganisa with rice, tomatoes and achara

Skinless Chicken Longganisa

Fish Head Soup With Coconut Cream (Ginataang Ulo ng Isda)

Fish Head Soup With Coconut Cream (Ginataang Ulo ng Isda)

Ham and cheese sticks showing gooey melted cheese

Ham and Cheese Sticks

Baconsilog

Baconsilog

Chicken bistek with onion slices, scallions and fried shallots

Chicken Bistek

Tapsilog a la Beef Salpicao with Garlic Turmeric Fried Rice

Tapsilog with Tapa a la Salpicao

06/21/2010 : See more in Mighty Meaty, Beef, Burgers, Ground Beef, Mediterranean, On the Grill, Summer Fun

About Connie Veneracion

Hello and welcome! I'm a retired lawyer and columnist, wife for 29 years, mom of two, and a passionate cook. What is this blog about? Recipes for dishes we have cooked at home since 2003.

Previous Post: « City slicker City Slicker
Next Post: Moussaka (Baked Gggplants and Beef with Bechamel Sauce) Moussaka (baked eggplants and beef with bechamel sauce) »

Sidebar

RSS Devour Asia

  • General Tso’s Chicken
  • Miso Soup
  • Garlic Noodles

RSS Renaissance Mom

  • Pizza Rolls
  • What Is the Difference Between Mascarpone and Cream Cheese?
  • Stages in Making Bread
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Search

Everything © Connie, Speedy, Sam & Alex Veneracion. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.