Stories
Few can disagree that one of the greatest Tabouly recipes and most famous Tabouly stories is that of Fred Joseph of Drumright, Oklahoma.
When Fred Joseph’s Lebanese ancestors came to Oklahoma, they brought their gifts of hard work, a penchant for opening small businesses and, perhaps most important, a recipe for tabouly.
The tabouly that Fred’s family ate in the eastern Mediterranean is the same version he served to his customers at Freddie’s Barbecue in Drumright.
It’s the same tabouly all Oklahomans eat — at church potlucks, barbecue restaurants and picnics at the lake.
Tabouly has become as ubiquitous an Oklahoma food as baked beans and coleslaw, and Fred couldn’t be more pleased.
When he opened Freddie’s in 1962, all dinners came with the tabouly recipe developed by Fred and his wife, Rosamund. At that time, many customers had never tasted this salad of bulgur wheat, olive oil, tomatoes and parsley, and they couldn’t get enough of it.
“Everyone loved the tabouly,” Fred said. “We gave the recipe to anyone who asked.”
Fred’s tabouly is light, and it uses less olive oil than many other recipes. It also has a higher proportion of wheat to vegetables.
In the mid-1980s, Fred sold his restaurant to Ed Slyman, who moved it to Sapulpa after a fire destroyed the building in Drumright.
In the meantime, another nephew, Joe Naifeh, built a new restaurant at the site of the old Freddie’s, and called it Joseph’s.
And even though 90-year-old Fred has been retired from the restaurant business for many years, he can’t help but keep his hand in it.
Every Tuesday and Friday, Fred walks the 25 feet or so from his house to Joseph’s restaurant to cut steaks.
“It gives me something to do,” he said.
If cutting steaks is his hobby, woodworking is practically a fulltime job. Fred spends long hours in his shop making wood crosses.
He often shares one of his favorite pieces — three connected crosses, with a hook for a wall hanging — with neighbors and new friends he meets at the restaurant.
Fred eats tabouly almost every day, and by now considers it as much a part of his Oklahoma diet as a Mediterranean one.
Here is the Joseph’s recipe from the original Freddie’s in Drumright.
Fred Joseph’s Tabouly
12 ounces bulgur wheat
¾ cup lemon juice
¾ cup olive oil
2 bunches parsley
4 to 8 small spring onions with green tops, finely sliced
4 or more diced tomatoes, depending on size and preference
Salt and pepper, to taste
Note: The Josephs emphasize that the bulgur should only be rinsed in water, not soaked in it as many recipes often instruct, as soaked bulgur produces soggy tabouly. The finished product should be just barely damp, but the bulgur shouldn’t be chewy, so you may want to add ¼ cup additional water. You may need to experiment with water amounts.
1. Put the bulgur in a fine mesh strainer, and run water over it. Pour bulgur into a bowl.
2. Add lemon juice and oil. Stir. The bulgur should soak up the lemon juice and oil. Add the other ingredients, stir and refrigerate for 2 or more hours. Stir, taste and correct seasonings.
When Fred Joseph’s Lebanese ancestors came to Oklahoma, they brought their gifts of hard work, a penchant for opening small businesses and, perhaps most important, a recipe for tabouly.
The tabouly that Fred’s family ate in the eastern Mediterranean is the same version he served to his customers at Freddie’s Barbecue in Drumright.
It’s the same tabouly all Oklahomans eat — at church potlucks, barbecue restaurants and picnics at the lake.
Tabouly has become as ubiquitous an Oklahoma food as baked beans and coleslaw, and Fred couldn’t be more pleased.
When he opened Freddie’s in 1962, all dinners came with the tabouly recipe developed by Fred and his wife, Rosamund. At that time, many customers had never tasted this salad of bulgur wheat, olive oil, tomatoes and parsley, and they couldn’t get enough of it.
“Everyone loved the tabouly,” Fred said. “We gave the recipe to anyone who asked.”
Fred’s tabouly is light, and it uses less olive oil than many other recipes. It also has a higher proportion of wheat to vegetables.
In the mid-1980s, Fred sold his restaurant to Ed Slyman, who moved it to Sapulpa after a fire destroyed the building in Drumright.
In the meantime, another nephew, Joe Naifeh, built a new restaurant at the site of the old Freddie’s, and called it Joseph’s.
And even though 90-year-old Fred has been retired from the restaurant business for many years, he can’t help but keep his hand in it.
Every Tuesday and Friday, Fred walks the 25 feet or so from his house to Joseph’s restaurant to cut steaks.
“It gives me something to do,” he said.
If cutting steaks is his hobby, woodworking is practically a fulltime job. Fred spends long hours in his shop making wood crosses.
He often shares one of his favorite pieces — three connected crosses, with a hook for a wall hanging — with neighbors and new friends he meets at the restaurant.
Fred eats tabouly almost every day, and by now considers it as much a part of his Oklahoma diet as a Mediterranean one.
Here is the Joseph’s recipe from the original Freddie’s in Drumright.
Fred Joseph’s Tabouly
12 ounces bulgur wheat
¾ cup lemon juice
¾ cup olive oil
2 bunches parsley
4 to 8 small spring onions with green tops, finely sliced
4 or more diced tomatoes, depending on size and preference
Salt and pepper, to taste
Note: The Josephs emphasize that the bulgur should only be rinsed in water, not soaked in it as many recipes often instruct, as soaked bulgur produces soggy tabouly. The finished product should be just barely damp, but the bulgur shouldn’t be chewy, so you may want to add ¼ cup additional water. You may need to experiment with water amounts.
1. Put the bulgur in a fine mesh strainer, and run water over it. Pour bulgur into a bowl.
2. Add lemon juice and oil. Stir. The bulgur should soak up the lemon juice and oil. Add the other ingredients, stir and refrigerate for 2 or more hours. Stir, taste and correct seasonings.
