Lebanese Stuffed Grape Leaves

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1. 1Step 1: Rinse the rice. Add the salt, pepper, cinnamon, and melted butter to the rice. Mix the rice with the ground beef or lamb thoroughly, using your hands to combine.
2. 2Step 2: Prepare the leaves. For jarred leaves: pour the liquid from the jar and discard it. Carefully remove the bundles of leaves. Place the leaves in a big bowl of cool or tepid water and agitate them to rinse and soak. Repeat this twice, pouring off the water entirely after the second rinse.
3. 3Step 3: For fresh picked or frozen fresh leaves: place the leaves in a large bowl or pot of boiling water. Blanch, gently cooking the leaves for 5 minutes to soften them. Fresh leaves roll more easily and stay closed better if they are softer from cooking.
4. 4Step 4: Trim the stems. Either stack the leaves in bunches all in the same direction or lay them out individually on the countertop or work surface. Use scissors to trim off the short stems all the way to (but not beyond) the edge of each leaf.
5. 5Step 5: Prepare a 4 or 6 quart heavy pot. Line the bottom of the pot with the chicken or pork. Lay any torn grape leaves or just a few of the largest leaves over the top of the meat.
6. 6Step 6: Roll the grape leaves. Lay multiple leaves out on the work surface with the vein side facing up so the veins end up inside the roll. The stem end should face you. Use about 1 teaspoon of the filling per leaf, give or take depending on the size of the leaf. This may seem like very little filling, but this is all you need for a cigar-sized roll. Shape the filling across the stem end of the leaf in a log, leaving enough leaf on either side of the meat for folding. Don’t roll the leaves too tightly—allow room for the rice filling to expand, which it will during cooking. Fold each side of the leaf over the meat like an envelope. Roll securely, away from you. Tuck any leaf points into the fold as you go. End with the tip of the leaf facing down.
7. 7Step 7: Fill the pot with rolls by arranging them seam-side down in rows in the prepared pan. Alternate the direction of the rows with each layer of stuffed leaves. Place a plate face down over the top layer to prevent the rolls from floating. Fill the pot with a mixture of the chicken broth and lemon juice up to the plate. If using water instead of broth, or if using unsalted broth, add a tablespoon of kosher salt (half that if using table salt) to the liquid before adding to the pot.
8. 8Step 8: Cook the grape leaf rolls. Cover the pot and bring slowly to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for another 60-90 minutes, until the rice and leaves are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed (there will be some liquid remaining after cooking).
9. 9Step 9: Cool. Allow the rolls to cool with the lid off the pot for about 30 minutes before serving.
10. 10Step 10: Serve the grape leaves one of these ways: 1. Serve directly from the pot, using tongs to pull each roll from the pot. 2. Place the rolls on a serving platter, using tongs to transfer the rolls from the pot to the serving platter. 3. This is more of an experienced-makers method: Flip the entire pot of rolls into a wide bowl by placing the bowl over top of the pot, then flip over quickly (and carefully!). Make sure to pour off the excess cooking liquid before flipping the pot. Remove the meat layer and serve that on the side or discard.