Back when I was in college, I loved going to Kabob Night with the Persian Club. The food was always amazing, the music was great, and the belly dancers were so dang talented. The entire experience was fantastic, but the highlight for me was the lamb kabob. When the judges on Food Network’s Grill of Victory asked me to make a meatball on a grill, my mind immediately went back to Kabob Nights and my lamb meatball recipe was born. Enough talking about it. Let’s get cooking.
Lamb Meatballs with Yogurt Sauce
-
- Prep Time
- Minutes
-
- Cook Time
- Minutes
Ingredients
- 2lbs of ground lamb
- 1 medium sized white onion
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 1 Tablespoon of tumeric
- 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
- 1/2 Tablespoon of kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons of sumac
- 1 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup of whole milk plain yogurt
- 6oz of finely diced Persian or English cucumber
- 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons of fresh chopped dill
Instructions
- Empty the ground lamb into a large mixing bowl and set it aside. Then, peel and quarter the onion. Place the onion into a food processor and grind the onion into a pulp. Empty the onion pulp into a strainer and squeeze the onion pulp to release the liquid from the onion. Once you have removed as much liquid as you can from the onion pulp, add it into the bowl with the lamb.
- Mince the garlic and put it in the bowl with the lamb, Then add in the tumeric, paprika, salt, black pepper and sumac. Wearing food safe gloves, massage the onion, garlic and spices into the ground lamb. Really work the spices into the ground lamb so that everything is evenly distributed. (Do NOT attempt to do this without gloves; the tumeric will stain your nails and ruin your polish. Ask me how I know.)
- Begin making the meatballs by taking 2-3 tablespoons of ground lamb and gently rolling it between the palms of your hands. Repeat this process until all of the ground lamb has been used.
- Then, bring the olive oil to a medium heat in a cast iron skillet. Add as many meatballs as your pan can fit while leaving about a half an inch between each meatball. You want to have enough space to comfortably turn the meatballs.
- Brown the meatballs on all sides and cook until the meatballs have reached an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees. Don't go too much over this temperature because you don't want the meatballs to be dry.
- Remove the meatballs from the skillet and set them aside. Now it's time to make the yogurt sauce. Combine the yogurt, diced cucumber, lemon juice and dill in a small mixing bowl. Give it a good stir so that the ingredients are fully incorporated; add salt and pepper to taste.
- Plate your meatballs, serve with a side of yogurt sauce and enjoy. Side dish options: Couscous, rice, grilled peppers and asparagus
Rate this recipe
0 People Rated This Recipe
Average Rating
No comments yet.