Other than âMary Had a Little Lambâ and âBaa, Baa Black Sheep,â not much enters my mind when I hear someone mention lamb. I donât live in Scotland, so sheep donât wander around my townâs grassy meadows, which limits my encounters to the occasional internet photograph or trip to the petting zoo.
Until I prepared a shepherdâs pie a few weeks ago. Then I got up close and personal with lamb. I enjoyed its savory flavor in the dish, but there was just one problem. Two-thirds of a pound still sat in my fridge after I cooked the pie. What was I supposed to do with all of that leftover meat? Â
Making meatballs seemed like a decent answer. Although my mother taught me never to play with my food, I refused to believe that mixing spices into ground meat falls into that category. (Trust me, itâs a supremely satisfying feeling, just like squelching mud between your toes!)
After pinching, shaping, and rolling out raw meat into little spheres, I placed them in the oven to bake for a bit. Because the ground lamb contained more fat than ground beef, only a few minutes passed before I heard grease sizzling in the bottom of the broiler pan. It filled every corner of my home with the tantalizing yet comforting smell of juicy meat and rich spices.
I quickly became addicted to their delicious flavor, yet I somehow managed not to pop every single meatball into my mouth like candy. The few that survived my greedy tummy went into the freezer, out of sight but not out of mindâŚ
Lamb Meatballs
makes 12-15 1½-inch meatballs
â lb ground lamb
½ tsp dried rosemary, chopped
ž tsp dried mint
â tsp salt
Âź tsp ground black pepper
- Preheat oven to 400°. Coat a broiler pan with cooking spray, set aside.
- Mix all ingredients in a large bowl by hand until spices are evenly distributed and mixture is smooth. Shape into 12-15 evenly sized balls.
- Place meatballs on the broiler pan, and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the meat begins to brown. Cool for 5 minutes on the pan. Serve warm.
How did they turn out? I guess I am never exposed to Lamb dishes… I stick to the Fish, Chicken, and beef… =)
They were really juicy and flavorful! I’ve mainly stick to chicken, so I’m working on branching out and trying to prepare different meats… It’s quite an adventure!
I would like to try your recipe as a lamburger – this spring when it warms up. Sounds really good!!!
Thank you! I’m sure grilled lamburgers would taste just as delicious as the meatballs did.
How many calories for these please?
This is the free nutrition calculator that I use, if you’d like to know Maggie! While I wish I could go back and provide the nutrition information for all of my older recipes, it’d take months to do… And I’d much rather focus on creating new recipes for you to try! đ I’d love to hear what you think if you try these meatballs!