Basic Lamb Meatballs

Lamb has such an interesting flavor which also allows it to have so many amazing flavor combinations. It’s a meat that is used in so many cultures that the possibilities of what to do with this basic recipe are endless. I know some people have a harder time with lamb and it could really be that I grew up eating lamb as to why I love it so much.

To make meatballs out of your meat mixture combined, you can take a scoop of the meat to form a ball. You can scoop out an eyeballed amount of meat from the bowl to start forming your meatballs and try to continually replicate that amount of meat for each meatball to have your meatballs come out consistently. This is how I roll (haha… pun intended) but I’ve been making meatballs for a long time and I go by feel a lot of times. If you’re not comfortable with this you can always get one of those meatballers that folks use to have their balls come out as close as possible size-wise. You can always use a favorite spoon or small ice cream scoop too to make sure you’re grabbing the same amount of meat each time. 

To a lot of people, lamb does have a very specific taste and some find it gamey. I don’t mind a little gaminess in my meat and there are so many things that you can do to help with that. You can add your favorite spices or spices that compliment lamb like mint, or choose the perfect breadcrumb that helps bring out the best part of the taste of the meat.

I find that it’s a nice substitute to beef when you want to mix things up and try something new for dinner. Since my dad was an adventurous eater, it made me always want to try new things. I’ve had the opportunity to travel a lot and one of my favorite things to do when we’re away from Minnesota or the US is try everything I can. There are so many great lamb dishes from so many different cultures I can’t wait to add those to my meatball repertoire

Someday I’m going to buy an RV and travel the country to taste everything I can from each region of our great country. Then off to the rest of the world to try different foods from different countries and cultures. I think food is something that connects us all and can bring us together. I think you can learn a lot about someone just by their favorite foods.

There are so many different recipes that you can add some lamb meatballs to or you can take some traditional recipes and substitute a lamb roast or lamb rack with some meatballs instead. The nice thing is that meatballs are more difficult to overcook – especially if you follow this recipe. Lamb meatballs take a lot less time to cook than say a lamb roast, so you kind of get the best of both worlds – the flavor of lamb and the time saving feature of cooking the lamb in the shape of little balls. They are great for family-style dinners since they are so easy to make you can make a couple of different types that cater to all of your guests or families tastes. 

There are so many additional spices that you can add to this basic recipe to enhance and compliment the slightly gamey flavor of the meat. Some classic combinations are rosemary, mint, thyme and oregano. You can mix and match these spices to your particular taste. Another one that works well with lamb is cumin. Cumin has an earthy flavor that goes well with lamb. If you’re looking to spice up this basic recipe those are some great herbs to start with.

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