Easy Lamb Meatballs with Orange Fig Glaze

Happy Easter Ya’ll. In honor of the holiday, I wanted to bring you something that keeps with the tradition of lamb, but in a fresh way. Enter these meatballs. They’re simple to put together, able to be made in advance and perfect for a quick brunch or potluck at Easter, or any time of year! And when I say juicy? Baybeee! Seeing is believing, that’s why you need to watch this video and make these asap!

A Little Bit About Lamb Meatballs and Fig Glaze

When I thought of these meatballs in my mind, I knew immediately I would include two things: sumac in the spice blend and a glaze made with fig jam. It was just necessary! Sumac is a spice I discovered my love for when living in Marseille, France, which was originally settled by the Greek, but has so many cultures present because it was an original port of entry into Europe for many in the past. Being on the Mediterranean and having influence from North African, Turkish and Greek cultures, sumac is one I came across in many of my eating adventures.

Sumac has an almost lemony flavor that you can’t substitute with lemon and adds depth to the dishes it is incorporated into. I was a bit heavy-handed in this recipe, but the gaminess of lamb stands up to the flavors you put into it. Along with fresh herbs and other spices, you get a meatball that would be perfect for a spiced tomato sauce, a kebab, or with the fig glaze I made here.

Figs just make sense when it comes to lamb. Many times, where you find a population that has lamb as a main protein, you usually find figs as a regular staple in their diet as well. I love a good fig jam and fig jelly. For this one, I wanted to combine figs along with orange to bring a glaze that was robust, springy and so good it’s a little addictive. I seasoned it with Greek seasoning and let me just say, you should do the same. Enough of my talking, let me give you some tips for making these, and the recipe!

Tips of Making These Meatballs

The video for these meatballs is pretty straight forward, but I believe any additional tips help with executing these perfectly:

• Don’t over-mix your ground lamb. Whenever you’re working with ground meat, you want to just combine it with the spices and any additional mix-ins. This will keep you from having tough meatballs.
• Don’t over cook your meatballs. You really want to keep lamb at a medium to medium-rare temperature. However, with ground meat, I always suggest cooking it to about 160 degrees to ensure it’s safe to eat!
• Make these ahead to save time! You can make these a day in advance and store the meat covered in the refrigerator, or in advance by rolling the meatballs, freezing them individually, then placing the frozen meatballs into a freezer-safe container for later. I suggest the baking method for frozen meatballs.
• No lamb? No problem! You can make this recipe with ground pork, veal, or beef. To get a tender meatball, I suggest an unseasoned meatloaf mix with at least pork and beef included. Pair with any of my other recipes for a great dinner!

That’s all I have for ya’ll today. If you make this, be sure to tag me using #lizeeangel or join the NikNacks and follow me!. You can find me on tiktok , pinterest, instagram, facebook, twitter , and youtube!

Lamb Meatballs with Orange Fig Glaze

Nik Manning

Start a new Easter Tradition with these meatballs. Perfect for a brunch, appetizer or as a part of dinner. Sticky, sweet, spicy and insanely delicious!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Brunch, Main Course

Cuisine Mediterranean

Servings 5

Ingredients

  

• 1/3 cup bread crumbs or dried bread
• 3 tbsp greek yogurt, Keifer or milk
• 1 lb ground lamb
• 1 shallot minced
• 1/4 cup chopped mint
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 3-4 cloves roasted garlic
• 2 tsp sumac
• 1 tsp kosher
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp black pepper ground

For the Glaze

• 1/2 cup fig jam
• 1/2 orange juice of
• 1/4 tsp Cavender's Greek Seasoning
• 1 tbsp butter

Instructions

 

• Add milk/Keifer/yogurt to breadcrumbs and allow bread crumbs to absorb the liquid. Sit for 5-10 mins. If breadcrumbs still appear dry, add more liquid, a teaspoon at a time.
• Mix together ground lamb and all remaining ingredients until just combined. Roll into 1/2" meatballs and set aside. If desired, you can make bigger or smaller meatballs, but you will need to adjust time.
• To pan fry meatballs, heat 1-2 tbsp of oil over medium high heat. Cook meatballs until browned on all sides, but still a little pink in the middle. About 150 degrees internally.

  To bake, arrange meatballs on a cookie sheet fitted with a rack or aluminum foil that has been sprayed. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until meatballs are 150 degrees internally.

  NOTE: If eating plain, cook to 155 remove and allow to come up to 160 degrees.

For the Glaze

• Combine fig jam, juice from orange and greek seasoning in a skillet over medium-low heat. Cook until combined and smooth. Finish with a knob of butter and stir until butter is fully incorporated. Remove from heat.
• Toss meatballs in glaze until fully covered. Make sure temperature reaches 155 to allow carryover heat to cook them to 160 degrees. Serve with mint yogurt or another sauce. Enjoy!

Keyword brunch, easter, holiday, lamb, meatballs