Lamb Meatballs with Yogurt Sauce

| | 1 posted by | photo by Victoria Pearson
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Two lamb meatball skewers resting beside a dish of yogurt sauce.

Adapted from Tori Ritchie | Party Appetizers: Small Bites, Big Flavor | Chronicle, 2004

Meatballs are a cocktail party standard, but this version, dunked into minty yogurt sauce, is hardly predictable. The spicing takes its cue from merguez, a type of Moroccan sausage. The meat will taste best if blended up to a day in advance, but cooked at the last possible moment or it will dry out.–Tori Ritchie

LC Made In The Style of Merguez Note

What exactly does it mean to be made in the style of Merguez? It means to be robustly and generously seasoned with an earthy heat that slowly creeps from the tip of your tongue to your toes. It’s not an overly spicy heat, and it’s not the sorta heat that has you gasping for air. It’s just a really nice heat.

Merguez Meatballs with Yogurt Sauce

  • Quick Glance
  • (1)
  • 30 M
  • 50 M
  • Makes about 20 servings
5/5 - 1 reviews
Print RecipeBuy the Party Appetizers: Small Bites, Big Flavor cookbook

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Ingredients

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  • For the meatballs
  • For the yogurt sauce

Directions

Make the meatballs
Dump the meat in a large bowl and add the garlic, cilantro, vinegar, paprika, cumin, coriander, salt, and a generous grind pepper. Mix it with your hands until well blended. (You can cover and refrigerate the meat mixture for up to 24 hours.)
Preheat a broiler and adjust the rack so it is about 4 inches from the heating element.
Form the meat mixture into 1-inch meatballs and place them on a rimmed baking sheet, working in batches if necessary. Broil the meatballs until they’re no longer pink inside, about 8 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice so the meatballs cook evenly. Transfer the meatballs to paper towels to drain.
Make the yogurt sauce
Blend the yogurt, mint, and cilantro in a food processor or a blender. (You can cover and refrigerate the yogurt sauce for up to 24 hours.)
To serve
Skewer the meatballs with toothpicks and serve them immediately on a platter with the yogurt sauce in a small bowl alongside. Don’t forget to set out small dishes or glasses for depositing used toothpicks.
Print RecipeBuy the Party Appetizers: Small Bites, Big Flavor cookbook

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Recipe Testers Reviews

Recipe Tester Avatar
Matilda Luk

Quick and simple to make, these meatballs are full of flavor. The accompanying sauce, cool and fresh-tasting, makes a great counterpart to the savory meat. They were devoured rather greedily.

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Merguez Meatballs with Yogurt Sauce Recipe © 2004 Tori Ritchie. Photo © 2004 Victoria Pearson. All rights reserved. All materials used with permission.

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Comments

  1. This was delicious, and the spices do give the lamb a very sausage-y taste. I’d consider adding a little bit of heat the next time — perhaps a hotter paprika or aleppo pepper. Additionally, I really made them 1 inch in size, and found the meatballs best when cooked just under 8 minutes. They tended to dry out slightly otherwise.

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