Pomegranate-Glazed Lamb Meatballs

Name: Pomegranate-Glazed Lamb Meatballs
Total time: 20 min
Yield: About 2 dozen meatballs, or about 8 servings
Cuisine: middle eastern
Ingredients: 1 pound ground lamb; 1 small clove garlic, minced; 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; Olive oil, for brushing; 3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses; Chopped fresh mint, as needed

By Melissa Clark

Total Time: 20 minutes
Rating: 5(598)
Comments: Read comments

Back in 2012, for her Good Appetite column, Melissa Clark took inspiration from the kinds of seasonal cocktails usually found at exclusive bars and restaurants and experimented with them at home. She created a selection of drinks, and let them inspire a group of snacks. Among them was this dish, lamb meatballs with a pomegranate glaze, which paired elegantly with the grenadine of an El Presidente cocktail. But they’re just as nice without the cocktail. Have them alone, as a light snack or part of an evening of tapas, or pair them with some couscous and goat cheese for a larger meal.

Featured in: Allowing Cocktails to Stir the Meal

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Ingredients

Yield:About 2 dozen meatballs, or about 8 servings

1pound ground lamb
1small clove garlic, minced
¾teaspoon kosher salt
½teaspoon finely grated orange zest
½teaspoon black pepper
Olive oil, for brushing
3tablespoons pomegranate molasses
Chopped fresh mint, as needed

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
In a large bowl, knead together the lamb, garlic, salt, orange zest and pepper until combined. Form into 1-inch meatballs. Transfer to a foil-lined baking sheet and brush with oil.
Step 2
Heat the broiler. Run meatballs under the broiler until golden and just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Brush immediately with pomegranate molasses. Spear with toothpicks, sprinkle with mint and serve.

Ratings

5 out of 5

598 user ratings

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Comments

John7 years ago

Very tasty ... but 5 minutes under the broiler left them raw on the bottom. I broiled for 5 minutes, rotated the meatballs 180, and did another 5-6 minutes.

Brent7 years ago

Brushing the molasses at the end was not working for me. I quickly put all the warm meatballs in a bowl then drizzled molasses on top and gently stirred before plating them.

Dessert person7 years ago

5 mins was enough for mine. Make the meatballs small and put them pretty close to the broiler.

Libby4 weeks ago

Followed the recipe to a T, found these dry and flavorless.

Jill1 month ago

Very happy with how these turned out! We will be making them again. This recipe made 23 meatballs, which took about 10 minutes to cook. They were tender, cooked through and not dry at all. We added some dried mint and used a whole orange worth of zest, as well as using shallot-infused olive oil in place of the normal stuff. We used wild garlic in place of the regular garlic to make this low-fodmap. Just mind how much molasses you put on your meatballs! We had them for dinner (four portions), with pitta breads, tzatziki and a salad.

Sam6 months ago

These were just OK, although we quite liked the pomegranate molasses glaze, which I rolled them around in rather than drizzled. But even using triple the garlic and twice the orange zest, the meatballs didn't taste like much other than lamb, and they were a little bit leaden — needed something to lighten and tenderize them. At 1" in diameter, they were done broiling in under 6 minutes.

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