Smoked lamb Meatballs, made with American Lamb, and perfumed in a fragrant Lebanese 7 Spice blend, are hearty enough for a meal or excellent finger food for tailgating or your next dinner party. Served with cold smoked Tzatziki ricotta, this dish gives many dipping options for noshing. Dipping the meatballs in the ricotta is a full-blown sensory experience combining flavors of the Mediterranean paired with cooling Tzatziki and the beauty of this recipe is that once the meatballs have been devoured, you can still make an entire meal out of warmed pita bread or toast points, veggies and the herbaceous smoked ricotta.
Cold smoking the ricotta is an extra step that is not necessary but adds layers of flavor to this smoke-infused recipe. You can use a “smoking gun” handheld smoker device, a smoker tube or even a cedar plank with a mason jar to trap smoke flavor that can be used to infuse the ricotta with smoke flavor. If you skip this step, the Tzaziki ricotta is great on its own, though using the smoking gun tool or pulling out cedar planks to create smoke flavor for a dish is always a fun party trick.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
These smoky, flavorful lamb meatballs are the perfect fusion of Mediterranean and American flavors. The cold-smoked ricotta adds a unique depth of flavor that will impress your guests.
Ingredients for Smoked Lamb Meatballs
For the meatballs:
- 1 lb ground American lamb
- 2 small eggs, lightly beaten
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ tbsp Lebanese 7 Spice Blend (“Baharat”)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground pepper
- 3 tbsp panko
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 2 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
For the smoked ricotta tzatziki:
- 15 oz ricotta
- 1 large cucumber, halved (one half for grating, one half for serving)
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
- ½ tsp freshly ground pepper
- Juice and zest of ½ lemon
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- ⅓ cup chopped dill
- 3 tbsp olive oil (half mixed in, half reserved for drizzling
How to Make
** Full printable instructions at the recipe card at the end
- Prepare the meatballs: Combine all the lamb ingredients in a bowl until well combined. Roll into small balls and place on a wire tray or frog mat.
- Cold smoke the ricotta (cold smoking optional): If desired, place the ricotta in a glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and smoke using a smoking gun or cedar plank. This adds a smoky flavor to the ricotta.
- Smoke the meatballs: Preheat your smoker to 250°F, add wood chips, and place the meatballs on indirect heat. Smoke until they reach an internal temperature of 160°F.
- Make the tzatziki: Grate the cucumber, squeeze out excess water, and combine with ricotta, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, dill, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Smoking American lamb adds a ton of flavor to these already fragrant Lebanese spiced meatballs.
Tools Needed
- JJ George Grill Torch (Fire starter): (this is optional, you may have your own way of starting your smoker but this is my favorite tool for starting fires on my charcoal grill/smoker!)
- “Frog mats” aka grill mats for placing the smoked meatballs on the smoker (optional but great for easy cleanup and also ensuring lots of smoke flavor gets into the meat!)
- wood chips – my favorite wood chips for adding tons of flavor are Barrel Proof wood chips made from Bourbon Barrels
- Thermapen– instant read thermometer
- Smoking Gun/ Handheld smoking device (this is optional for the ricotta)
- Cheese cloth
- Box Grater
Tips
- For extra flavor, consider using a smoking gun to smoke the ricotta for extra smoke flavor
- Remember to grate the cucumber and squeeze out the extra moisture using a cheese cloth
- Serve the meatballs with grilled bread, pita bread, sliced cucumbers, and the smoked ricotta tzatziki.
- Leftovers are even better the next day!
Smoked Lamb Meatballs with Smoked Ricotta Tzatziki
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 1 lb, approximately 12-14 meatballs 1x
Description
Smoked American lamb Meatballs perfumed in a fragrant Lebanese 7 Spice blend, are hearty enough for a meal or excellent finger food for tailgating or your next dinner party. Served with cold smoked Tzatziki ricotta, this dish gives many dipping options for noshing. Dipping the meatballs in the ricotta is a full-blown sensory experience combining flavors of the Mediterranean paired with cooling Tzaziki and the beauty of this recipe is that once the meatballs have been devoured, you can still make an entire meal out of warmed pita bread or toast points, veggies and the herbaceous smoked ricotta.
Cold smoking the ricotta is an extra step that is not necessary but adds layers of flavor to this smoke-infused recipe. You can use a “smoking gun” handheld smoker device, a smoker tube or even a cedar plank with a mason jar to trap smoke flavor that can be used to infuse the ricotta with smoke flavor. If you skip this step, the Tzaziki ricotta is great on its own, though using the smoking gun tool or pulling out cedar planks to create smoke flavor for a dish is always a fun party trick.
Ingredients
Smoked American Lamb Meatballs with Smoked Ricotta Tzatziki
- 1 lb ground American lamb
- 2 small eggs, lightly beaten
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ tbsp Lebanese 7 Spice Blend, also called “Baharat”
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground pepper
- 3 tbsp panko
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 2 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Smoked Tzatziki Ricotta
- 15 oz ricotta
- 1 large cucumber- ½ for grating, use other half sliced for serving with the Tzatziki sauce
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
- ½ tsp fresh ground pepper
- Juice and zest of ½ lemon
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- ⅓ cup chopped dill
- 3 tbsp olive oil- half mixed in, reserve the other half for drizzling
Optional:
- Pita Bread or Sourdough points for dipping
- Vegetables for dipping into the ricotta Tzatziki- cucumbers, carrots, multi-colored bell pepper strips
Instructions
Directions:
Combine all the American lamb ingredients until uniformly combined. Roll them into small balls and place them on a wire tray or frog mat that will be placed on the grill/smoker for smoking.
Cold Smoked Ricotta: This part adds smoke flavor to the ricotta, however, it can be skipped and this recipe is still delicious! If you want to be “Extra”, cold smoking is a great way to add smoke flavor to any dish. Add the ricotta to a large glass bowl covered with plastic wrap. Next, using a smoking gun device (made for cold smoking cocktails or food), add wood chips to create smoke and place the tube into the bowl and secure tightly closed under the saran wrap so that the smoke infuses the ricotta. Keep the plastic wrap closed and let the smoke infuse the ricotta for a few minutes.
The next step is to put the meatballs on the smoker. Set your smoker to 250 and add wood chips to create smoke. Place your meatballs in your smoker on indirect heat and let them smoke until they reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees as the USDA recommends. Once you’ve hit 160, pull the meatballs off the smoker.
While the meatballs are smoking, it’s time to assemble the tzatziki sauce. This next step requires draining the extra water out of the cucumber so the sauce does not get watery. Grate the cucumbers using a box grater and place the cucumbers in a cheesecloth to extract the water. Squeeze the extra water out a few times before adding the cucumber to the ricotta. Next, grate the lemon zest into the ricotta. Squeeze the juice of the ½ lemon into the ricotta. Add the chopped dill and garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil and mix until combined. Taste to see if you need more salt. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Right before serving, drizzle with remaining olive oil.
Serve the meatballs with grilled bread or pita bread warmed on the grill, sliced cucumbers, and meatballs served with toothpicks for dipping into the smoked tzatziki ricotta. This dish is excellent as a finger food as an appetizer or complete meal, and the leftovers are even better the next day (though there will rarely be leftovers!).
Notes
This post is made in partnership with the American Lamb Board. Supporting American Lamb helps support our Nation’s Farmers and Ranchers so consider trying Lamb at your next meal!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Dinner, Lunch, Appetizer, Lamb Recipes
- Method: Smoke/Grill
- Cuisine: Mediterranean Food, American Food
