Minted Lamb Meatballs in Red Wine Gravy

Minted lamb meatballs, succulent, juicy & loaded with flavour, all wrapped up in a silky, fully flavoured red wine gravy, proper comfort food.

A simple meal that comes together in around an hour, which can be scaled up or down in size easily with little impact on the cooking time.

Minced Lamb Meatballs

Meatballs have become almost inextricably associated with spaghetti and meatballs, it certainly was not always the case growing up in the UK. I blame Garfield!

I was raised on pork and offal meatballs called faggots.

And my site is littered with meatballs of many types; I have beef meatballs with a distinctly Moroccan influence. Venison meatballs with an Indian influence, British black pudding meatballs and chicken meatballs with a much more European flavouring of honey and mustard.

These minted lamb meatballs feature flavours that I have used here before. British mint sauce, red wine and stock!

They are the bedrock of flavours that I use in my minted lamb shanks and minted lamb chops recipes.

This recipe cooks in a third of the time of the lamb shanks and is a little lighter on the waist, too. Well, until you add the mas,h of course, and then it is all your fault!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I prepare these lamb meatballs in advance?

Yes, of course. In fact, they taste better left to "mature" for a day in the fridge. You can either form them into meatballs or leave them as a loose meat mix. The mix will be fine in the fridge for 2-3 days.

You can freeze them as meatballs, and they will be fine in the freezer for up to 3 months. I would personally defrost before cooking for the best results.

Can I scale this recipe up to feed more people?

Yes. This recipe is ideal for scaling either up or down.

There are no implications on cooking times other than the amount of time it takes to prepare and brown the balls.

If you are cooking a lot of these meatballs, then make sure you brown them in batches rather than overcrowding a pan.

What is mint sauce?

If you are British, you know exactly what mint sauce is. If you are one of my many readers from other countries, mint sauce is a mix of sugar, vinegar and fresh mint. It is a delicious and classic British pairing for lamb.

Well-known brands include Tracklements and Colmans.

However, homemade mint sauce is superb and easy to make!

Serving Suggestions

These minted lamb meatballs cry out to be served on a bed of mash to soak up that glorious, rich red wine gravy.

Of course, mashed potato works perfectly.

However, don't get tunnel visioned with mash; these are great with either celeriac mash or swede and carrot mash.

I tend to round it out with some peas, because I love peas and the sweetness is ideal here.

But the addition of some Vichy carrots or glazed Chantenay carrots would work well too, as would some roasted tenderstem broccoli.

Equipment Used

I only mention specific brands of equipment if I think they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

• Hob/stovetop.
• Oven.
• 25cm or 10" frying pan.
• A combination of weighing scales, a measuring jug, measuring cups and spoons.
• Kitchen knife.
• Chopping board.
• Stirring and serving spoons.
• Kitchen tongs.
• Mixing bowl.