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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 that can be scaled up or down in size easily with little impact on the cooking time.

Close up minted lamb meatballs with red wine gravy served with mashed potato and peas.

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, yes really!

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 mash of course, and then it is all your fault!

Overhead minted lamb meatballs with red wine gravy served with mashed potato and peas.

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 Tracklemans and Colmans, I used to be able to find both in Hungary with a bit of effort.

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

Cut open minted lamb meatball with red wine gravy served with mashed potato and peas.

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.

Minted lamb meatball with red wine gravy served with mashed potato and green peas.

Equipment Used

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

  • Stovetop.
  • Oven.
  • 28cm or 11″ frying pan or skillet, not nonstick if possible.
  • Weighing scales and or measuring cups and spoons.
  • Kitchen knife.
  • Chopping board.
  • Stirring and serving spoons.
  • Kitchen tongs.
  • Mixing bowl.
Minted lamb meatball with red wine gravy served with mashed potato and green peas.
Yield: 2 Servings

Minted Lamb Meatballs Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

Easy and delicious minted lamb meatballs with a delicious and silky smooth red wine gravy, perfect with mash and peas!

Ingredients

For the Meatballs:

  • 350g (12oz) Minced Lamb
  • 1 (~35g) Shallot
  • 2 Garlic Cloves
  • 1½ Tbsp Dried Mint
  • 1 Tsp Dried Rosemary
  • ¼ Tsp Salt
  • 1 Egg Yolk
  • 1 Tsp Cooking Oil

For the Red Wine Gravy!

  • 25g (1 Tbsp + 2 Tsp) Butter
  • 175ml (¾ Cup) Red Wine
  • 175ml (¾ Cup) Lamb Stock
  • 1-2 Tbsp Mint Sauce
  • 1 Tsp Cornflour (Cornstarch in the US)

Instructions

  1. Peel and dice the shallot as finely as possible.
  2. Peel and dice the garlic as finely as you can.
  3. Add all of the ingredients for the meatballs with the exception of the oil to a bowl and mix with your hands until thoroughly combined.
  4. Form the meatball mix into 6 meatballs, they should be around 65g each and 5cm (2") in diameter.
  5. Heat a heavy based frying pan (not non stick) over a medium high heat.
  6. Roll the meatballs in the cooking oil and then cook the meatballs getting them nicely coloured all over.
  7. Remove the meatballs from the pan and then add the butter for the gravy.
  8. When the butter begins to foam pour in the red wine turn the heat up to high and reduce the wine by half.
  9. Add the lamb stock and mint sauce and stir to combine. Have a taste of this sauce now and add salt as required.
  10. Return the meatballs to the pan, then transfer them to the oven and cook at 180°C or 350°F for 20 minutes.
  11. Remove the pan from the oven.
  12. Mix the cornflour with one tablespoon of water.
  13. Remove the meatballs from the frying pan and stir in the cornflour until the sauce thickens.
  14. Return the meatballs to the sauce and stir to coat with the gravy.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 780Total Fat: 53gSaturated Fat: 23gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 25gCholesterol: 292mgSodium: 636mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 1gSugar: 4gProtein: 47g

Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.

Did you make this recipe?

If you made this recipe, I'd love to see what you did and what I can do better, share a picture with me on Instagram and tag me @krumplibrian and tell me how it went!

Linda Beeton

Thursday 18th of November 2021

Can't wait to try these minty meatballs Brian, the shanks were a huge success. !! Also seriously thinking about the meat pies, thinking in particular about my 90 year old father Stan who in /54 moved my mom and grandparents from Birmingham to Canada but still raves about his Brit. fav's.

thanks

Linda

Brian Jones

Thursday 18th of November 2021

I love these, these definitely have a similar flavour profile to my minted lamb shanks, we've eaten them a lot recently :D

I'm originally from Birmingham and love a good pie too. I moved back to the UK fairly recently and now I do not have to make my own pastry (I really do not like making pastry lol) there will be a few new ones in coming months.

Enjoy

Brian

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