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No Greek celebration or party is complete without keftedes. Because they are SO GOOD!
Keftedes are also served as an appetizer or side dish for an elaborate meal. Usually, meatballs are fried, but for this recipe, I have grilled them. Kababed Keftedes! Fried or grilled, these juicy meatballs sandwiched in a folded Greek fluffy flat bread, with slices of tomato, and a couple dollops of tzatziki sauce, are absolutely fabulous!
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Keftedes • Greek Meatballs
Recipe by: Fae’s Twist & Tango (fae-magazine.com)
INGREDIENTS
• 227 g/ 8 oz / 1 medium onion
• 3 Tbsp breadcrumbs (I used Panko)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried mint
• ¾ tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• 4 Tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped [1] + a few sprigs for garnish (cilantro works well too)
• 454 g/ 1 lb ground lamb meat (I used 15% fat),
. -or- beef, veal, turkey, chicken (or mix of two or more)
• 1 egg
• vegetable oil
• 10 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for at least 20 minutes
DIRECTIONS
◊ Grate the onion in a medium sized bowl. To it, add breadcrumbs, oregano, mint, thyme, salt, pepper, and mix well and let rest for 10 minutes. This allows some time for the breadcrumbs to absorb the liquid from the onion and at the same time for the dried herbs to partially reconstitute for better flavor and aroma.
◊ Meanwhile, chop parsley. To the onion mixture, add parsley, meat, and using hand [2], knead and combine well [3]. Add egg and further knead well. Cover the bowl tightly and place in the refrigerator to meld and chill for 2+ hours. When chilled completely, it will be easier to shape the meatballs.
◊ Have a saucer with 1 tsp vegetable oil ready. Touching the oil in the saucer, scarcely rub the oil to the palms [2]. Take a chunk of meat and make balls slightly larger than the size of a walnut (definitely larger than the space between the bars of the grilling grate). Place the meatballs on a large, very lightly greased plate. To maintain firmness, and ease of handling, cover the plate with the meatballs, and place it in the freezer for 45 ~ 60 minutes (not longer).
◊ For ease of grilling, insert two skewers 1.5cm ~ 2cm apart, through 4 meatballs in a row, (see photo).
◊ Clean and oil the grilling grate. Heat the grate on medium fire. Adjust the fire level on your particular grill, not to burn the meatballs. Then grill meatballs until well browned on one side (about 3 ~ 4 minutes) and flip to grill the other side (about 2 minutes). If needed, grill the sides until the meatballs are cooked to the center. Plate them and keep them warm until serving.
◊ Serving suggestions: Accompaniment may include, Greek flat bread, tzatziki sauce,
Greek salad (or Salad Shirazi), lemon wedges, sliced or grilled tomatoes, and/or steamed saffron rice Persian/Iranian style!
◊ This keftedes/meatballs recipe may be used to shape the meat mixture round/oblong in hamburger patties, and grilled. Just as delicious!
[1] I have one bunch chopped parsley (same with cilantro) in a resealable bag in the freezer, ready to be used as needed.
[2] Wearing of surgical glove to work in the kitchen is highly recommended to protect the youthful hands. 😉
[3] Never use food-processor to combine meat. It will cut off the fine sinew of the meat which is needed to be stretched by kneading, to hold the ingredients together, to keep meat mixture juicy and not dense.
~ Kalí órexi! ~
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So, what’s cooking in your kitchen?
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These are so good! You can see how hard it is for me to try and give up meat. If I focused on cake, which I would love to do, I would become fat. Eating great food is such a dlilemma. It defines who we are.
Oh, tell me about it. These keftedes are hard to resist alright. And now, as for cakes, occasionally also qualifies for moments on the lips and forever on your hips. 🙁
mmm. . .These meatballs look awesome.
Thank you, Sheryl. They’re also good fried. 🙂
These are lovely. I have such a weakness for meatballs so I will have to make these very soon.
Hi Phillip, Me too! I love meatballs and these are really, really good. Enjoy them! 😀 )))
Oh Fae, these are amazing. I’ve been off the grid for a bit and have so much catching up to do on your lovely blog. I love meatballs from every culture and these are no exception. I love how tiny they are and the mint is a game changer!
Hi Amanda, I noticed you were doing some travelling! 😀 Oh yes, the herbs add so much to the distinct, delicious flavor of the keftedes. If not time for grilling, these meatballs taste just as good fried. Thank you for the visit! xx 🙂
Another lovely recipe! Lamb is so expensive in France but next time it’s on offer I’m definitely giving these a go..:)
Bonjour, Amanda, I do believe lamb meat is the best fit for this recipe. However, mixture of beef and pork may also work well. It really is a juicy, super tasty meatballs. 😀
Gorgeous barbequed meatballs Fae. I had to read it again to notice that you had cooked them on the grill. Wow! Love that you’ve made it with lamb too, I can only imagine the flavors of all the other spices thrown in with the lamb. Tzatziki sauce would be a perfect dipping sauce, and a Greek salad? Wow, now we’re talking 🙂
Hi Loretta, I hadn’t had lamb kabab for a long time. I am so glad I used lamb. The combination of the spices made the lamb so flavorful and super delicious. The best part of the meatballs was the juiciness. I am trying to figure out a way to grill them on skewers (probably two sticks through four of them) to make the grilling smoother. 🙂
Fae,
My husband and I love Greek food and am definitely making these on the grill! Loved all the tips you have with the recipe.
thank you for sharing!
Hi Sandhya, I loved Greek food even before I met my half Greek husband. For a while there, I used to make Greek food quite often. I miss them now and started to cooking them again. These meatballs are very flavorful and heavenly. 🙂
I just love meatballs and these Greek meatballs sound even better with those herbs you used!
Hi Nancy, You’ve go it! These herbs really do wonders to the taste, and the aroma. Mmm Mmm! 🙂
My kind of meatballs; they sound delicious with all the aromatic herbs, and I love the idea of grilling them!
Hi Persian Mama! Actually, my original plan was to grill them skewered. To keep their shape for skewering, I put the raw meatballs in the freezer for 15 minutes. Then skewered 4 each on a soaked bamboo skewers. When flipping on the grill, each meatball turned its own way. I used a large grilling spatula to have control of keeping them uniformed, but it just did not work. Therefore, grilled them individually.
Hmmm, maybe I should have inserted 2 skewers. I’m grilling this weekend again, and will insert two skewers to see if it works. If it works, process will definitely be simpler and also saves time… and if so, I will add the option to the recipe. 🙂
Never thought to grill meatballs, Fae…looks like these were cooked to perfection/ Great blend of spices and I can imagine, stuffed in a pita, these are Fabulous!
Hi Nancy, I never thought of grilling meatballs either. But it works. 😀 ))) Yes, yes, yes, give it a try in a bread with tzatziki sauce and you’ll love it! 🙂
I love the lovely colors in the plate. Brilliant plating!
Thank you, Chris. 🙂
I just love meatballs and thanks for including some serving suggestions. Never tried to grill them – great idea 🙂
Thank you, Judi! I just love meatballs too. A hundred items on the table and a dish of meatballs… meatball dish is what I get drawn to. 😀 )))
Wonderful recipe Fae, love Greek food and keftides are delicous. I think I could eat them every day.
Oh Suzanne, me too! This Greek recipe keftedes are juicy, flavorful and satisfying. The very word ‘meatball’ makes me excited and hungry. 😀 )))
These look so delicious! It’s so interesting how different cuisines have so much in common. We call these “Tefteles”. Never tried grilling them though. I’m trying to figure out what to cook for dinner, and now your Keftedes are definitely an option. I happen to have tzatziki sauce as well 😉
Hi Vera, Good choice for tonight! Further, to make it easier/faster to grill, make them in hamburger patties (although, tefteles are cuter 🙂 ). Oh, I know your family would love it dipping into tzatziki sauce!