In Minnesota, the “Juicy Lucy,” a burger filled with a molten cheese centre, is all the rage! I have taken the Juicy Lucy in this recipe and turned it into a Lamb and Feta Cheese meatball snack! Check out this easy and delectable recipe in levelling up how you serve your meatballs!
Feta Cheese Stuffed Meatballs
Print RecipeIngredients
- 1 pound of ground lamb
- ½ cup of whole or 2% milk
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon of cumin
- Juice of 2 lemons; zest from 1 lemon
- 1/3 cup of fresh mint, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon of black pepper
- 1 cup of olive oil
- 2 ounces of Feta cheese chunk cut into 1/4 squares (yields about 16 – 24 cubes of cheese)
- 2 slices of white bread (like Italian white)
- 1 small yellow onion, grated
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 ½ teaspoon of oregano
- 1 ¼ cup of dry white wine
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 1 ½ teaspoon of salt
- ¼ cup of flour
- 1 bay leaf
- Fresh parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Tear bread into chunks, place in a bowl and pour milk over it to soak. After 5 minutes, squeeze all of the liquid out of the bread with your hands. Keep the bread and discard the milk.
- Make the meatball mix: In a medium bowl, combine the ground lamb, bread, onion, garlic, egg, cumin, oregano, juice from 1 lemon, lemon zest, 1/4 cup of wine, salt, pepper and mint. Using your hands, mix it all for a full minute. Once combined, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place the meatball mix in the refrigerator for as little as an hour or as many as 8 hours.
- Prepare the meatballs: Remove meat from the fridge and shape it into palm-sized patties. Create a little well in the centre with your finger and place one Feta cube in the well. Shape the meat around the cheese, making a meatball that is roughly the size of a golf ball. Repeat this process with all of the meatball mixtures. Next, create a meatball dredging assembly line. On the first plate, sprinkle the flour and season with salt and pepper. The second plate will remain vacant; you will put your flour dredged meatballs here. Roll each ball in the flour, tap off any excess flour and place on the clean plate. Repeat this procedure until all of the meatballs are coated in flour.
- Using a heavy-bottomed pan or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat; it is ready when it is glistening like waves. Add the meatballs and cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, turn the meatballs throughout the cooking process, browning all sides evenly. Remove the meatballs one at a time and place them on a paper towel-lined plate, soaking up the excess oil.
- Pour most of the olive oil out of the pot, leaving in about 2 tablespoons. Turn the burner to high heat and pour in the remaining white wine. Using a wooden spoon, deglaze the bottom of the pot, scraping up all of the flavour bits stuck to the bottom. After 1 minute, add the chicken stock, the remaining lemon juice and the bay leaf and bring it to a boil. After one minute, lower the heat, bringing the liquid to a simmer. Add the meatballs and cover the pot. Simmer the meatballs for 20 minutes, occasionally basting with the lemon-white wine sauce. After 20 minutes, check to make sure the meatballs are cooked all the way through and taste the sauce if it needs additional salt and pepper; adjust here if necessary.
- These meatballs can be served right away, although they may be prepared several hours in advance and left to cool at room temperature; this is how the Greeks would eat them! When you are ready to serve, mound the meatballs in a serving dish, drown them in a deep pool of lemony sauce, or take a rustic approach by serving them straight out of the pot! Sprinkle fresh parsley and serve it with a piece of crusty bread for dipping in the sauce!
- Serve these Greek tapas and other Greek treats like kalamata olives, tzatziki, and of course, more cheese!
