Open the door to a whole new taste experience for your ground beef. These Moroccan Balls will enlighten your senses and provide a much-needed break from your normal, humdrum ground beef recipes. All the wonderful Moroccan-inspired spices run deeply through these tender discs of ground beef, and when kissed with that creamy cucumber and yogurt sauce, it brings new life to your dinner table in a quick and effortless way. Moroccan Balls will be a fast favorite to serve with couscous, rice, or any of your preferred side dishes. Get on the ball and grill some up today!
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 large egg
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/4 pounds ground beef, 85% lean
- 1/3 cup panko
- vegetable oil, to taste, for oiling the grill
- couscous, optional, to taste, cooked and warm, for serving
For the yogurt sauce:
- 1/2 English cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, finely diced
- 1 cup Greek yogurt, low-fat or whole milk
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Directions
Step 1 –Preheat the grill to medium-high heat, about 500 degrees F.
Step 2 –In a medium bowl, add the egg, the garlic, the cumin, the allspice, the cilantro, 1 1/4 teaspoons of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of the black pepper and mix to combine.
Step 3 –Add the ground beef and the panko and mix with your hands until well-combined.
Step 4 –Using a 1/3 cup measuring scoop, form the meat mixture into eight disc-shaped meatballs.
Step 5 –Carefully oil the grill grates with the vegetable oil until glossy and coated.
Step 6 –Transfer the meatballs to the prepared grill, cover, and cook until they reach an internal temperature of 135 degrees F.
Step 7 –Transfer the meatballs to a plate and let them rest for 3 minutes.
Step 8 –While the meatballs are cooking, in a small bowl, add the cucumber, the Greek yogurt, the lemon juice, the dill, the remaining salt, and the remaining black pepper and mix well to combine.
Step 9 –Transfer the yogurt sauce to the refrigerator and chill until ready to serve.
Step 10 –Serve the meatballs on the couscous, topped with the yogurt sauce.
