This is a list of notable meatball dishes. A
meatball is ground or minced
meat rolled into a small
ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as
bread crumbs, minced
onion,
eggs,
butter, and seasoning.[1] Meatballs are cooked by
frying,
baking,
steaming, or
braising in sauce. There are many types of meatballs using different types of meats and spices, and most cuisines have a version of the dish.[2]
Faggot – a dish in the United Kingdom typically consisting of minced pork[5] liver and heart, wrapped in bacon, with onion and breadcrumbs. It is often cooked in a crock with gravy and served with peas and mashed potatoes. Faggots can also be made with beef.
Frikadeller – flat, pan-fried meatballs of minced meat, often likened to the Danish version of meatballs. The origin of the dish is unknown but the dish is most often associated with Danish cuisine specifically, or Scandinavian cuisine in general.
Frikkadel – a traditional
Afrikaans dish comprising usually baked, but sometimes deep-fried, meatballs prepared with onion, bread, eggs, vinegar and spices.
Kibbeh – a Levantine dish[8] made of
bulgur (cracked wheat), minced onions, and finely ground lean beef, lamb, goat, or camel meat with Middle Eastern spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, allspice). Some types of kibbeh are shaped into balls or patties, and baked, cooked in broth, or served raw.[9]Kibbeh is considered to be the
national dish of many Middle Eastern countries.[10]
Klopsiki – a Polish meatball dish often prepared using tomato sauce[a]
Kotlet mielony – a Polish dish consisting of minced meat cutlet with eggs, bread crumbs, garlic, and salt and pepper rolled into a ball and fried with onions and butter
Köttbullar – Swedish meatballs that are typically prepared with ground pork or a meat mix, diced onion, breadcrumbs and broth. Cream is sometimes used.
Leberknödel – a traditional dish of German,[12] Austrian and Czech cuisines. It is usually composed of beef liver, although in the German
Palatinate region
pork is used instead. The meat is ground and mixed with
bread,
eggs,
parsley and various
spices, often
nutmeg or
marjoram. In Austria
spleen is often mixed with the liver in a 1/3 ratio.
Meatballs with cuttlefish – a traditional
Catalan dish of meatballs with cuttlefish, these two elements are fused together in one of the many dishes of the Catalan version of surf'n'turf
Mititei – a traditional Romanian dish of grilled ground meat rolls made from a mixture of beef, lamb and pork with spices, such as garlic, black pepper, thyme, coriander, anise, savory, and sometimes a touch of paprika. Sodium bicarbonate and broth or water are also added to the mixture.
Nem nguội – Vietnamese meatballs that are a variation of the Nem nướng meatballs. They are small and rectangular in shape, and stuffed with vermicelli. The reddish meat is covered with peppers and typically a chili pepper. Very spicy, they are eaten almost exclusively as a cocktail snack.
Nem nướng – (literally "grilled sausage") Vietnamese grilled pork sausage or grilled meatballs
Porcupines – ground-beef meatball, ingredients including chopped onions and long-grain rice. When cooked (traditionally in canned tomato soup) the rice projects from the meatball, creating the porcupine-look.
Skilpadjies – a traditional South African food consisting of lamb's liver wrapped in netvet (
caul fat), which is the fatty membrane that surrounds the kidneys. Most cooks mince the liver, add coriander, chopped onion, salt and Worcestershire sauce then wrap balls of this mixture with the netvet and secure it with a toothpick. The balls, approximately 80 mm (3.1 in) in diameter, are normally barbecued (grilled over an open fire) and ready when the fat is crisp.
Stewed meatball – also known as Lion's Head, it is a dish from the
Huaiyang cuisine of
eastern China, consisting of large pork meatballs stewed with vegetables. There are two varieties: white (or plain), and
red (红烧, cooked with soy sauce).
Tsukune – Japanese chicken meatballs most often cooked
yakitori style, but also can be fried or baked
Şiş köfte – a köfte or kebab variant in the Turkish cuisine. It consists of minced lamb, mutton, veal or beef, or a mixture of some of these meats with herbs, often including parsley and mint, on a şiş (skewer), grilled.
Smyrna meatballs, also called soutzoukakia Smyrneika (σουτζουκάκια σμυρνέικα) or İzmir köfte: elongated meatballs in spicy sauce
Sulu köfte – a Turkish stew or thick soup (çorba) with köfte
^"Klopsiki: This is the traditional meatball, ranging in size from that of a small walnut to that of a small apple. It is rarely perfectly round, as it gets slightly flattened with the spatula during browning."[11]