I made this for New Years, it was very good. One problem though - finely mincing salt pork is really hard and really time consuming. The thick fat just slides around and was chunky in the meatballs. Next time I may try grinding with my Kitchen Aid mixer - grinder attachment.

Any tips on finely grinding salt pork?

Love them little meatballs. Great party food.

Hey Jeni, I think fresh oregano might be a very good - and very Greek - substitute for the mint. Thanks for the heads up on the salt pork, Chris. I sometimes grind my own chuck for burgers using my Kitchen Aid grinder attachment. Nothing like fresh ground meat to make a burger. That said, I partially freeze the cubes of meat prior to grinding to make it easier. I'm sure you could do the same with the salt pork. If you can't find Greek yogurt, try this: Take the same amount of plain whole milk or low-fat yougurt, set a wire strainer lined with lightly moistened cheesecloth over a bowl, put the yogurt in the strainer, shove in the fridge for a few hours (or overnight - cover all with plastic wrap), and...voila! You'll be amazed at the amount of water in the bowl, which leaves you with a dense, very thick Greek-style yogurt.

Hi Elise
During my trip to Crete I visited some little restraint and ate tasty Greek meal. One dish was the best it is "Xirino me selino prasa" -pork with celery and leeks.I've been looking for this recipe in many blogs. Your variant sounds very very similar to the famous Greek dish.

While my in-laws (both Greek, and both excellent cooks) would never dream of putting a jalapeno pepper in their keftedes, I always opt for a couple of squirts of Sriracha hot sauce when I'm making these at home. But then again I put Tabasco in my spanakopita as well...

You might also want to consider serving these meatball with hummus. Cut up some cukes and/or other crudites and you pretty much have a complete meal!

Thanks for the recipe, I somehow stumbled upon this site a few weeks ago. I made this today and the flavor combo was great, but I could not mince the salt pork, even after freezing, and the larger chunks didn't melt, and distorted the texture a little. It didn't occur to me until after I cooked them, that I have a grinder attachement for my kitchen aid on the back shelf.

Most of your recipes look great and I can't wait to try another.

The method Jonathan's describes above for making Greek-style yogurt works very well. If you do not have cheese cloth at home, you can just use the paper filter and cone from your drip coffee maker. Makes excellent thick yogurt.