Recipe of the week 1/17/10 - Swedish meatballs

[chitownmelli]

Hey everyone! The recipe that I chose for the recipe of the week is Swedish meatballs. Please enjoy this recipe and feel free to share yours as well, and add it to the proper category in the recipe forum as well!!!

This recipe is an adaptation of Alton Brown's swedish meatballs. I sometimes make the sauce just like he does, and I sometimes make a sauce that is more like a stroganoff sauce, another favorite of mine. I will include that sauce as well, at the bottom of the recipe :)

Ingredients

• 2 slices fresh white bread
• 1/4 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons clarified butter, divided
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• A pinch plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 pound ground chuck
• 3/4 pound ground pork
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice *I omit this
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg *I omit this
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups beef broth
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. (or 350 if you will use the baking method)

Tear the bread into pieces and place in a small mixing bowl along with the milk. Set aside.

In a 12-inch straight sided saute pan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sweat until the onions are soft. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the bread and milk mixture, ground chuck, pork, egg yolks, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, black pepper, allspice*, nutmeg*, and onions. Beat on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes.

Using a scale, weigh meatballs into 1-ounce portions and place on a sheet pan. Using your hands, shape the meatballs into rounds. (I use a 1 tbsp ice cream scoop instead of Alton's weighing method)

Heat the remaining butter in the saute pan over medium-low heat, or in an electric skillet set to 250 degrees F. Add the meatballs and saute until golden brown on all sides, about 7 to 10 minutes. (I bake mine in my pyrex pan or in mini muffin tins instead, I dislike frying meatballs)

Remove the meatballs to an ovenproof dish using a slotted spoon and place in the warmed oven. (or just leave them in there with the heat off if you use the baking method)

Once all of the meatballs are cooked, decrease the heat to low and add the flour to the pan or skillet. (you could use a little bit of the fat from the baking pan if you used the baking method) Whisk until lightly browned, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add the beef stock and whisk until sauce begins to thicken. Add the cream and continue to cook until the gravy reaches the desired consistency. Remove the meatballs from the oven, cover with the gravy and serve.


For the stroganoff like sauce

1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can of beef broth (or enough to make it your preferred consistancy)
1 c heavy cream or half and half (yes, I know this is overkill, but it's soooo gooD!)
black pepper to taste
1 c sour cream

To make this sauce, all you do is put everything except for the sour cream into a pan, wisk together and let bubble away until it is the consistancy you like - turn off the heat completely, add the sour cream, wisk to combine - pour over your meatballs and serve!

Serving suggestions for swedish meatballs - our favorite is over egg noodles, you can also do over rice or just on their own with other side dishes, or bread!

ENJOY!!!

[foggierbard9]

yummy....can't believe I never thought to make the sauce like stroganoff before...where has my brain been? LOL

This shall go on next weeks menu since this week is already shopped for.

[chitownmelli]

Please let us know if you try this recipe, and how you liked it, or what changes you made, etc. It would be fun to share!

[TiggerToo]

Hi everybody, sorry I have been gone for a couple of days (on vacation in the boonies). But I am back and rarin to go. Here is my version...

SWEDISH MEATBALLS

MEATBALLS:

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. ground pork
1/2 c. minced onions
1 tbsp garlic
3/4 c. fine dried bread crumbs
1 tbsp. minced parsley
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
1/2 c. milk

Mix all above ingredients thoroughly. Shape into balls the size of a walnut. Brown in 1/4 cup oil. Remove meatballs and make gravy.

GRAVY:

1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
3/4 c. sour cream
1/4 c. beef broth

Mix flour, paprika, and nutmeg, salt and pepper into hot fat in skillet. Stir in 2 cups boiling water and sour cream and beef broth. Return meatballs to gravy and cook 15 to 20 minutes. Serves 6 to 8.

[chitownmelli]

Welcome back ! We sure missed you!!! Your version sounds delicious as well! I will probably try them the next time around - only leaving out the nutmeg, I honestly do not like the flavor of it at all, even though it is that "something extra" in so many dishes.

Thanks so much for sharing your recipe and for reading mine!!!

[TiggerToo]

hehe! Yea quite a few peeps don't like nutmeg. I love it. I have the whole nutmeg that I actually shave fresh into my meals when I am cookin!


...and garsh..shucks...I missed y'all too. I was going stir crazy not having access to my 'puter

[TiggerToo]

Here is another one that I found (stole) from a website. I tried it a while back and loved it...

The website actually has pictures as well if you wanted to see what it should look like as you are making it.

Swedish Meatballs Recipe


Ingredients

Meatballs:

1 large yellow or white onion, peeled, grated (through a cheese grater)
2 Tbsp butter
2/3 cup milk
4-5 slices of bread, crusts removed, bread cut into pieces
2 eggs
1 pound ground pork
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 teaspoons black pepper

Sauce:

6 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup flour
1 quart beef stock
1/2 to 3/4 cup sour cream
Salt
2 to 4 Tbsp of Lingonberry, cranberry, red currant or raspberry jelly, more or less to taste (optional)

Method
1. Sauté the grated onion in the butter over medium-high heat until the onions soften and turn translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the bread pieces with the milk. Set aside for 15-20 minutes, or until the bread soaks up all the milk. When it does, pulverize the bread in a food processor and pour it into a large bowl.
3. Add the cooled onions to the bowl of milk and bread. Add the rest of the meatball ingredients—eggs, ground pork, ground beef, salt, nutmeg, cardamom, pepper. Using your (clean) hands, mix well for about 2 minutes until the ingredients are well combined.
3.Use a tablespoon to measure out the meat for the meatballs. As you form the meatballs, set each one aside on a sheet pan or plate. You should get 40 to 50 meatballs.
4. Heat 6 tablespoons of butter for the sauce in a large sauté pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted, reduce the heat to medium and add some of the meatballs. Do not crowd the pan. Work in batches, browning them slowly on all sides. Be gentle when you turn them so they don't break apart. Do not cook the meatballs all the way through, only brown them at this stage. Once browned, use a slotted spoon to remove them from the pan, setting them aside so you can make the sauce with the remaining pan butter.
5. Start the sauce. (Check the pan butter to see if it has burned. If the butter tastes burnt, discard the butter and replace with new 6 tablespoons.) Heat the pan butter on medium until hot. Slowly whisk in the flour. Stirring often, let the flour cook until it is the color of coffee-with-cream; this is a classic roux.
6. As the roux is cooking, heat the beef stock in another pot until it simmers. When the roux has cooked until the color of coffee-with-cream, slowly add the hot beef stock a little at a time. Everything will sputter at first, and the sauce will seize up and solidify. Keep stirring and adding stock slowly, and it will loosen up and become silky.
7. Add the meatballs to the sauce and turn the heat down to low. Cover the pot and cook on low heat for 10 minutes. You might need to do this in batches.
8. To finish, move the meatballs to a serving dish. Add the sour cream and mix well. Either add the lingonberry jelly to the sauce or serve it on the side.
9. Serves 4 vikings, or 8-10 regular people.

[chitownmelli]

That sounds really delicious! I take my lingonberries on the side though, with crackers. I might really have to think about trying to put them in the sauce just once :) This sounds like more of a brown sauce, and I know that the brown sauce and the addition of the cardamom make it very traditionally swedish. Thanks so much for sharing this amazing recipe, I've never seen one like it before!!! Wonder if I can rep you again yet? LOL!

[TiggerToo]

Aww thanks! Can you tell I love to cook! I am trying to get my blog link in my siggy....I actually blog on recipes I make up/try. One of these days I will get it in my siggy

[chitownmelli]

Ha ha serves 4 Vikings! Love it!