SWEDISH MEATBALLS

catlover — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 21:57:05 GMT

SWEDISH MEATBALLS

JANUARY 30, 2017 BY NAGI 8 COMMENTS

Arguably one of the best meatballs in the world: Swedish Meatballs!!! Juicy meatballs with a hint of fragrant spice and smothered in a creamy gravy. Follow my two little tips that make all the difference for truly soft, extra tasty meatballs. And watch how I roll them – fast!

I’ve declared before and will declare again: we need more ball shaped food in this world. Every ball shaped food I know is delicious. I am pretty sure that it’s my favourite food shape. If there was to be such a thing. 😁 It sounds ridiculous, I know – but think about it! Arancini Balls (I die). Chinese Sesame Balls (One of the best items on the Yum Cha cart). Takoyaki (Japanese deep fried balls with octopus inside – I’m dying again). Doughnut Balls (OMG OMG). Cheese Balls (Oh yeah….). Truffles and all other manner of sweets in ball shapes…

OK, I know I’m missing a million others, but the list is long and I can’t think of a single one I don’t go mad over.

The thing with balls shaped food is that it’s just so darn easy to pop into your mouth. Is that the appeal, I wonder?

Anyway. The point I’m leading to is that for someone who loves ball shaped food so much, there is a serious lack of them on my site.

So I decided to do something about it. Announcing….Meatball Mania!!!

OK….so Meatball Mania is not a real thing. It’s something my friend Jo from Jo Cooks and I made up. We both concur that ball shaped food is awesome, and that of all ball shaped food, meatballs are probably the best. To which I confessed disappointment that I had so few meatball recipes on my site.

And thus Meatball Mania was born. On the last Monday of every month, both Jo and I will post a meatball recipe. Oh imagine the possibilities…… 😁

On the meatball front, I’m drastically behind schedule because when you search Jo Cooks, she has no few than 18 meatball recipes on her site. EIGHTEEN!!! (Update: It’s now 19. Here’s her offering for today: Taco Meatball Ring. OMG OMG!)

So I have some serious catching up to do. I want to release the demon within and come up with some outrageous meatballs, but the sensible side of me says to do classic favorites first. Italian Meatballs – tick! Now onto the next epic one: Swedish Meatballs. 😋

Are you ready for the Meatball-athon? I am. BRING IT ON! – Nagi xx

PS Don’t miss the first 2 seconds of the video. It is just everything! Oh, and you’ll also see how I roll them – fast. 👍🏻

PPS Have you ever before read such ridiculousness of an entire post talking about ball shaped food and the awesomeness of meatballs??

PPPS If you have a view on cream vs sour cream for the gravy, tell me in the comments below!!

5.0 from 2 reviews

SWEDISH MEATBALLS

PREP TIME

20 mins

COOK TIME

30 mins

TOTAL TIME

50 mins

{Recipe video below} Juicy meatballs smothered in a beautiful creamy gravy, with a hint of spicing that Swedish Meatballs are known for. I deviate from the traditional recipe by using my method of soaking chopped bread in grated onion which adds more flavour and makes extra soft meatballs - see Note 1 for more info.

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Serves: 5

INGREDIENTS

Meatballs

2 slices sandwich bread, crusts removed, chopped into small cubes (Note 2)
1 medium onion (Note 3)
300g / 10 oz ground beef (mince)
300g / 10 oz ground pork (mince), or sub with beef (Note 4)
1 egg
¼ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
¼ tsp All Spice powder
¼ tsp black pepper
¾ tsp salt
1 tbsp oil

Gravy

40g / 3 tbsp butter (preferably unsalted)
3 tbsp flour
2½ cups beef broth / stock, salt reduced (or sub with chicken)
⅓ - ½ heavy / thickened cream (Note 5)

INSTRUCTIONS

Grate onion using a standard box grater (see video).
Scrape onion and juices into bowl. Add bread and mix well, set aside to soak for 1 minute. (Note 6)
Add remaining Meatball ingredients EXCEPT oil. Mix well.
Using a tablespoon measure and measure out a slightly heaped tablespoon, dollop on work surface. Repeat with remaining mixture: 25 - 30 meatballs. Then roll into shape.

Cooking

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add half the meatballs and brown all over (but raw inside still) - about 3 minutes. Remove onto plate, then brown the remaining batch.
If there is lots of oil, pour off excess and discard. Lower heat to medium.

Gravy

Add butter into skillet and melt. Add flour and stir in. Cook for 1 minute.
While mixing, add about ¼ of the beef broth - it will thicken quickly. Then gradually add remaining beef broth, stirring as you go. Switch to whisk if required to make it lump free.
When the liquid is simmering, add meatball and juices pooled on plate.
Turn up heat slightly to keep it at a rapid simmer. Cook for 8 - 10 minutes or until the liquid thickens into a thin gravy, stirring occasionally.
Add cream, simmer for a further 2 minutes then remove from stove. Serve over noodles or mashed potato!

NOTES

1. These Meatballs are made using the same technique as my Italian Meatballs of soaking diced bread in grated onion. I find this works better than other methods (soaking breadcrumbs / panko in milk, adding chopped and/or sautéed onion into the mixture) for a few reasons:

- chopped bread makes softer meatballs than breadcrumbs because I think it kind of "puffs up" when it cooks
- milk adds no flavour to the mixture, whereas the onion juices do;
- grating onion makes it finer than chopped onions so it melds better into the mixture;
- chopped onion that's not cooked before adding into the mixture can have a tendency to not cook through properly. Chunks of raw onion is not nice.

Refer to myItalian Meatballs recipe for more information and also testimonial from the many people who have tried and loved them!

2. White or wholemeal is fine, not one with grains or seeds in it.

3. Just smaller than the size of a tennis ball. White, brown or yellow.

4. I really encourage you to use a mix of pork and beef, it's part of the authentic flavour of Swedish Meatballs. But you can use all beef or all pork. You could also make this with chicken or turkey!

5. The jury is out on whether it should be made with sour cream or normal cream. I've scouted around and it varies, and I haven't found a definitive answer. I mostly make this with heavy cream - and most of the recipes I checked (dozens!) use heavy cream.

However, I know to some people, a gravy with the slight tang from sour cream is familiar. So take your pick!

The more cream used, the lighter the colour of the gravy. In the photos, I used ½ cup. For the video, I used ⅓ cup. I really truly do not notice the difference in flavour, so for the sake of being a bit healthier, I use ⅓ cup. Actually, usually I don't bother measuring properly. Just depends how generous I'm feeling on the day!

Reduced fat and pouring cream can also be used. The gravy just needs a couple of minutes longer to thicken.

6. Onion juices should soak bread, making it disintegrate (if not, add a touch of milk or water).

7. Nutrition for meatballs only, and all gravy. This doesn't take into account fat discarded from skillet.

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Serving size: 289g Calories: 424 cal

Swedish Meatballs recipe video!

Swedish Meatballs nutrition per serving.

LIFE OF DOZER

No surprises here – Dozer loves ball shaped food too. Care to take a guess if he got that meatball? 😁

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COMMENTS

carlos at Spoonabilities says
January 31, 2017 at 5:11 am
I did a similar recipe last year, and It was my first making them. I added Lingonberry into the sauce. As always, you make every recipe effortless and fun to read and to watch. Thank you for your wonderful recipes!

REPLY
Victoria of Flavors of the Sun says
January 31, 2017 at 4:29 am
I haven’t eaten Swedish meatballs in years, though it was once a favorite in my youth. Thank you for reminding me of this dish with this lovely version. I hope Dozer likes it as well.
REPLY
SandyToes says
January 31, 2017 at 4:02 am
Hi Nagi,
Thank you, soft meatballs are where it’s at. I know these are traditionally springy, but I like your way better. Not for nothing, but your advice about bread is spot on. It’s the best way to make meatballs and meatloaf. Rao’s meatballs, which are legendary, use fresh breadcrumbs (fresh and soft cannot be emphasized enough) with cheese, parsley eggs and spices mixed into the meat, then lukewarm water is added until the mix is quite soft and loose. No milk to dull the flavor. The resulting meatballs are soft and oh-so-tender. I can’t wait to see the rest of the Amaze-ball-shaped food that’s coming.
Give it up, we all know Dozer got the meatball. You can’t resist that face.
REPLY
Crystal Day says
January 31, 2017 at 2:50 am
I am a Swedish meatball nut! Grew up having them (and now making them) every Christmas. This is actually a pretty good recipe! Definitely use cream/half and half over sour cream any day!!! Also we sometimes use leftover potato water in them as well. I’m definitely going to try the onion in the bread next time. Thanks for the tip, Nagi!!
REPLY
Cheryl says
January 31, 2017 at 1:59 am
I can’t wait to make these. I love, love, LOVE all types of meatballs! So easy to just pop in your mouth!
And I KNOW that Dozer got that meatball. (probably another one too)

REPLY
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way says
January 31, 2017 at 1:40 am
Yes! Yes! Yes! Let’s hear it for round food — Italian meatballs, mini cream puffs, Mexican wedding cakes, etc. I’ve already been over at Jo’s at pinned her appetizer. OMG!! I can’t wait to make it. I had to write right away but I’m going back up and watching the video. You did give Dozer that meatball, didn’t you? Have a great day!!
REPLY
Susan says
January 31, 2017 at 1:12 am
Soaking breadcrumbs in onion, to me, is a unique idea. I’d never heard of doing that before (probably didn’t read your Italian meatball recipe).
I would most likely go with sour cream (or Greek yogurt) in place of heavy cream for the gravy, based on my long ago memory of eating Swedish meatballs. And I’m betting that Dozer did get the meatball, unless you were feeling really mean…
REPLY
Eleanor says
January 31, 2017 at 1:00 am
These look great. My boyfriend loves your Italian meatballs and he just made them again last night! So we will definitely try these as well. Soon!!
REPLY

Re: SWEDISH MEATBALLS

ValuSkr — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 23:39:34 GMT

Can I use regular meatballs (I have some in the freezer) to make Swedish meatballs? Just wondering if it could be just a matter of making the Swedish sauce.

Re: SWEDISH MEATBALLS

JanetGasper — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 12:16:23 GMT

Thanks for sharing this mouth watering recipe. I will definitely try this recipe for my family.

Re: SWEDISH MEATBALLS

Honeybit — Thu, 02 Feb 2017 23:55:20 GMT

@ValuSkr The meatball part of the recipe sounds pretty basic, except possibly for the spices. The sauce seems to be the heart of it, so I'd think using your frozen meatballs would still give you a yummy result. Post back and let us know how you liked it.

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