Swedish meatballs



The temperatures are cooling down and I was craving something warm and soothing that wasn't soup. I had some hamburger in the refrigerator but I didn't want meatloaf or regular meatballs. I wanted something more put together than Hamburger Helper and I thought...I haven't made Swedish meatballs in forever! I had all the ingredients on hand so off I went a cooking!

 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
• 2 1/3 cups low-salt beef stock, divided
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 cup minced onion
• 2 thick slices bacon, minced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 3/4 pound ground pork
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sour cream, whisked

Directions:
Mix breadcrumbs and 1/3 cup stock in a small bowl.  Make sure you mix it together well so that all of the crumbs are moistened. Set aside.

 

 

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer onion to a large bowl.

          

Wipe out pan and return to medium heat. Add bacon and cook until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to bowl with onion. (Reserve bacon fat.) Add next 8 ingredients to bowl with onion mixture, mixing with your hands to blend. *Now I know it feels gross to mix it with your hands but it really is the only way to do it! By mixing with your hands you can feel all the lumps and unmixed ingredients. You really want this to be a nice smooth mixture no big lumps.* Fold in breadcrumb mixture. *Now here is where you may want to adjust the mixture. Mine was a bit to wet. Keep in mind that Swedish Meatballs are softer than say Italian meatballs. So you don't want the mixture to be hard but you don't want it to be runny either. The best way I can explain it is the consistency of oatmeal that has absorbed all the liquid or like soft chocolate chip cookie dough (I knew I would hit a light bulb with the cookie one...lol).* I didn't have any more fresh bread crumbs so I had to add dried unseasoned bread crumbs. I would add some, mix it then let it sit for a couple of minutes to let the moisture be soaked up by the bread crumbs. I did this till I liked the texture.

 

 

 

Using a 1 tablespoon measure, roll meat mixture into balls; transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. *I didn't transfer mine to a baking sheet at this time because I didn't want them to get a crust on them from the heat of my kitchen (it's a really tiny kitchen!). I used a cookie scoop (bought at a restaurant supply but you can get them everywhere, Target, WalMart etc.) Using the cookie scoop it was easier to drop the meatballs into the pan and I didn't have to get my hands sticky all the time. I also kept the mixture in the refrigerator when I wasn't using it again so there was no crust that formed but so that it didn't get overly sticky.*

          

The top scoop is a cookie scoop. I think it's rated as medium or I think a #6 but please don't quote me on that..lol. It is two sizes down from an ice cream scoop. The bottom scoop is a Tablespoon so you can see the size for reference. Sorry such a bad photo too...looked better on the camera...lol

Melt 1 tablespoon butter with reserved bacon fat in a large heavy pot over medium-low heat. Working in 3 batches (mine ended up being many more than 3 batches! Be sure not to over crowd the pan it cools down the pan too much and makes it a pain to turn the meatballs) and adding 1 tablespoon butter between batches, (now don't get excited but yes you are going to use a lot of butter...but ohhh does it taste so good and well comfort food is supposed  to be comforting, and you can hit the gym tomorrow...lol) brown meatballs on all sides, about 6–8 minutes per batch.

 

This is the meatballs right after they have been dropped into the pan.

 

Make sure they are browned on all sides. Don't they look so yummy already?

 

Transfer meatballs to a plate. *Here is where I put mine on a edged cookie sheet and in the oven at 200 degrees to keep warm and to slowly finish cooking.* Drain all but 2 tablespoons drippings from pot. Whisk in flour until smooth paste forms. Stir in 2 cups stock; bring to a simmer, whisking often. Return meatballs to pot. Cover; simmer until meatballs are cooked, 5-6 minutes. *I didn't return mine to the pan because my pan was too small. I made the sauce then poured it over the meatballs. * Remove from heat, whisk in sour cream, and stir to coat meatballs.

 

 

Mmmm plate and enjoy!!! Ohhh they were so good and tender too! Jim ate these for his lunch for two more days and never complained one bit! I hope you try this recipe and let me know what you think. It's not heavy like beef stroganoff and the pork and spices give it a nice spice flavor. If you have never tried Swedish meatballs, I highly recommend you do :-)