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old school swedish meatballs

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Old-School Swedish Meatballs

These aren't from Ikea. They contain no pre-made meatballs, onion soup mix, or cream of mushroom. They are not healthy in any way. Old-school Swedish meatballs are a hassle to make but are absolutely worth it -- even in the triple batches you will have to make to satisfy your family, friends, and yourself. Merry Christmas to all!

Ingredients

  • Swedish Meatballs
  • 2 pieces day-old white bread, crumbled
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon butter plus 1 tablespoon butter, divided
  • 1 small onion, minced
  • 2/3 pound ground beef
  • 1/3 pound finely ground pork
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper, white if possible
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup beef stock or bone broth
  • Brown Gravy
  • 2 tablespoons Swedish meatball pan drippings
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 2 cups beef stock or bone broth
  • 4 ounces sour cream
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

  • Swedish Meatballs
  • Preheat your oven to 350º F (175º C).
  • Place the bread and cream in a small bowl, mix, and let stand about 10 minutes until absorbed.
  • Melt the teaspoon of butter in a large, shallow skillet and cook the onion for approximately 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer browned onion to a large mixing bowl and add the meats, brown sugar, salt, spices, and egg, then mix until nearly combined. Add the moistened bread and mix gently until combined.
  • Melt the tablespoon of butter in the skillet over medium heat. Form meatball mixture into 1 1/2 tablespoon-sized balls and cook in batches until the outsides are evenly browned, approximately 5 minutes. The meatballs will still be pink inside. Transfer to a baking dish when browned and add more butter to the skillet as needed to cook all of the batches of meatballs.
  • Pour 1/4 cup of broth into the baking dish, cover with foil, and bake for 40 minutes, until the meatballs are fully cooked and tender.
  • Transfer meatballs to a serving dish and pour gravy over (recipe follows).
  • Brown Gravy
  • After making the Swedish meatballs, transfer their drippings to a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook until light gold in color, then slowly pour in broth or stock while whisking constantly.
  • Simmer the gravy until thick, about 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • Just before serving the meatballs, stir in the sour cream.
  • Note: If you are not serving all of the meatballs at once, reserve gravy before adding sour cream. Reheat the meatballs and gravy separately and combine the sour cream with the gravy after heating to prevent the sauce from breaking as it is heated.

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