Cooks Illustrated Swedish Meatballs Recipes

THE AMAZING SWEDISH MEATBALL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• In a large bowl, combine ground beef, ground pork, chopped onion, bread crumbs, egg, and milk. Season with parsley, Worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Mix well with your hands. Shape into walnut-size balls, and place on baking dish.
• Bake for 30 minutes in preheated oven. Turn frequently so they brown evenly on all sides.
• To make the sauce: In a saucepan, combine oil, flour, paprika, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cook over medium heat until sizzling. Stir in hot water and sour cream until smooth and heated through.
• When meatballs have cooked 30 minutes, pour sauce over the top, and return to the oven for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

COOK'S ILLUSTRATED SWEDISH MEATBALLS

Steps:

• For the Meatballs: Whisk egg and cream together in medium bowl. Stir in bread and set aside. Meanwhile, in stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat pork, onion, nutmeg, allspice, pepper, brown sugar, salt, and baking powder on high speed until smooth and pale, about 2 minutes, scraping bowl as necessary. Using fork, mash bread mixture until no large dry bread chunks remain; add mixture to mixer bowl and beat on high speed until smooth and homogeneous, about 1 minute, scraping bowl as necessary. Add beef and mix on medium-low speed until just incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping bowl as necessary. Using moistened hands, form generous tablespoon of meat mixture into 1-inch round meatball; repeat with remaining mixture to form 25 to 30 meatballs.
• Heat oil in 10-inch straight-sided sauté pan over medium-high heat until edge of meatball dipped in oil sizzles (oil should register 350 degrees on instant-read thermometer), 3 to 5 minutes. Add meatballs in single layer and fry, flipping once halfway through cooking, until lightly browned all over and cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. (Adjust heat as needed to keep oil sizzling but not smoking.) Using slotted spoon, transfer browned meatballs to paper towel-lined plate.
• For the Sauce: Pour off and discard oil in pan, leaving any fond (browned bits) behind. Return pan to medium-high heat and add butter. When foaming subsides, add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until flour is light brown, about 30 seconds. Slowly whisk in broth, scraping pan bottom to loosen browned bits. Add brown sugar and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium and cook until sauce is reduced to about 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Stir in cream and return to simmer.
• Add meatballs to sauce and simmer, turning occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

TIME/LIFE SWEDISH MEATBALLS

Steps:

• In a small frying pan, melt the tbsp of butter over med heat; when foam subsides, add onions and cook for about 5 minutes until they are soft and translucent but not brown.
• In a large bowl, combine the onions, mashed potato, bread crumbs, meat, cream, salt, egg and parsley; knead vigorously with both hands or beat with a wooden spoon until all of the ingredients are well blended and the mixture is smooth and fluffy.
• Shape into small balls about one inch in diameter.
• Arrange meatballs in one layer on a baking sheet or flat tray, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 1 hour before cooking.
• Over high heat, in a large heavy skillet, melt the 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp oil; when the foam subsides, add the meatballs, 8 to 10 at a time.
• Reduce the heat to medium and fry balls on all sides, shaking pan almost constantly to roll the balls around in the hot fat to help keep their shape.
• In 8 to 10 minutes the meatballs should be brown outside and show no trace of pink inside when one is broken open with a knife.
• Add more butter and oil as needed to the skillet as you fry each batch, and transfer finished meatballs to a casserole dish and keep warm in a 200F oven.
• If you want to make a sauce, the book recommends making one with the pan juices; here's how.
• Remove pan from heat and pour off all fat; stir in 1 tbsp of flour.
• Quickly stir in 3/4 cup of light or heavy cream and boil the sauce over medium heat for 2 or 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until it is thick and smooth.
• Pour over meatballs and serve with noodles or potatoes.