Scandinavian Meatballs And Gravy Recipes

FRIKADELLER (SCANDINAVIAN MEATBALLS) WITH RICH GRAVY

Steps:

• To make the meatballs, mix together the onion, meat, thyme, breadcrumbs and milk in a bowl, and season well. Using a dessertspoon and one hand dipped in cold water (to stop it sticking), shape about 20 slightly oval balls out of the meat mixture. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper, cover with plastic wrap and chill for 10 minutes, or overnight if time permits.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F Heat the olive oil and butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the meatballs, in batches if necessary, and brown until golden all over. Transfer to an ovenproof dish and place in the oven for 10 minutes until cooked through.
• While the meatballs are in the oven, take the frying pan in which you cooked them and place it over a medium heat. Whisk in the flour, add the tomato paste and whisk again for 1-2 minutes, then add the red wine. Turn the heat up to high and bubble for a few minutes. Whisk in the broth and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Season to taste with the Worcestershire sauce, salt and black pepper, then stir in a splash of cream and the redcurrant jelly.
• (If freezing: Allow everything to cool, then tip the meatballs into a freezer bag and cover completely with the sauce. Freeze for up to 1 month.
• Defrost completely and reheat in a saucepan until piping hot throughout.)Serve 3-4 meatballs per person with lots of sauce, spiced red cabbage and mash.

GRANDMA'S SWEDISH MEATBALLS AND GRAVY

Steps:

• Mix milk, bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon cream, egg, garlic, salt, black pepper, white pepper, and allspice together in a large bowl. Set aside to soak until bread crumbs have absorbed the milk, at least 10 minutes.
• Mix in beef, pork, onion, and parsley, using your hands to mix until well combined. Roll into about 24 small meatballs or 16 larger meatballs.
• Heat butter and oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Fry meatballs in small batches until cooked through and browned on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (71 degrees C). Transfer to a warm plate and cover with foil.
• Add butter for gravy sauce to the pan juices. Melt over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Cook and whisk until flour dissolves and turns brown, about 5 minutes. Pour in vegetable broth, beef broth, cream, soy sauce, and Dijon. Bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper and mix to combine all of the flavors together. Continue to simmer until thickened, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Add meatballs to the gravy. Toss gently to coat and serve.

SWEDISH MEATBALLS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, soak the bread in the milk until soft. In a large bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients except the butter and oil, and add the soaked bread. Mix thoroughly until smooth, it's best to use your hands for this. Shape into small, golf-ball size meatballs (by dipping your hands in cold water, the meatballs won't stick to your hands.)
• Heat butter and oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs, about 8 to 10 at a time, and gently brown on all sides, about 5 to 7 minutes. Shake the skillet now and then so meatballs stay round and brown evenly. Place them on a heated baking pan in a low oven to keep warm.
• To make gravy, deglaze the skillet with 1 cup of the stock, letting it simmer for 5 minutes while scraping the bottom of the skillet with a spatula. Strain the gravy into a clean saucepan and add the remaining 1 cup of stock. In a small bowl, mix the flour with 1/4 cup of cold water until smooth. Whisk flour mixture into warm gravy, and let simmer, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, until thickened slightly, about 3-5 minutes. Add the cream and season with salt and pepper.
• To serve, arrange the meatballs on a serving platter, pour hot gravy over them, and garnish with parsley. Serve with boiled new potatoes, lingonberry sauce, and lefse.

SCANDINAVIAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• For Meatballs;.
• Soak breadcrumbs in milk in medium bowl for 10 minutes.
• Mix in onion, eggs and seasonings.
• Add meats and beat with an electric mixer or wooden spoon until light and fluffy.
• Handling gently,form mixture into 2-inch-diameter meatballs; smooth balls between moistened palms.
• Place in baking pan;refrigerate until firm.
• Melt butter in large heavy skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add meatballs in batches (do not crowd) and cook until browned on all sides, shaking pan occasionally, about 5 minutes.
• Drain on paper towels; reserve drippings in skillet.
• Layer meatballs in deep 4-quart oven-proof casserole or baking dish.
• For Gravy:.
• Measure pan drippings and return 3 tablespoons to skillet, adding some butter if necessary.
• Add onion and cook over medium-low heat until tender, about 8 minutes.
• Add flour and stir 2 minutes.
• Gradually mix in consomme and cream.
• Simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally;season with pepper.
• Strain over meatballs.
• (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Bring to room temperature before continuing.).
• Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
• Bake casserole until meatballs are heated through, about 45 minutes; serve hot.

SWEDISH MEATBALLS (SVENSKA KOTTBULLAR)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place the bread crumbs into a small bowl, and mix in the cream. Allow to stand until crumbs absorb the cream, about 10 minutes. While the bread is soaking, melt 1 teaspoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat, and cook and stir the onion until it turns light brown, about 10 minutes. Place onion into a mixing bowl; mix with the ground beef, ground pork, egg, brown sugar, salt, black pepper, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger. Lightly mix in the bread crumbs and cream.
• Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Pinch off about 1 1/2 tablespoon of the meat mixture per meatball, and form into balls. Place the meatballs into the skillet, and cook just until the outsides are brown, about 5 minutes, turning the meatballs often. Insides of the meatballs will still be pink. Place browned meatballs into a baking dish, pour in chicken broth, and cover with foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the meatballs are tender, about 40 minutes. Remove meatballs to a serving dish.
• To make brown gravy, pour pan drippings into a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk the flour into the pan drippings until smooth, and gradually whisk in enough beef broth to total about 2 1/2 cups of liquid. Bring the gravy to a simmer, whisking constantly until thick, about 5 minutes. Just before serving, whisk in the sour cream. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Serve the gravy with the meatballs.

DANISH MEATBALLS WITH PAN GRAVY

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Add beef and sausage; mix lightly but thoroughly. Shape 1/4 cupfuls of mixture into 18 meatballs; flatten to 1-in. thickness., In a large skillet, heat oil and 1 tablespoon butter over medium-low heat; cook meatballs in batches 8-9 minutes on each side or until a thermometer reads 160°. Remove from pan, reserving 1/4 cup drippings in pan. (If necessary, add additional butter to the drippings to reach 1/4 cup.), For gravy, stir flour, bouillon granules, pepper and salt into drippings until smooth; gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with meatballs.

SCANDINAVIAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• For the meatballs: cut out the crust from the bread slices, then place in a large bowl and pour over milk and cream. Let the bread swell for approximately 5 minutes, then mush with a fork into a smooth paste.
• Add rest of the meatball ingredients into the bowl and knead in a food processor or by hand for about 5 minutes until the texture is smooth and the mixture doesn't stick to the sides of the bowl.
• Make golf ball -sized meatballs out of the mixture. Heat butter and oil in a frying pan, and fry the meatballs in two parts (so that they won't stick together) until evenly brown on all sides. The meatballs do not need to be cooked from inside as they will continue cooking in the oven.
• Place the fried balls in a oven-proof casserole dish to wait. Do not wash the frying pan at this stage!
• Add beef stock on the un-washed frying pan and bring to boil. Pour the liquid back into a jug from the frying pan, and dry off the pan.
• Heat the butter on the pan, add the onion and brown until golden. Sieve the flour on the pan and gently fry until it reaches a brown tint.
• Pour the liquid from the jug little by little on the pan, stirring vigorously to avoid clumps from forming. Bring to boil stirring continuosly, add the cream and allspice and remove from heat.
• Mix in the blackcurrant jelly and pour through a sieve into the oven-dish on top of the meatballs.
• Cook in the middle of the oven at 180C/fan 160C/gas 4 for 35 minutes.
• Serve with creamy mash potatoes or spaghetti.

TASTY SWEDISH MEATBALLS AND GRAVY

Steps:

• Start with the gravy. Chop the vegetables finely. Fry in a pan with light olive oil and butter. Add a pinch of salt and cook on a low heat for about half an hour - we're looking for the sweet caramel flavours that emerge from a slow sauté of onion. Add the allspice and stir, then add the stock and cook on a rolling simmer for 20minutes, let it reduce by a third. Add the lingonberry or redcurrant and stir. Decide whether to keep the vegetables in the sauce or to strain. Then finish the gravy, add the cream, stir and bring back to a simmer. Season with salt to taste, add plenty of pepper and a squeeze of lemon.
• Optional flavourings. Add the thyme, mushrooms, vinegar and wine to the vegetables when they have cooked. Keep the heat high and reduce until almost evaporated. Then add the stock as above.
• Make the meatballs. Chop an onion as fine as possible. Add to a pan with the butter and oil. Sweat gently for about 10-15 minutes until soft and transparent.
• Combine the cream with the breadcrumbs to form a consistency like stiff porridge. Add the meat to a large bowl, whisk an egg and add it with the breadcrumbs to the meat. Season with allspice and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly and form into walnut size balls. Put on a plate. Ideally these should rest in the fridge. (Meat patty mixtures are more complicated than imagined - getting the consistency right is tricky. In particular mixtures that are too wet and loose can be a nightmare. Breadcrumbs can be added to help absorb moisture. Resting in the fridge will also help firm up the meatballs.)
• Coat each meatball in flour. Heat a large frying pan, add butter and light oil and fry the meatballs in batches. Aim for a good all round colouring. If the pan is getting too clogged with burning flour, clean the pan between batches. Use fresh butter and oil if necessary.
• When the meatballs have cooked add to a clean pan with the sauce and heat gently for 10 minutes, allowing the flavours to blend and the sauce to thicken (from the flour on the meatballs).
• Serve with boiled potatoes - and lingonberries! Some chopped parsley provides a final flourish. You can serve with pasta or rice instead of potatoes.