Swedish Meatballs

I love Swedish meatballs! My son Sam loves them as much or possibly more than me; he and I have a love of all things in gravy. To us, cooler weather = gravy!

I decided to make a batch of Swedish meatballs the other night, and wow, they were good. I fried up a little bit of our spätzle in butter to serve with them. I also like a bit of cranberry sauce on the side. Swedish meatballs are traditionally served with a side of lingonberry jam which I didn’t have on hand, and I have found I like cranberry sauce even better.

In the last couple of years, I learned that chefs don’t just put things on plates to look pretty; they put specific items on a plate to balance out a dish. The lingonberry jam or cranberry sauce, in my case, is there for the tartness of the jam or sauce; it cuts through the fat and gravy, making everything taste better. I wrote about this months and months ago, explaining why ketchup goes on hamburgers to cut through the fat and why fish and chips are served with vinegar…for the same reason. Mustard on wursts is another example.

To balance out a plate, it should have sweet, salty, and acidy components to enhance the dish further. Different textures can also make or break a dish. You can learn more about this by watching Netflix or reading the Salt Fat Acid Heat book. It was life-changing to me as a cook.

Did you know that Swedish meatballs didn’t originate in Sweden? They actually came from Turkey. They are a Turkish dish brought over by King Charles XII in 1715. King Charles didn’t have to go to Turkey to find such a recipe; he could have gone anywhere since every country on the planet has its own version of meatballs.

Meatballs can be made with beef, pork, lamb, and other game meats. They can also be made from shellfish, chicken, and other types of fish. Now, there are plant-based meatballs that should be called plantballs and not use the word meat if that’s what people are trying to avoid; kind of like a veggie or black bean burger, which is not called a hamburger.

I make two types of meatballs…soft and fluffy or firm. My Swedish meatballs fall under the firm category. My Italian meatballs or my meatloaf meatballs are soft and sexy. These are made with bread soaked in milk to achieve the softness that plain old breadcrumbs can’t give you. I bake my soft and fluffy meatballs and pan-fry my Swedish ones.

I usually use a combination of beef and pork or meatloaf mix. This time I only had a package of locally raised ground beef by a farmer named Christophe, a farmers market vendor friend of mine. This meat is very lean, so I knew I would need to use a little fat in the pan when frying the meatballs and make a roux for that luscious gravy.

I combined the beef, dried onion flakes, an egg, breadcrumbs, milk, worcestershire sauce, kosher salt, and pepper in a bowl. People ask why I use onion flakes instead of grated fresh onion; I use the dried because the grated onion makes the meatballs too soft and watery, that’s why.

I always use my hands when combining the ingredients. Your clean hands are the best tool for most kitchen prep jobs. Yes, it’s cold and mushy, but trust me, your hands work best. Next, I shape the meatballs using a small scoop. I like my meatballs to all be the same size.

Baking soft and fluffy meatballs for a pot of sauce or meatloaf is easier than frying them, but the pan drippings from the meatballs are what starts off that Swedish meatball gravy and makes it so tasty. Soft and fluffy meatballs go into a tomato sauce or are topped with a killer glaze that doesn’t need a pan to make those sauces.

I use cast iron frying pans a lot; for almost everything, actually. No non-stick pan can perform like an old, well-seasoned cast iron pan. Many years ago, I learned about people getting sore throats and other symptoms from non-stick pans.

When non-stick pans become scratched and worn, they can give people the “Teflon flu.” We had enough shit going on; the last thing I needed was to get the Teflon flu on top of it. Don’t believe me? Look it up. I chucked all my pans and started using my nana’s frying pans.

Another tidbit of information using cast iron pans vs. Teflon is that Teflon users had lower iron counts than people that used cast iron. So how the Teflon could make you sick, the cast-iron release safe iron amounts in food. I shit you not!

Ok…I got off track like usual; I’m Irish. When browning the meatballs, only add a few at a time to the pan. Let them cook for a moment, then see if they released themselves from the pan. If they seem to be sticking, do not add more oil! Give them another minute and check again. Now you can turn or flip them.

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This is such a huge mistake everyone, including me a few years ago, makes. This “let it cook” theory is true for anything you pan fry or grill. After browning the meatballs, they are removed from the pan and put aside while making the gravy.

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Flour or the gluten-free option potato starch is sprinkled on the pan drippings to make a roux. The local beef I used was so lean that there wasn’t enough fat in the pan to make a roux, so I added a pat of butter. The roux is cooked until bubbling. This is super important when using regular flour; you have to cook the flour to eliminate any raw flour taste.

After the roux is bubbling, I whisk in some paprika. I think cooking it in the roux releases the flavor of the paprika. You guys already know my feelings about using old ass or dollar store spices that are flavorless. If you can, use better quality spices found in bulk as I buy; most health food stores carry bulk spices. The difference is amazing!

For the beef broth, you can use whatever one is your favorite or have on hand. The gluten-free version uses gluten-free broth. People don’t think about this when buying broth. I’ve been gluten poisoned by well-meaning friends that cooked me a gluten-free meal only to find out later the hard way that the broth they used had autolyzed yeast extract in it, which can contain gluten. If the box or can of broth doesn’t say gluten-free, it’s not.

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Next, I whisked in the broth and let the gravy start to thicken. Here comes the secret to that fabulous gravy…sour cream.

Sour cream is the covert ingredient to the Swedish meatball gravy. The sour cream not only makes the gravy creamy but gives it a tang that heavy cream can’t do. Again, it goes back to that book/show Salt Fat Acid Heat. You gotta watch it if you have Netflix!

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After whisking in the sour cream and combining it thoroughly, I add a few dashes of worcestershire sauce and parsley. Next, I give the gravy a taste before adding the meatballs. Why? It’s easier to stir in and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper without a bunch of meatballs getting in the way. Once I am satisfied, the meatballs go into the gravy.

I turn my burner on as low as it can go and let the meatballs reheat and become one with the gravy. OM.

I used to serve my Swedish meatballs with buttered egg noodles, but hell, we own a spätzle manufacturing company, so that’s the only thing I use now. Pst…the spätzle are way better than regular old noodles any day. I saw people also serve theirs with mashed potatoes; I can see how delicious that can be.

I’ve been working hard with Marty today to use a more user-friendly recipe format. I can cook my ass off, but I am an absolute dum-dum when it comes to technology. I still can’t afford any of the fancy food blogger programs out there, but I hope what I did use is a big improvement.

You will still have to copy and paste the recipe to print it out because I still can’t figure out how to insert a print button for the life of me! Ugh! Word Press is tough to learn to use, but it’s the best platform for me to use for my blog. I need to find a smarty-pants web design person that wants to learn how to cook; we could barter skills!

Whenever I post one of my original recipes, it takes at least 4-5 hours. My blog is free, but if you enjoy my recipes and wish to, making a small donation to my blog is much appreciated. Whenever I receive a donation, no matter how small, it helps the cost of the blog and makes me feel like I am on top of the world!

If you would like to try my Swedish meatball recipe, you just have to click on the link below. Fingers and toes crossed that it really works! Enjoy the rest of your weekend, guys. I’ll catch up with you soon.