TasunkaWitko
Well-Known Member
Köttbullar
Swedish Meatballs
Up here on the snow-swept plains of north-central Montana, we have made Swedish meatballs many times; it is one meal that both The Beautiful Mrs. Tas and I can agree on, and it is a perfect winter dish.
I have a healthy dollop of Swedish ancestry as my German great-grandfather, who emigrated from a Schwarzmeerdeutsche colony in Ukraine, married a fine Swedish beauty. They settled in the Killdeer Mountains of North Dakota, and worked hard to become part of the national fabric that holds this great country together. Montana and North Dakota were among the last areas of the continental U.S. to be settled, and they were settled by hardy homesteaders from Germany and Scandinavia who were used to hard work and harsh weather. These late 19th- and early 20th-Century pioneers persevered and thrived, and these states became part of America's bread-basket and larder.
Previously, when making "Swedish meatballs," we have always used the red McCormick envelopes, with adequate results - but surely, the genuine, Swedish, home-made version can do better than that, right? From the moment I first discovered this recipe while thumbing through my new (to me) Scandinavian volume of Time/Life's Foods of the World series, I was really looking forward to trying it and re-uniting with my heritage. Looking at the recipe, there are quite a few similarities between köttbullar and Färsrullader, and I am certain that, minor differences aside, the two recipes are simply different ways of achieving the same time-honored Swedish flavours.
Here's the recipe, from Time/Life's: Foods of the World - The Cooking of Scandinavia, 1968:
NOTE - my modifications/elaborations are in italics....
Good, honest Scandinvaian comfort food is just about as easy as it gets, and Swedish meatballs (köttbullar) are absolutely perfect for a cold, snowy Sunday evening. The taste and flavour of this recipe is all home-style-Swedish in character and wonderful for its filling goodness; the perfect embodiment of the Swedish concept of husmanskost and absolutely suited for a winter meal (or any time of year, for that matter).
Here's all you need (this is a double batch):
Note - The sour cream wasn't necessary or part of the recipe; I placed it in the photo by mistake. Other than that, you will need salt and pepper, butter, 1 average-sized potato per pound of meat, 1 egg per pound of meat, onion, bread crumbs, heavy cream, freshly-chopped parsley and wonderful, lean ground beef from our own herd of cattle.
Another note - If you really want a treat, you can add some wonderful flavour to the sauce - and keep it Swedish - by adding a chopped leek. The leek is not part of the original recipe, but we had one in the refrigerator that needed to be used, and leeks seem to go very well with the Swedish meat dishes that I've made so far.
To get started, I chopped the potatos into large cubes (well, not exactly cubes, but....you know what I mean), then put them on to boil:
The mashed potato will help form the body of the meatballs, providing an interesting flavour and contributing to a smooth texture.
While the potatoes began to boil, I also finely-chopped the onion:
One could add the onion to the meatballs raw, but to me, they taste so much better when the onions are pre-cooked; this method adds a lot of savory flavour and better texture to the final outcome, so I fried them in a little butter:
Once they passed transluscent and were beginning to caramelise, I removed them from the heat so that they could cool while I continued my prep work:
(Continued below)
Swedish Meatballs
Up here on the snow-swept plains of north-central Montana, we have made Swedish meatballs many times; it is one meal that both The Beautiful Mrs. Tas and I can agree on, and it is a perfect winter dish.
I have a healthy dollop of Swedish ancestry as my German great-grandfather, who emigrated from a Schwarzmeerdeutsche colony in Ukraine, married a fine Swedish beauty. They settled in the Killdeer Mountains of North Dakota, and worked hard to become part of the national fabric that holds this great country together. Montana and North Dakota were among the last areas of the continental U.S. to be settled, and they were settled by hardy homesteaders from Germany and Scandinavia who were used to hard work and harsh weather. These late 19th- and early 20th-Century pioneers persevered and thrived, and these states became part of America's bread-basket and larder.
Previously, when making "Swedish meatballs," we have always used the red McCormick envelopes, with adequate results - but surely, the genuine, Swedish, home-made version can do better than that, right? From the moment I first discovered this recipe while thumbing through my new (to me) Scandinavian volume of Time/Life's Foods of the World series, I was really looking forward to trying it and re-uniting with my heritage. Looking at the recipe, there are quite a few similarities between köttbullar and Färsrullader, and I am certain that, minor differences aside, the two recipes are simply different ways of achieving the same time-honored Swedish flavours.
Here's the recipe, from Time/Life's: Foods of the World - The Cooking of Scandinavia, 1968:
NOTE - my modifications/elaborations are in italics....
To serve 6 to 8 (about 50 small meatballs or 25 larger meatballs):
For the meatballs:
1 tablespoon butter
4 tablespoons finely-chopped onion
1 large boiled potato, mashed
3 tablespoons fine, dry bread crumbs
1 pound lean ground beef
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 teaspoons pepper, to taste (optional)
1 egg
1 tablespoon finely-chopped fresh parsley (optional)
To fry the meatballs (skip these ingredients, if you want to bake them):
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
For the sauce:
1 tablespoon flour
3/4 cup light or heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste (optional)
Milk as needed, to add to the sauce and bring it to the desired consistency (optional)
In a small frying pan, melt the tablespoon of butter over moderate heat. When the foam subsides, add the 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 optional parsley. Knead vigorously with both hands or beat with a wooden spoon until all the ingredients are well blended and the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Shape into small balls about 1 inch in diameter. Arrange the meatballs in one layer on a baking sheet or a flat tray, cover them with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour before cooking.
Over high heat, melt the 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of oil in a heavy 10- to 12-inch skillet. When the foam subsides, add the meatballs, 8 to 10 at a time. Reduce the heat to moderate and fry the balls on all sides, shaking the 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 to the skillet as needed, and transfer each finished batch to a casserole or baking dish and keep warm in a 200-degree oven. Alternately, you can bake them at 350 degrees for 30 to 50 minutes, depending on their size, until they are done inside and crusty-brown outside.
If the meatballs are to be served as a main course with noodles or potatoes, you may want to make a sauce with the pan juice. Remove from the heat, pour off all fat from the pan (keep the drippings in the pan), and stir in 1 tbsp of flour. If you baked the meatballs, de-fat the drippings, move them to a pan, and stir the flour into them over medium-low heat. Quickly stir in 3/4 cup of light or heavy cream and boil the sauce over moderate heat for 2 or 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until it is thick and smooth. Thin or stretch the sauce as needed with milk, and add salt and pepper to taste, if necessary. Pour over meatballs and serve.
If the meatballs are to be served as an hors d'oeuvre or as part of a smörgåsbord, they should be cooked as above, but formed into smaller balls and served without the sauce.
Good, honest Scandinvaian comfort food is just about as easy as it gets, and Swedish meatballs (köttbullar) are absolutely perfect for a cold, snowy Sunday evening. The taste and flavour of this recipe is all home-style-Swedish in character and wonderful for its filling goodness; the perfect embodiment of the Swedish concept of husmanskost and absolutely suited for a winter meal (or any time of year, for that matter).
Here's all you need (this is a double batch):
Note - The sour cream wasn't necessary or part of the recipe; I placed it in the photo by mistake. Other than that, you will need salt and pepper, butter, 1 average-sized potato per pound of meat, 1 egg per pound of meat, onion, bread crumbs, heavy cream, freshly-chopped parsley and wonderful, lean ground beef from our own herd of cattle.
Another note - If you really want a treat, you can add some wonderful flavour to the sauce - and keep it Swedish - by adding a chopped leek. The leek is not part of the original recipe, but we had one in the refrigerator that needed to be used, and leeks seem to go very well with the Swedish meat dishes that I've made so far.
To get started, I chopped the potatos into large cubes (well, not exactly cubes, but....you know what I mean), then put them on to boil:
The mashed potato will help form the body of the meatballs, providing an interesting flavour and contributing to a smooth texture.
While the potatoes began to boil, I also finely-chopped the onion:
One could add the onion to the meatballs raw, but to me, they taste so much better when the onions are pre-cooked; this method adds a lot of savory flavour and better texture to the final outcome, so I fried them in a little butter:
Once they passed transluscent and were beginning to caramelise, I removed them from the heat so that they could cool while I continued my prep work:
(Continued below)
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