Swedish Meatballs
When I asked my daughter what she wanted for dinner on an August afternoon, you can imagine my surprise when she said, “Swedish Meatballs.” No preamble. No hesitation. No familial history of love for Swedish heritage or cuisine, but a very assured response, nonetheless. So as a person who loves a request, off to the supermarket I went.
Before creating my shopping list, I checked to see if I had ever featured Swedish Meatballs here on Sly Rooster. To my surprise, I had not. So I searched for the most appetizing Swedish Meatball recipe I could find and landed on this one from The Cozy Cook. As with all of the recipes I found, the meat mixture combines beef and pork with breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, egg, nutmeg and allspice. The sauce is made with beef broth (I used bone broth for the extra protein — I know, protein, protein, protein), Worcestershire, Dijon, and sour cream to make it creamy.
I strayed from the recipe in two ways. I thickly sliced 8oz. of cremini mushrooms and sautéed them in the same pan where I softened the onion and garlic (after adding the onion mixture to the meat mix). I set the mushrooms aside and added them to the sauce at the same time I added the meatballs. And rather than cooking the meatballs in the pan, I baked them on a baking sheet in a 450F oven. Those directions are included below.
Bottom line, Swedish Meatballs served over egg noodles or mashed potatoes hit the spot any time of year. Just ask Mattes 😉 Enjoy!
Swedish Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 3 Tbs olive oil divided
- 1/2 c yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 oz cremini mushrooms, thickly sliced optional
- 1 large egg, whisked
- 1/2 c panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 c Parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 3/4 lb ground beef 80/20
- 1/2 lb ground pork
Sauce
- 4 Tbls butter
- 4 Tbls flour
- 2 c beef broth bone broth, optional
- 1 cube chicken bouillon or 1 tsp Better Than Bouillon
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 c sour cream, at room temperature
- fresh parsley for garnish
- egg noodles or mashed potatoes for serving
Instructions
- Heat 1 Tbls of the olive oil in a large, high-walled skillet over medium heat. Add the finely diced onions and garlic. Soften for 5 minutes. Transfer the onion mixture to a small bowl and let cool.
- While the onion mixture cools, heat 1 Tbls of olive oil in the sauté pan (that you used for the onion/garlic). Add sliced mushrooms to the pan and saute, stirring occasionally, until browned. Remove mushrooms from the pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, whisked egg, milk, cooled onions/garlic, salt, oregano, allspice, nutmeg, and pepper. Gently incorporate the meat until evenly combined, but without overworking it (otherwise the meatballs will be tough instead of tender).
- Roll into 1 ½-inch meatballs and place on a plate. (A small cookie scoop makes it easier to roll balls of uniform size.) Transfer to the fridge and let them chill for 15 minutes, or up to overnight. Cover if chilling overnight.
- While the meatballs chill, combine the beef broth, chicken bouillon, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon, and parsley in a large measuring cup with a spout. Set aside.
- If cooking meatballs in the sauté pan: Heat remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs in batches, leave plenty of room around each so that you can easily rotate them with a spoon to brown on all sides. Brown for about 1 minute per side. Remove and set aside. Decrease heat slightly as needed throughout cooking. Drain any excess oil when finished.
- If cooking meatballs in the oven: Preheat oven to 450°F. Spray a large rimmed pan with baking spray. Place balls in a single layer on the oiled pan. Spray each ball with baking spray. Bake until they’re very brown on the bottom, 20-25 minutes. Use a metal spatula to scrape from under and flip the meatballs. Cook for 5 minutes more.
- Melt the butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom of the skillet. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously, until it begins to brown.
- Add the beef broth mixture in small splashes, stirring continuously. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- Place the sour cream in a medium bowl. To prevent curdling, slowly stir in about ¼ cup of the warm sauce until smooth. Pour the tempered sour cream back into the pot and stir over low heat until incorporated.
- Add the meatballs back to the skillet along with any juices from the plate/pan, as well as the mushrooms, if using. Spoon the sauce on top. Allow them to heat through over low heat for 10-15 minutes (or until cooked through), partially covered.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and serve over mashed potatoes or egg noodles.
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