1 cup finely chopped red onion, plus ½ cup (works better with hand chopped)
4 ½ Tbsp. unsalted butter
¾ lb. ground chuck (the 80-85% lean beef)
¾ lb. ground pork
1 ¾ tsps. salt
½ tsp. freshly ground pepper, plus 1 pinch
¼ tsp. ground allspice
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 cup plain dried bread crumbs
½ cup whole milk
¼ cup heavy cream, plus ¾ cup
1 large egg, lightly beaten
4 Tbsp. flour
3 ½ cups beef stock or 2 (14 oz.) cans reduced-sodium beef broth (I prefer Campbell’s brand, may not come in low-sodium)
¼ cup red currant jelly (important ingredient, but seems weird till you taste it!) Found this at Walmart, of all places!
Lingonberries (Felix brand is from Sweden) found near jelly/jam at Whole Foods
In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, sauté 1 cup of the onion in 1 ½ tablespoons of the butter until soft and light golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Set aside to cool, then add the onion to a medium mixing bowl along with the beef, pork, 1 ½ teaspoons of the salt, ½ teaspoon of the pepper, the allspice and the nutmeg.
In a small mixing bowl, combine the bread crumbs with the milk and ¼ cup of the cream, and allow to sit until the bread crumbs are soft, about 5 minutes. (make sure to stir this immediately or it gets a little lumpy) Add the bread crumb mixture and the beaten egg to the meat mixture and, using clean hands, mix well to thoroughly combine. (And hope that you don’t get an urgent phone call cuz your hands will be icky!!!)
Use a rounded tablespoon measuring spoon as a guide to form the meatballs. Scoop them up in the tablespoon, about 1 heaping tablespoon each. Using lightly damp hands, roll the meatballs till they are smooth and round. Transfer to a dish while you form the remaining meatballs.
In a medium skillet, heat ½ tablespoon of the remaining butter until foamy. Add one-third of the meatballs and cook, turning frequently, until the meatballs are browned on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes total. Using tongs, or slotted spoon, transfer the cooked meatballs to large Dutch oven or heavy large saucepan and repeat with the remaining meatballs, adding another ½ tablespoon butter to the skillet before each batch.
Add the remaining 1 ½ tablespoon butter and the remaining ½ cup onion to the skillet and cook until the onion is soft, about 4 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Whisk in the beef broth little by little and cook until the sauce is smooth and thick, about 4 minutes. (It thickens further in the Dutch oven, so don’t panic if it isn’t gravy type thickness) Transfer the sauce to the Dutch oven or large saucepan and add the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, a pinch of black pepper, the remaining heavy cream, and the currant jelly. Bring the contents of the Dutch oven to a gentle boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat so the sauce just simmers. Stir very gently to combine ingredients once the meatballs have cooked a bit; be careful with those fragile meatballs!! Cook, uncovered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the meatballs are very tender and the sauce is thick and flavorful. Serve with boiled red potatoes, cucumber salad, and lingonberries (same sort of flavor as cranberry sauce!) as a main dish, or in a shallow chafing dish with toothpicks for hors d’oeuvres. 4 to 6 servings
I actually thought I must be Swedish based on how much I love this dinner! The Lingonberries are so tart, tangy and delicious and give the perfect compliment to the creamy sauce. I love the combination of the pork and the beef. The red onions are the perfect onion. I am in love!!!! For the cucumber salad, I combined thinly sliced English cucumbers, tomatoes, flat-leaf parsley and avocado with homemade vinaigrette and it was yummy! For the dressing I combined Dijon mustard, Champagne vinegar, sugar, and olive oil, salt and pepper.
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