Swedish Meatballs with Lingonberry Sauce

Ingredients


1 cup fresh bread crumbs, dried out
3/4 cup milk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon caraway seeds, toasted and ground
Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 large egg
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped, plus more for garnish
1 handful fresh dill, chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
11/2 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup lingonberry or red currant jam, plus more for serving


Directions

In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs and the milk; stir with a fork and let stand for 5 minutes. Put 3 tablespoons of the butter in a small skillet and let it melt over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic, and caraway; season with salt and pepper. Saute until softened but not browned, about 2 minutes. Put the ground beef and pork in a large bowl. Add the sweated shallot mixture, egg, parsley, and dill; season with salt and pepper. Squeeze the milk out of the soaked bread crumbs, add the bread to the meat mixture, and mix well using your hands. Pinch off about 1/2 cup worth of the meat mixture and roll it around in your moistened hands to shape it into a cue ball-sized meatball. Continue forming the meatballs and putting them on a platter; there should be about 20 meatballs.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over moderate heat. When the foam starts to subside, add the meatballs in batches so you don't overcrowd the pan. Saute the meatballs until well-browned on all sides, about 7 minutes total. Remove the meatballs to a platter lined with paper towels as they are done.

Discard most of the fat from the skillet and return it to the heat. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and swirl it around to coat the pan. Sprinkle in the flour, and stir with a wooden spoon to dissolve into the fat. Pour in the chicken broth, and stir with a wooden spoon to loosen the bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer and stir until the liquid is reduced and a sauce starts to form; season with salt and pepper. Lower the heat and stir in the sour cream. Return the meatballs to the sauce and stir in 1/4 cup of the lingonberry jam until combined. Simmer until the sauce thickens slightly and the meatballs are heated through, about 15 to 20 minutes. Shower with chopped parsley and transfer to a serving bowl. Serve the Swedish meatballs with additional lingonberry jam on the side.
 
(http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/swedish-meatballs-with-lingonberry-sauce-recipe/index.html)

Swedish Meatballs with Spicy Plum Sauce

Ingredients

1/2-cup fine, dry bread crumbs

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, minced
2/3 cup ground beef
2/3 cup ground veal
2/3 cup ground pork
2 tablespoons honey
1 large egg
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons butter

1 large shallot, minced

1/2 red bell pepper, minced

6 pickled plums, pitted and minced

2 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons plum sauce

Directions

In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs and 1/2-cup heavy cream. Stir with fork until smooth. Set aside. In a small saute pan over medium heat, heat the oil and add the onion. Saute until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. In a large bowl, combine beef, veal, pork, honey, cooked onions and egg. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the bread crumb-cream mixture to the meat, and mix well. With wet hands 9to keep the meat from sticking), shape a meatball the size of a golf ball. If the meat is too soft to shape, more bread crumbs may be added to the mixture. Continue shaping meatballs, placing on a plate brushed with water. There will be about 24 meatballs. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter and add the meatballs. Saute, browning on all sides, until cooked through, about 7 minutes. Remove to a plate, and discard the fat from the skillet. Return skillet to heat, and add shallots, red pepper and plums. Saute until softened and lightly browned. Add chicken broth, then remaining 1/ 4 cup of heavy cream. Stir in plum sauce, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add meatballs to sauce and simmer over medium heat, until sauce thickens slightly and meatballs are heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve.

(http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/swedish-meatballs-with-spicy-plum-sauce-recipe/index.html)

Swedish Meatballs

Ingredients

2 slices fresh white bread

1/4 cup milk

3 tablespoons clarified butter, divided

1/2 cup finely chopped onion
A pinch plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 pound ground chuck

3/4 pound ground pork

2 large egg yolks

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups beef broth

1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.

Tear the bread into pieces and place in a small mixing bowl along with the milk. Set aside.

In a 12-inch straight sided saute pan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sweat until the onions are soft. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the bread and milk mixture, ground chuck, pork, egg yolks, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, black pepper, allspice, nutmeg, and onions. Beat on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes.

Using a scale, weigh meatballs into 1-ounce portions and place on a sheet pan. Using your hands, shape the meatballs into rounds.

Heat the remaining butter in the saute pan over medium-low heat, or in an electric skillet set to 250 degrees F. Add the meatballs and saute until golden brown on all sides, about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the meatballs to an ovenproof dish using a slotted spoon and place in the warmed oven.

Once all of the meatballs are cooked, decrease the heat to low and add the flour to the pan or skillet. Whisk until lightly browned, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add the beef stock and whisk until sauce begins to thicken. Add the cream and continue to cook until the gravy reaches the desired consistency. Remove the meatballs from the oven, cover with the gravy and serve.

(http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/swedish-meatballs-recipe/index.html)