Swedish-Style Meatballs with Cream Gravy and Lingonberries
By Joe
Source: Serious Eats, NYT Cooking and America's Test Kitchen.
This follows the same method as our beef meatballs in tomato sauce, but the all-beef mixture is spiced with allspice, nutmeg, white pepper and grated onion, pan-fried in butter and oil, then finished in a cream gravy made in the same pan and served with lingonberry jam, with no garlic, parmesan or tomato sauce.
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Method
- 1
Make the panade. Soak the torn bread in the milk for 5 minutes, then mash to a smooth paste. This gives the meatballs a moist crumb to hold onto once they're fried and spiced.
- 2
Mix and shape. Add the beef mince, grated onion with its juice, egg, allspice, nutmeg, white pepper and the meatball salt to the bread paste. Beat with your hand or a wooden spoon for 1-2 minutes, until sticky and slightly pale — this firmer mixing, rather than a light touch, is what gives these meatballs their fine, springy texture. With wet hands, roll into walnut-sized balls of about 25g each, making roughly 36 in total.
- 3
Fry in batches. Heat the butter and oil in the large frying pan over medium heat until the butter foams. Fry the meatballs in two batches, shaking the pan to roll them, for 8-10 minutes per batch, until browned all over and a probe thermometer in the centre of one reads 71°C. Lift onto a paper-lined plate to drain while you make the gravy.
- 4
Make the cream gravy. Pour off all but about a tablespoon of fat from the pan, then add the butter and flour and stir over medium heat for 2 minutes until light golden. Whisk in the stock gradually, scraping up the browned bits from the base of the pan, then stir in the cream and simmer for 3-4 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon; season with the gravy salt.
- 5
Finish and serve. Return the meatballs to the gravy and warm through for 2 minutes. Scatter over the dill and serve with the lingonberry jam alongside — its sharp sweetness cuts through the richness of the gravy.
Storage
Keeps in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days, or frozen (without the cream gravy, which can split) for up to 2 months. Reheat gently on the stove, stirring, until piping hot throughout (74°C), adding a splash of stock if the gravy has thickened too much. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
Why this label?
38 g protein for 736 kcal = 5.2 g per 100 kcal, so protein gives about 21% of the energy. High protein needs at least 20% (5 g per 100 kcal), the condition in the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Free sugars
7.2 g per serving
14.4 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 28.8 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- large mixing bowl
- large heavy frying pan (28-30 cm)
- instant-read probe thermometer
- whisk
- slotted spoon
- plate lined with kitchen paper
Nutrition per serving Calculated from USDA FoodData Central
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 736 kcal |
| Protein | 38 g |
| Carbohydrate | 26.7 g |
| of which sugars | 11.1 g |
| of which free sugars | 7.2 g |
| Fat | 52.8 g |
| of which saturates | 23.1 g |
| Fibre | 1.4 g |
| Salt | 2.5 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
5.2 g meets High protein (≥ 5 g per 100 kcal = 20% of energy, and ≥ 10 g per serving)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
