Swedish Meatballs

Meatballs for days, Swedish Meatballs to be exact. When I think of Swedish Meatballs, the first thing that comes to mind is Ikea. I'm not the only one right?

Many years ago, I made a trip to Ikea, like many of us have. While pushing the cart and following those useful arrows on the ground I overheard a teenage girl talking on the phone about Ikea's Swedish Meatballs. "Girl, have you had these meatballs at Ikea? Girl, they are the BOMB. Girl, I'll go and bring you some."

Why I remember word for word what she said, I have no clue but the way she said it just got me laughing. At the time, I couldn't focus on the fact she was talking about the Swedish Meatballs. I could only focus on the fact she kept saying "Girl" to begin each sentence!

Well, it's now time to stop thinking about "Girlllll..." and start thinking about Swedish Meatballs!

Swedish Meatballs

Recipe by Marcus Samuelsson

Ingredients
For the meatballs 
1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
1/3 pound ground chuck or sirloin
1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 pound ground pork
2 tablespoons honey
1 large egg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

For the sauce 
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup lingonberry preserves
2 tablespoons pickle juice

To garnish lingonberry preserves quick pickled cucumbers

Directions
Combine the breadcrumbs and heavy cream in a small bowl, stirring with a fork until all the crumbs are moistened. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for about five minutes, until softened. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, veal, pork, onion, honey and egg, and mix well with your hands. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

 Add the breadcrumb-cream mixture and mix well. With wet hands (to keep the mixture from sticking), shape the mixture into meatballs the size of a golf ball, placing them on a plate lightly moistened with water. You should have about 24 meatballs.

 Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs, in batches if necessary, and cook, turning frequently, for about 7 minutes until browned on all sides and cooked through. Transfer the meatballs to a plate and drain off all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the skillet.

 Return the skillet to the heat, whisk in the stock, cream, preserves and pickle juice, and bring to a simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the meatballs to the sauce, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about five minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly and the meatballs are heated through.

-Aaron John