Swedish Kottbullar Or Danish Frikadeller Food

DANISH MEATBALLS (FRIKADELLER)

Steps:

• Mix together all ingredients using hands in a big bowl. To get the right consistency it is important that all ingredients get well mixed and gets softened a bit. I would say that you should knead for around 5 minutes.
• Form into meatballs according to the size you prefer. In Denmark meatballs used for dinner is the size of the palm of your hand, and lunch meat balls are about half of that. (Quantity for this recipe is based on dinner meatballs).
• Heat a non-stick pan to medium-hot and place the meatballs in the pan. If you feel they stick too much to the pan, you can add a bit of butter to the pan (not oil). Turn the meatballs with a fork once they have started to brown. Keep turning them every 4 min or so being careful that they do not brown too much. Cook for approx 15-20 min until cooked through.
• Serve with a potato salad, mashed potatoes or cooked potatoes with a white milk based gravy.

SWEDISH MEATBALLS (OR KOTTBULLAR)

Steps:

• First and before you get the meat out of the fridge, get everything ready (you don't want ground meat out of the fridge for longer than necessary).
• Start with the onion. Chop it very finely, season it lightly with salt, and gently cook it on low heat in a non stick skillet with a Tbsp of oil and 1/2 a Tbsp of butter until just golden. (Don't let it burn, it will turn bitter !) Let it cool, and reserve.
• Make the breadcrumbs, and soak them in 1/4 of a cup of cream. Start adding the cream slowly, you don't want it dripping wet, just soaked, and the quantity of cream to add might depend on how moist your bread already is. Reserve.
• Beat and season the egg, reserve.
• Once this is done, get the ground meats out of the fridge and combine them (beef and pork) with the soaked bread, the beaten egg, the cooked and cooled onion, the nutmeg, and the allspice. Incorporate everything well, and salt and pepper to taste. Then cover and put back in the fridge for about half an hour. Don't overmix or the meatballs will be tough.
• After half an hour, take your meat mixture out of the fridge and start to shape your meatballs (I make mine bite size, they cook faster and its easier to eat), and fry them until golden brown in a cast iron casserole (cast iron because it keeps the heat very well) in the rest of the canola oil with 2 Tbsp of butter for the taste. Once golden brown on all sides, Put them on paper towels in a tray and reserve.
• In the same cast iron casserole, throw out most of the fat, and then saute the mushrooms on medium heat in what's left. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, and a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Once the mushrooms are cooked, deglaze the skillet with 1 cup of beef stock and scrape all the brown bits from the bottom of the casserole. Be careful with the salt at this stage, because the beef broth is already salted. You can always adjust the salt later.
• Turn the heat to low and then slowly add the can of Campbell's mushroom soup, and the heavy cream (1 cup).
• Once the mushroom sauce is nice and bubbly, add the meatballs back in, and let reduce on low for 30 to 40 minutes, until the sauce has reduced a third to a half (depending on how thick you want the sauce to be), and the meatballs are cooked through and the flavors have all combined.
• Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve on top of fresh mash potatoes, or buttered noodles.
• I have added pictures of several stages of the dish to help you out.
• NOTE : leftovers freeze beautifully. It's also a great dish to prepare a day ahead of time, because its even better reheated the next day. Just make sure you don't reduce the sauce too much when you cook it if you know you are going to serve it the next day, the sauce will finish to reduce as you reheat it (on low).

DANISH FRIKADELLER OR SWEDISH KOTTBULLAR MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Soak the bread or cracker crumbs in 1/3 cup of the cream. Put 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and a bit of salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.
• Combine the bread crumbs, onion, meat, and spice, along with some more salt and pepper; do not overmix or overhandle. With wet hands or wet spoons, shape the meat into small meatballs (I would say as small as you have the patience for, but no more than an inch in diameter).
• Put 2 tablespoons of the remaining butter in the skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. When the butter melts, begin adding the meatballs, a few at a time; you may have to cook in batches. Brown nicely on all sides and turn off the heat. Serve immediately or proceed to the next step.
• To make a sauce, remove all but a trace of fat from the pan. Return the pan to the stove over medium heat and add the remaining butter and, after it melts, the flour. Stirring constantly, add the stock and cook until slightly thickened. Add the remaining cream and continue to cook for a few more minutes or until thickened. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then pour the meatballs into the sauce to reheat before serving.

KöTTBULLAR (SWEDISH MEATBALLS, IKEA STYLE)

Steps:

• In a skillet, melt 2 Tbsp butter, heating until melted and just starting to brown. Add onion to skillet, saute until onion is golden.
• To the bread crumbs, add 2 Tbsp milk to moisten.
• In a large bowl, combine beef, pork, egg. Add onion, mashed potatoes, and moistened breadcrumbs. Add spices (salt, pepper, allspice). Add remaining milk a little at a time; stop before the mixture gets gloppy. If the meat mixture gets too gooey to form nice, neat meatballs, add a more breadcrumbs.
• Use a pair of spoons rinsed in water and shape the meat mixture into small round balls.
• In a large skillet, heat remaining butter over medium heat. Add meatballs to skillet, being careful not to crowd the pan. Shake periodically so that the meatballs don't develop flat spots. Cook until meatballs are done through.

SWEDISH KOTTBULLAR OR DANISH FRIKADELLER

Steps:

• Soak the bread or cracker crumbs in 1/3 cup of the cream. Put 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and a bit of salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.
• Combine the bread crumbs, onion, meat, and spice, along with some more salt and pepper; do not over mix or over handle. With wet hands or wet spoons, shape the meat into small meatballs (I would say as small as you have the patience for, but no more than an inch in diameter).
• Put 2 tablespoons of the remaining butter in the skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. When the butter melts, begin adding the meatballs, a few at a time; you may have to cook in batches. Brown nicely on all sides and turn off the heat. Serve immediately or proceed to the next step.
• To make a sauce, remove all but a trace of fat from the pan. Return the pan to the stove over medium heat and add the remaining butter and, after it melts, the flour. Stirring constantly, add the stock and cook until slightly thickened. Add the remaining cream and continue to cook for a few more minutes or until thickened. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then pour the meatballs into the sauce to reheat before serving.