Swedish Meatballs with Lingonberries

Ikea. For some reason people here love it. Me, not so much. Having lived in Europe, my family and I have been to the one in Dresden a number of times and let me assure you, it’s much better overseas! With that being said I decided to give it a go here. I did make one fatal mistake however and that was bringing my teenage daughter. She found many things she could not live without. Three HUNDRED dollars later we decided to try their “Swedish Meatballs”. I’m not sure what I expected for cafeteria food, but the heartburn that resulted an hour later made me regret ever considering them all. This inspired me though. Not the heart burn but the thought of meatballs in a creamy sauce. They served it with a side of Lingonberries. What the hell are lingonberries you ask? I’ll be damned if I know but it worked. Ikea sold these elusive lingonberries in a jar so I purchased one and began to plan out a better version of these Swedish meatballs in my head.

Step 1

Heat, stirring often until they are soft, but not brown. This should only take about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Step 2

Add 1 cup bread crumbs with 3/4 cup milk. Mix and let sit. Do not use Italian bread crumbs, after all these are not Italian meatballs! Use plain please.

Step 3

It’s time to prepare the ground meat mixture. In a medium to large bowl, add the following:

• An even mix of ground pork and ground beef. I used about 1/2 pound (or slightly more) of each.

• the onions/garlic mixture

• the milk soaked bread crumbs

• 1 tablespoon ground pepper

• 1 teaspoon dried dill

• 1 egg

Mix well, with your hands. Don’t be afraid of the ground meat. If it bothers you, then don’t make meatballs! You have to really incorporate the bread crumbs with the meat and that means getting dirty with your hand! When everything is mixed really well, start rolling out the meatballs and have something ready to put them on. I made mine about 1″ wide or slightly larger and I used a cookie sheet to put them on while they waited for their turn in the sizzling pan.

Step 4

Now that the meatballs are formed, you can start heating up your pan. I used the same sauté pan that I cooked the onion and garlic mixture in so that great flavor would not go to waste. Add 2 Tablespoons butter and let melt. Add about 7-10 meatballs. You are going to do these in 3 or 4 batches. You don’t want to overcrowd them. They only take about 5-7 minutes to cook on medium. When one batch is done, put them on a new tray or plate, add another pat of butter and repeat. Don’t worry about the brown bits on the bottom of the pan, those are going to be incorporated later. Just remember to keep the heat on Medium, you don’t want those bits to burn.

Step 5

This is THE most important step. Despite the name of the dish, this sauce is the star, so don’t leave out a step, even if it sounds weird. You have been warned.

You will need the following things:

• 1 Tablespoon butter

• 2 Tablespoons flour

• 2 cups chicken broth

• 3/4 cup sour cream

• 1/4 cup lingonberry jam (remember my warning…)

• Salt and pepper to taste

First, dump out any remaining fat/butter from the pan once all the meatballs are done cooking. Add the fresh butter and give it a moment to melt (keeping the heat to medium). Add your flour. With a wooden spoon mix until it turns paste like. This will not take long. Slowly add the chicken broth, mixing well. Once that is mixed in, switch from a wooden spoon to a small whisk. Whisk for a few moments, as it begins to thicken this is where the magic happens. Add your salt and pepper, whisk some more. Reduce the heat to Medium Low at this point. Add your sour cream and whisk well. Add your 1/4 cup of lingonberry jam. Whisk well. Add the meatballs back to the pan and let them bath in the sauce for about 10 minutes. This will allow the flavors to meld and the meatballs to heat back up.

You are done! Serve with your favorite side and a scoop of the lingonberry jam on the side.

A final note on this lingonberry stuff.

The taste of this is sort of a mix between sweet and tart and it works. You will NOT be able to identify it the sauce but it adds such a great layer of flavor. If you are a fan of cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving, you will love this. If you are not a fan of it, try this anyway.

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