Christmas

Traditional Swedish Meatballs

December 21, 2012
5
1 Ratings
  • Serves 18
Author Notes

My grandma, who was born in a Finnish community in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, dictated this recipe to my mom. We've had this as part of a Smörgåsbord every Christmas. —Karl Rosaen

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Ingredients
  • 1.5 pounds Lean Ground Beef
  • 1 pound Ground Veal
  • 0.5 pounds Ground Pork
  • 2 Large Onions
  • 1 cup Bread Crumbs
  • 2 Eggs
  • 0.5 cups Chopped Parsley
  • 0.5 cups Chopped Basil
  • 1 tablespoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Pepper
  • 0.5 teaspoons Ground Nutmeg
  • 12 Whole Allspice
  • 0.5 cups Milk
  • 6 tablespoons Butter
  • 6 cups Beef Broth
  • 2 tablespoons Flour
  • 0.5 cups Water
Directions
  1. Mix together the ground meat, onions (pulverized), eggs, milk, bread crumbs and all of the spices except the whole allspice.
  2. Roll the meat mixture into half inch round balls - should be enough to cover about 3 baking sheets (sheets used solely to hold the rolled meatballs while they're waiting to be browned).
  3. Brown the meatballs in butter: place a large pan over medium to high heat and combine 1 TBS of butter with a half a baking sheet worth of meatball at a time for a total of six batches. Place the browned meatballs into baking dishes - two large baking dishes should be sufficient.
  4. Keep the heat on medium high and add the beef broth. Bring to a simmer.
  5. Once the mixture has thickened to a gravy, add salt and pepper to taste, and then pour over the meatballs.
  6. Sprinkle the whole allspice evenly among the meatballs.
  7. Bake the meatballs for 45-60 minutes at 350 degrees.

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3 Reviews

Nicole S. November 9, 2014
Wow, those are so far from real traditional Swedish meatballs as we have here in Sweden. You must try an authentic Swedish meatball to see if you like the real deal. NOT THE ONES IN IKEA... It's amazing how different recipes can be yet satisfy so many. Happy cooking.
Karl R. November 9, 2014
Fair enough - "traditional" more in the sense of it being a tradition within my family - I'm no expert in Swedish cuisine. But I assure you these are better than Ikea meatballs!
Kt4 December 23, 2018
Nicole,
Maybe you could post your recipe so we have something to compare it to?