These Authentic Swedish Meatballs are rich and deep in flavor. Made with ground beef, veal and pork, cream and honey. Marcus Samuelsson’s Swedish Meatballs are a treat.
Authentic Swedish Meatballs
Every culture has its version of the mighty meatball and with the arrival of Ikea in Denver a few years ago, I’ve been given the impression that Sweden is the king of meatballs.
Not wanting to depend on a prefab, assemble yourself furniture store to set my bar for the Swedish Meatball standard, I decided to consult a famous Chef.
And with two side by side ss’s in his last name, I trusted Chef Marcus Samuelsson’s recipe to be authentic and very special.
Before Christmas we watched the Lidia Bastianich Christmas special in which she invited several celebrities to share their Christmas meal memories and traditions.
Chef Marcus Samuelsson was on the show and his segment was dedicated to his family’s Swedish Christmas tradition, Swedish Meatballs.
Why This Recipe Works
With many of the classic ingredients that we relate to Swedish and Scandinavian food culture, these meatballs are rich and deep in flavor with ground beef, veal and pork, cream and honey. Decadent!
Cream and lingonberry preservers make a unique and unforgettable sauce.
Pickled cucumber adds a powerful compliment and served with mashed potatoes and a dollop of lingonberry preserves on the side, smooth, simple and refined.
My favorite thing about these meatballs? There’s pickle juice in the meat sauce mixture.
Note: I found lingonberry preserves at Whole Foods, and I’ve also seen them at Ikea.
Recipe for Marcus Samuelsson’s Swedish Meatballs
I hope you give this Swedish Meatballs recipe a try, and if you do, please come back and give the recipe a star rating. And leave a comment about your experience with the recipe and give the recipe a star rating.
And if you have a favorite meatballs recipe, let me know, I’m a meatball fanatic. I’d love to give it a try.
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Marcus Samuelsson’s Swedish Meatballs
Ingredients
- FOR THE MEATBALLS
- 1/2-3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium red onion finely chopped
- 1/2 pound ground chuck or sirloin
- 1/2 pound ground veal
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 1 large egg
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 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 from quick pickled cucumbers below,
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- FOR THE QUICK PICKLED CUCUMBERS
- 1 Tablespoon Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 whole allspice berries
- 1 English cucumber
Instructions
- FOR THE MEATBALLS
- Combine the bread crumbs 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 saute for about 5 minutes, until softened. Remove from the 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 bread crumb-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 discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the skillet.
- FOR THE SAUCE
- 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 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly and the meatballs are heated through. Serve hot with mashed potatoes, preserves, and Quick Picked Cucumbers.
- FOR THE QUICK PICKLED CUCUMBERS (makes 1 1/2 cups)
- Slice the cucumber as thin as possible (use a mandoline or other vegetable slicer if you have one. Put the slices in a colander, toss them with the salt, and let stand for about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine the water, vinegar, sugar, bay leaf, and allspice in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Rinse the salt off the cucumbers, and squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Put the cucumbers in a medium bowl and add the pickling solution; they should be completely covered by the brine. Cover and refrigerate for 3 to 6 hours before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Marcus Samuelsson’s Swedish Meatballs … They’re whats for dinner.
I have made these meatballs many, many times. I make them in volume at Christmas time and use them throughout the holidays when entertaining. My neighbor kid is about to go off to college and I asked him what he’d like for me to cook for him for his “send off” dinner. So in mid-August I’m making a double batch of these meatballs. I make according to recipe, however I use fresh lingonberries flown in from Washington State for the lingonberry sauce.
Hi Jan. Thank you so very much for taking the time to send this note about those meatballs. I love your idea about making them in volume for the holidays. Why didn’t I think of that? And nice find for those fresh lingonberries. Fabulous. Again, thanks for the note and make it a delicious day.
Can I make these ahead of time so I am not cooking when guests arrive?
Absolutely. I’d have them prepared about an hour before guests arrive. Keep them in a 200 degree oven, in an oven safe dish – covered. Sauce and all.
You know that I am a meatball fanatic.. And Swedish meatballs are at the top for being a fav! I really like the pickle idea!
Beautiful presentation of the meatballs Lea Ann. I think Marcus is a very interesting chef. I haven’t had Swedish meatballs in ages and these look delicious.
Sam
I love the idea of pickle juice in the mixture! They look delicious!
where is the recipe for these quick pickled cucumbers????
also what would you substitute for the ligonberry preserves? i can not find them
Marcus’s (I had to give you another pair of esses) Swedish meatballs are quite different from mine (posted last year), but I’m sure I could polish off a plate of them with no complaints! And they look pretty with the pickles!
Hi Lea Ann, my mom used to prepare something very similar to this, these look delicious!
I haven’t had Swedish meatball in ages. And it’s been years and years since I’ve made them! Love them for parties, but they make a really good dinner too. Yours look fab — thanks!
Swedish meatballs are good little fellers and these sound delicious.