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swedish meatballs

Better than IKEA Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)

These juicy, savory meatballs cook up in minutes and are even more delicious flavor bombs than what you'll find at IKEA.
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Course Main Course
Cuisine Swedish
Servings 8
Calories 592 kcal

Ingredients
  

Swedish Meatballs

  • 1 onion
  • 4 garlic cloves or 1 tbsp
  • ¼ cup milk
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs about 75 grams
  • 500 grams ground beef mince
  • 500 grams ground pork mince
  • 1 egg
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • ¼ tsp white pepper
  • ½ tsp all spice
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ¾ tsp salt

Swedish Meatball Sauce

  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard

Mashed Potatoes

  • 1 lb potatoes peeled and cubed
  • ½ cup milk
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • ¾ tsp white pepper
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg

Instructions
 

Swedish Meatballs

  • Peel the skin off the onion and chop into 4 quarters. Add the onion quarters, garlic cloves, and milk to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
  • Transfer the blended onion, garlic and juices to a big bowl. Add in the breadcrumbs and milk. Mix well and let soak for a couple minutes.
  • Add in the rest of the meatball ingredients and use your hand or a hand whisk to quickly blend it all together.
  • Grab little bits of the meat and roll them into walnut-sized meatballs. No need to tightly pack them like you’re making snowballs – just forming a gently packed round shape is enough.
  • Lay them all out on a separate sheet or plate, ready to cook.
  • Heat about a tablespoon of ghee or a 50/50 mix of neutral oil and butter in a skillet. Add the meatballs and brown them on all sides. Cook while turning the meatballs for an even browning for 5 to 6 minutes IF you'll be simmering them in gravy afterwards.
    If you'll be eating the meatballs as is, cook for about 8 to 10 minutes. And then reduce the heat and continue to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, making sure to move the meatballs around so they don’t burn.

Swedish Meatball Gravy

  • Remove the meatballs from the pan but leave the pan drippings.
  • Melt 2 tbsp butter into the juices in the pan. Add 2 tbsp flour and stir well. Stir and heat for about a minute.
  • Then slowly whisk in beef broth, whisking to get rid of any lumps. Add the soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper and give it all a good stir. Let simmer and thicken for about 5 minutes. Whisk occasionally.
  • When the sauce has thickened a bit, add the cream and Dijon mustard and give it a good stir. Add the meatballs and toss it all together.
  • Let it all gently simmer, thicken, and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes. Voila – you’ve got Köttbullar med gräddsås (meatballs with gravy)!

Swedish Mashed Potatoes

  • Peel, cube, and boil the potatoes for around 15 minutes until tender. Drain and then mash using a ricer, a masher, a food mill, or just a simple sieve and a big spoon to squish the potatoes through the sieve.
  • Heat the milk and butter in a saucepan until the butter melts. Add the potatoes. Add the seasoning. Use a big spoon or a hand mixer to mix everything and further whip the mashed potatoes to your desired consistency.
  • Season with more salt to taste. Top it off with freshly ground black pepper, chives, or parsley.

Notes

How to bake it instead. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Place the meatballs on a baking sheet – about half an inch apart. Bake for around 15 to 20 minutes until cooked through IF you'll be eating the meatballs as part of a smorgasbord or as is.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes if you'll be further simmering the meatballs in gravy. 
Breadcrumbs vs bread. I recommend breadcrumbs if you'll be browning the meatballs in fat. If you're baking, bread soaked in milk and the onion and garlic juices works well since the extra moisture of soaked bread helps counteract the drying effect of the oven. So if you’re baking, substitute the cup of breadcrumbs with 2 slices of crust-less white bread.
Use a fat with a high smoke point. Traditionally, Swedish meatballs are browned in butter. But because butter can burn so easily, I recommend ghee, which has a higher smoke point (485°F (250°C)) than butter (350°F (175°C)).
If you don’t have ghee, use a combination of butter and a neutral oil. Using both helps raise the smoke point of butter so you have more time before it burns.
Brown slowly and in batches. If you overcrowd the pan, the resulting meat juice can lead to stewed meatballs. You don't want that - you want caramelized, crispy exteriors and juicy interiors. So brown the meatballs in batches.
And make sure to give them time - don't flip them too often. Let them sit in place for a minute or two before you flip them. 
To make ahead for later. Swedish meatballs freeze very well and can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 to 3 months. Just make sure to freeze them just after they're cooked - before you coat them in gravy.
Freeze them on a sheet or in an airtight container until they freeze in shape and then you can transfer them to a Ziploc bag to save space in your freezer. 
Swedish meatball sauce freezes nicely, too. But freeze it before you add the heavy cream and Dijon mustard. You can add the latter ingredients later when you're ready to eat it.