Danish Meatballs (Frikadeller)

Deantini's Note:

The Danes and the Swedes were in numerous wars over hundreds of years; one reason could have been 'the meatballs'. Most people will think of Sweden and perhaps IKEA when they think of meatballs; however it is also a traditional dish in Denmark and it is a dish that varies from family to family, often being passed down through generations. My recipe goes back at least 100 years, perhaps more; but I have traced it back to my great-grandmother and can remember making the meatballs with my grandmother as a little girl. The difference between the Danish and Swedish meatballs is often that ground pork is added to Danish meatballs making them fluffier and - being Danish - I think more tasty ;)

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 4

Yield: 15.0 meatballs

• 350 g extra lean ground beef
• 150 g ground lean pork (as lean as you can get, ground pork in Denmark only has around 8-10% fat)
• 1 egg
• 8 tablespoons breadcrumbs
• 1 onion , small, shredded finely on cheese grater
• ½ cup water
• 1 ¾ teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons black pepper (add more if you want a spicier meatball)

Directions:

1. 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.
2. 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).
3. 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.
4. Serve with a potato salad, mashed potatoes or cooked potatoes with a white milk based gravy.

Reviews

[Dienia B.]

alot like lazymees recipe the grating of the onions was a better touch i thought i still used only beef i through these into freezer as meatballs for spagetti thanks zaar tour 6

[breezermom]

I cooked the meatballs in the skillet, and I couldn't help myself, I had to taste one before covering them with gravy. Very tastey! I wish you had shared the gravy that your family uses with these meatballs, but I tried to follow your instructions and make a milk-based gravy. I made my gravy with the drippings left in the skillet, mixed with flour. Then I stirred in a mix of beef stock and milk, and waited until it thickened. I was lucky enough to have a cup of leftover Recipe #374647, and I stirred that in. Then I added in some sour cream, black pepper, and parsley. Delicious! Served over some leftover angel hair pasta, although I really wanted to serve over mashed potatoes!! This was delicious. Thanks for sharing!

[TheGrumpyChef]

Really good meatballs. Could be used in so many ways. We made a sauce from 1 can golden mushroom, 1 can cream of mushroom, milk and mushrooms, baked for 25 min and delish. The meatballs were tender with lots of flavor. Thanks for sharing, we will be making this again, maybe with spaghetti next time? :)