Swedish Meatballs

We had Swedish meatballs at the home of a friend who is from Finland a couple of years ago. I remembered that experience last week and decided I wanted to make her meatballs, but she was in the process of moving to Finland and had already packed her cookbooks, so I found a recipe online. The recipe I found comes from the Food Network website, courtesy of Alton Brown. I have to say that I just had Swedish Meatballs at IKEA last month and I think these ones are better.

Swedish Meatballs
from FoodNetwork.com

2 slices fresh white bread (I used 1/2 cup bread crumbs)
1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons clarified butter, divided (I used normal butter)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
A pinch plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 pound ground chuck
3/4 pound ground pork
2 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (I used bottled)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups beef broth (I used 3 cups of water and 3 beef bullion cubes)
1/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.

Tear the bread into pieces and place in a small mixing bowl along with the milk (or mix bread crumbs and milk). Set aside.

In a 12-inch straight sided saute pan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sweat until the onions are soft. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the bread and milk mixture, ground chuck, pork, egg yolks, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, black pepper, allspice, nutmeg, and onions. Beat on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes.

Using a scale, weigh meatballs into 1-ounce portions and place on a sheet pan. Using your hands, shape the meatballs into rounds. (I don't have a scale, so I just made meatballs the size I like them.)

Heat the remaining butter in the saute pan over medium-low heat, or in an electric skillet set to 250 degrees F. Add the meatballs and saute until golden brown on all sides, about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the meatballs to an ovenproof dish using a slotted spoon and place in a warmed oven.

Once all of the meatballs are cooked, decrease the heat to low and add the flour to the pan or skillet. Whisk until lightly browned, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add the beef stock and whisk until sauce begins to thicken. Add the cream and continue to cook until the gravy reaches the desired consistency. (I had to add a little more flour than it calls for to get my gravy to thicken.) Remove the meatballs from the oven, cover with the gravy and serve.

The recipe says it makes about 30 meatballs, but I made around 60. I guess I like my meatballs smaller than Alton Brown.