Marcus Samuelsson's Authentic Swedish Meatball Recipe. (2024)

5 from 6 votes

Cuisine: Swedish

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 7 minutes minutes

Author: Lea Ann Brown

• ▢ 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

• 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.