Swedish Cocktail Meatballs
By America's Test KitchenPublished on February 29, 2012
Time
4 to 5 hours on low
Yield
Serves 10 to 12
Ingredients
Before You Begin
A 1 1/4-inch ice-cream scoop makes it easy to form these cocktail-sized meatballs. If you are keeping the meatballs warm in step 4, do not fully cover the slow cooker or the sauce will break. It's unnecessary to temp the meatballs because they will reach a food-safe temperature if cooked according to the recipe instructions. (For more information on food safety, check out this guide.)
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook onions until softened, about 8 minutes; transfer to large bowl. Add bread, 1/4 cup broth, 1/4 cup sour cream, yolks, allspice, nutmeg, salt, and pepper to bowl with onions and mash with fork until smooth. Add beef and pork and knead with hands until well combined.
- Form mixture into 1 1/4-inch meatballs (you should have about 60 meatballs) and arrange on wire rack set inside rimmed baking sheet. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker.
- Melt remaining butter in large skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Slowly whisk in remaining broth, bring to boil, and transfer to slow cooker. Cover and cook on low until meatballs are tender and sauce is slightly thickened, 4 to 5 hours.
- Transfer 1/2 cup sauce from slow cooker to small bowl. Whisk in remaining sour cream, soy sauce, and dill; gently stir into slow cooker. Serve. (If desired, meatballs can be held in slow cooker on low, partially covered, for 1 to 2 hours. Stir meatballs occasionally, adding up to 2 tablespoons water as needed to thin sauce.)
- Make Ahead: Meatballs and sauce can be prepared and refrigerated separately for up to 3 days. To finish, transfer meatballs to slow cooker. Microwave sauce on high power, stirring every 30 seconds, until heated through, about 3 minutes. Pour sauce over meatballs and heat with slow cooker on low until heated through.
- Make It a Meal: These tiny meatballs can also be served as a main course. To turn the Swedish Meatballs into a main course, in step 2 simply roll the meat mixture into 2-inch meatballs (you should have about 35 meatballs) and proceed with the recipe as directed. When spooned over hot buttered egg noodles or steamed white rice, these larger meatballs will serve 6 to 8.
Time
4 to 5 hours on lowYield
Serves 10 to 12Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Swedish meatballs have long been standard cocktail party fare, but rolling and browning dozens of little meatballs and then building a sauce leaves little time to get everything (including the host) ready before company arrives. Enter our recipe for Swedish Cocktail Meatballs—prepared in the slow cooker. To keep our recipe’s sauce from becoming greasy, we put our Swedish Cocktail Meatballs in the oven for 15 minutes, allowing much of their fat to collect on the bottom of the pan. Cooking our Swedish Cocktail Meatballs in the oven also allowed us to brown them before adding them to the slow cooker. For a quick sauce, we started with a base of flour-and-butter roux and beef broth, which cooked down to the perfect consistency to coat the meatballs. A few tablespoons of soy sauce gave our sauce a rich, meaty backbone without overpowering the other ingredients.
Before You Begin
A 1 1/4-inch ice-cream scoop makes it easy to form these cocktail-sized meatballs. If you are keeping the meatballs warm in step 4, do not fully cover the slow cooker or the sauce will break. It's unnecessary to temp the meatballs because they will reach a food-safe temperature if cooked according to the recipe instructions. (For more information on food safety, check out this guide.)
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook onions until softened, about 8 minutes; transfer to large bowl. Add bread, 1/4 cup broth, 1/4 cup sour cream, yolks, allspice, nutmeg, salt, and pepper to bowl with onions and mash with fork until smooth. Add beef and pork and knead with hands until well combined.
- Form mixture into 1 1/4-inch meatballs (you should have about 60 meatballs) and arrange on wire rack set inside rimmed baking sheet. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker.
- Melt remaining butter in large skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Slowly whisk in remaining broth, bring to boil, and transfer to slow cooker. Cover and cook on low until meatballs are tender and sauce is slightly thickened, 4 to 5 hours.
- Transfer 1/2 cup sauce from slow cooker to small bowl. Whisk in remaining sour cream, soy sauce, and dill; gently stir into slow cooker. Serve. (If desired, meatballs can be held in slow cooker on low, partially covered, for 1 to 2 hours. Stir meatballs occasionally, adding up to 2 tablespoons water as needed to thin sauce.)
- Make Ahead: Meatballs and sauce can be prepared and refrigerated separately for up to 3 days. To finish, transfer meatballs to slow cooker. Microwave sauce on high power, stirring every 30 seconds, until heated through, about 3 minutes. Pour sauce over meatballs and heat with slow cooker on low until heated through.
- Make It a Meal: These tiny meatballs can also be served as a main course. To turn the Swedish Meatballs into a main course, in step 2 simply roll the meat mixture into 2-inch meatballs (you should have about 35 meatballs) and proceed with the recipe as directed. When spooned over hot buttered egg noodles or steamed white rice, these larger meatballs will serve 6 to 8.
Gift This Recipe
Enjoyed this dish? Let others know by sharing it as a gift recipe.
Appears In
Key Equipment
Keep Exploring
0 Comments