Helga’s Meatballs by Top Chef Marcus Samuelsson
Chef Marcus Samuelsson's favourite Swedish meatballs recipe by his grandmother Helga.
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup full cream
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 red onion finely chopped
- 500 g ground chuck or sirloin
- 500 g ground veal
- 500 9 ground pork
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- salt & pepper
For the sauce
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1/2 cup full cream
- 1/4 cup lingonberry jam
- 2 tbsp pickle juice
- salt & pepper
Instructions
For the meatballs
- Combine the breadcrumbs and heavy cream in a small bowl; stir 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 sauté 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 breadcrumb-cream mixture and mix well.
- With wet hands (to keep the mixture from sticking), shape the mixture into meatballs the size of golf balls, 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 meatball 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.
- Return the meatball 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.