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Sweethearts' Swedish Meatballs in Burgundy Sauce

Source of Recipe

From "Goldy's Kitchen Cookbook" by Diane Mott Davidson


Recipe Introduction

"This oldie-but-goodie recipe for Swedish meatballs was given to me by a dear church friend, Barb Coulter. While I was making variations and testing it (fifteen years ago), one of our sons was living in Boulder and coming for dinner. So I asked him to stop by a famous wine store to pick up a bottle of dry red Burgundy, and I would reimburse him. I told him to tell the famous wine store people I was just using the wine for Swedish meatballs. The bottle he purchased cost fifty dollars. (Remember, this was fifteen years ago. That bottle would probably be triple that now, at least.) Aghast, I said to our son, 'Did you remember to tell them it was just for cooking?' He replied that he had. This was the bottle they'd recommended for cooking. I paid our son, made the dish, and was absolutely blown away by the resulting flavor. These days, all the major chefs recommend using the best wine possible for whatever dish you are making. So buy the best dry red Burgundy you can afford, and have the rest of the bottle with dinner. If the dish is to be served as an appetizer, provide small bowls or dishes and spoons. If the dish is to be served as a main course, serve over hot egg noodles."

List of Ingredients

Meatballs:
â—¦ â…” cup cornflake crumbs
â—¦ 1 teaspoon cornstarch
â—¦ 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
â—¦ â…› teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
â—¦ 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
â—¦ Freshly ground black pepper
â—¦ â…” cup heavy (whipping) cream or crème fraîche
â—¦ 1 large egg, well beaten
â—¦ 1 pound lean ground beef
â—¦ 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Burgundy Sauce:
â—¦ Melted unsalted butter
â—¦ ¼ cup all-purpose flour
â—¦ 1 ½ teaspoons sugar, or to taste
â—¦ Freshly ground black pepper
â—¦ 2 cups homemade beef stock (or 1 tablespoon beef bouillon granules dissolved in 2 cups hot water)
â—¦ 1 cup best-quality dry red Burgundy wine


Recipe

For the meatballs: Preheat the oven to 300° F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicone baking mat (or grease the pan with butter). In a large bowl, mix the cornflake crumbs, cornstarch, onion, nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste. In another bowl, mix together the cream and egg. Pour the egg mixture over the crumb mixture and stir gently. Allow this mixture to sit until the liquid is absorbed.

Gently mix in the ground beef until thoroughly combined. Using a 1-tablespoon (or slightly larger) ice cream scoop, measure out the beef mixture into 36 scoops onto two plates covered with wax paper. Gently roll the scoops between your fingers to form balls. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers. Carefully place the balls into the hot oil and sauté, turning once, until the outside is browned. (Do not cook the meatballs all the way through; they will be finished in the oven.) Using tongs, place the browned meatballs on the baking sheet. (Set the skillet with the drippings aside to use for the Burgundy sauce.)

Bake the meatballs for 10 minutes. Test the doneness of the meatballs by slicing one in half. The interior should no longer be pink. *Do not overbake the meatballs.* Set the meatballs aside until you are ready to reheat them in the sauce, which should not be until shortly before serving: The meatballs are delicate and will fall apart if cooked too long in the sauce. (If making the meatballs ahead, cool them and place them in a container that can be covered.)

For the Burgundy Sauce: Pour the fat from the meatball skillet (reserve the browned bits) into a glass measuring cup. Add melted unsalted butter to make ¼ cup. Return the fat to the pan and set over low heat. Whisk in the flour, and keeping the heat between low and medium-low, whisk and cook this mixture until it bubbles. (This should not take more than a couple of minutes.)

Whisk in the sugar and pepper to taste, then slowly add the stock, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Finally, whisk in the wine. Allow the mixture to come to a slow simmer and cook for about 5 minutes. Taste and correct the seasoning. If the sauce tastes bitter, add a bit more sugar and allow the sauce to simmer another 10 minutes. (If the dish is not to be served immediately, cool the sauce and chill, covered, until ready to heat and serve. Then gently reheat.) With the sauce at a simmer, lower the meatballs into the hot sauce and bring the mixture back to a simmer. Check a meatball with sauce to be sure the dish is heated all the way through.

Makes 36 meatballs in sauce