Traditional Swedish meatballs (köttbullar)

Forget the frozen version, traditional Swedish meatballs (köttbullar) are easy to make at home and taste delicious. These gently spiced meatballs in a flavorful cream sauce are classic comfort food. 

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Many cultures have a version of meatball and pretty much all of them have a slightly different flavor. In most cases, this reflects classic flavors from that culture's cooking, like mint and/or oregano in Greek keftedes and parmesan in Italian polpette.

The combination of meats can also vary. Turkish, Persian and Moroccan kofte/kofta are more typically lamb rather than the pork/beef combination more typical in European versions.

These Swedish bites are no different, with a gentle warm spice of allspice and sometimes nutmeg. Warm spices are definitely flavors associated with Nordic cooking, both savory and sweet such as gingerbread cookies and cardamom buns. 

Flavor variations

As with all traditional recipes, you will find slight variations in the exact ingredients and method for these. Some pre-cook the onion, others don't. Most use a mix of pork and beef but the proportion can differ (usually half and half but some use ⅔ beef).

Most use breadcrumbs or bread that you soak before combining with the other ingredients, but  the soaking liquid can vary. Some use milk, others cream, and a few part or all stock or water. Then again, others use potatoes and/or oats instead of the bread.

The seasoning is kept pretty simple in pretty much all. Some only use salt and pepper, but many have at least one or more spice - allspice is most common but others also have nutmeg or ginger. Don't go too heavy on any of them, though.

Tips for making great Swedish meatballs

As I say, these aren't difficult, but a couple tips to help them turn out well:

• Use lean ground beef - ground pork is usually higher in fat so 80 - 85% lean beef is best to balance it out. 
• Don't over-mix or compress the mixture, try to more 'whip' or stretch as you mix it to keep it light rather than press it together. You can use a food processor or just get your hands in there.
• I recommend you scoop out all the meatballs then roll them all rather than rolling as you go. It isn't my natural way to do it but I find it works better here. 
• Wet your hands with cold water to help you roll the meatballs without them sticking to your hands. You don't traditionally roll these in flour, just cook them as they are.
• Cook over medium rather than high heat to avoid burning. Also, cook in batches to avoid overcrowding.
• Turn the meatballs regularly to cook on all sides, but wait until they release from the skillet/pan naturally rather than forcing them. This means they have a good sear, are ready to turn and keep a better shape.
• If you prefer, you can bake these in the oven. If you do, you might like to finish them off either under the broiler/overhead grill or in a skillet to get a bit of a sear on them. 

Making the sauce

While a paler, almost white sauce might be more common in Americanized versions of this dish, traditionally, the sauce is more of a pale brown as you see here.

Why, you may ask? Well, two things: one is a touch of soy sauce and the other is all the wonderful browning from cooking the meatballs. Both add some great flavor and really help make this dish extra delicious.

To get the brownings, you can either use some of the drippings from the skillet or, more easily, use the same skillet after cooking the meatballs. The only slight downside is you may have a little excess fat that you need to drain first, or else larger pieces of browning.

Especially if the browning is a bit lumpy, you might find you need to strain the sauce to make it smoother. Or just leave it, it will still taste good. Then, add back the meatballs to warm them through in the sauce before serving.

How to serve Swedish meatballs

Despite the few variations in the meatballs themselves, what is consistent is how to serve them. Well, sort of. The cream sauce is pretty much a must, as are the lingonberries as a delicious sweet contrasting flavor (and pop of color).

The most common side is mashed potatoes, but you might also have these with boiled potatoes or noodles. Some Swedish pressed cucumbers on the side are pretty common and are great for cutting through the richness.

You may think you know Swedish meatballs, but you probably don't know how good they can really be unless you have had homemade. Yes, they take a little more effort than from a packet, but they are easy to make, especially using the tips above, and the result is comforting, flavorful and delicious.

Try these other tasty meatball recipes:

• Kofte-style lamb meatballs with some warm spices in tomato-pepper sauce
• Greek meatballs - keftedes - with a lovely touch of aromatic mint
• Pork meatballs with arugula and lemon, fresh and tasty
• Fiskefrikadeller - fish cakes would be the English translation but "frikadeller" is meatball and these are made more in that style, being mainly fish (and super tasty!)
• Plus get more comforting winter recipes and Nordic recipes in the archives.

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