St. Mark's Swedish Meatballs

Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 3/4 lb ground beef
• 1/2 lb ground veal
• 1/2 lb ground lamb
• 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
• 1 cup light cream
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup finely snipped parsley
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1 dash pepper
• 1 dash nutmeg (optional)
• butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 (15 ounce) can beef broth
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee
• salt and pepper

Recipe

• 1 have meat ground together twice. when i am not able to find ground veal easily, i use half ground beef and half ground lamb.
• 2 soak breadcrumbs in cream for at least 5 minutes. i let them soak while sautéing the onions.
• 3 melt 1 tablespoons butter and saute the onion until tender but not brown.
• 4 combine meats, crumb mixture, onion, egg, parsley, and spices. i am not a fan of nutmeg in meatballs and i do not add that ingredient.
• 5 mix thoroughly.
• 6 choice, brown meatballs in a skillet on the stove a few at a time until all have been cooked through or bake in a 350 oven on cookie sheets until cooked through.
• 7 if you cooked your meatballs in a skillet, use the fat to start the gravy. if you made them in the oven, use the fat you have and a few tablespoons butter. sorry, this part is not exact but as i figure it out i'll update.
• 8 stir 2 tablespoons flour into fat.
• 9 add beef broth, water, and instant coffee. i have also used a small amount of coffee left in the pot. i start with a tbsp or so and just keep taste testing until i find a flavor i like.
• 10 heat and stir until gravy thickens.
• 11 salt and pepper gravy to your liking.
• 12 add meatballs into gravy and cook slowly for 15 to 30 minutes. this is the forgiving part of the recipe, if your meatballs are a bit pink inside, simmer until they finish cooking.
• 13 note: if you are new to making gravy and need to add more flour to make a thicker gravy, disolve the additional flour in an equal amount of water and slowly add to your gravy. stir constantly while adding the flour mixture and for a a few minutes afterwards. by doing this you should be able to avoid a lumpy gravy. you may need to adjust the seasoning when you are done.
• 14 note: cooking and preparation times are only a guess.