Almost-As-Good-As-Ikea Swedish Meatballs

      

       Let’s say I wanted to open up a furniture and home accessory store, plus a café that sells little meatballs. You’d think I was crazy, right? But that’s what Ikea has done. And with forty eight retail stores across the country and new ones popping up everywhere, they’re doing something right. I’ve never been to an Ikea store; the closest one is in Orlando, five hours away. And as I don’t need any furniture, I can’t see driving that far to buy little meatballs.

       But I want their meatballs, because everyone is talking about them. Tasty, tiny Swedish meatballs in a cream gravy, served with whipped potatoes and lingonberries. The word on the street is Ikea is not giving up their secret meatball recipe, but after a lot of research I believe I can make some almost-as-good-as-Ikea Swedish meatballs. Friends of mine who are fortunate enough to have eaten the little gems claim the meatballs have a velvety, smooth texture and a certain flavor that is different from other American-style meatballs.
       There are some key ingredients that need to be included. The meatballs should be made with a combination of ground beef and pork, and if you can get a butcher to grind the meat finer than usual, that would be a plus. The other ingredient found in real Swedish meatballs is rusk. Rusk is a little toast, similar to Zweiback, the little biscuits shoved into the mouths of teething infants. You can find rusk at nearly any grocery store. The rusk should be finely ground in a food processor, so that it practically turns into flour. Regular breadcrumbs do not work in this recipe. There’s something about the flavor of rusk that cannot be imitated.
       Another necessary ingredient is mashed potatoes. That adds to the smooth texture of the meatballs. And the last secret ingredient is allspice. It adds a subtle flavor that makes these meatballs so special. The sauce for the meatballs is simply brown gravy mixed with heavy cream. I have plenty of homemade brown gravy in my freezer, leftover from other meals, but you could use canned brown gravy successfully for this recipe, if you don’t have time to make your own.
       The meatballs are always served with lingonberries, a staple in Scandinavian cooking, and naturally I can’t find them anywhere in my town. But lingonberries are similar to cranberries – they are tiny and tart, so I’ve decided to serve cranberry sauce with them instead.
       Are my Swedish meatballs as good as Ikea’s? I don’t know about that, but they were delicious. Someday I hope to visit a real Ikea store and see what all the fuss is about, but in the meantime, I’ll stick with my outdated furniture and home accessories, and my almost-as-good-as-Ikea Swedish meatball recipe.

 

Almost-As-Good-As-Ikea Swedish Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 small onion, finely minced

1 tablespoon butter

2/3 lb lean ground beef

1/3 lb lean ground pork

1/2 cup finely mashed potatoes, no lumps allowed

½ cup finely ground rusk

1 egg, well beaten

¼ cup milk

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon allspice

Butter for sautéing meatballs

10 ounces beef gravy mixed with ½ cup heavy cream

Directions:

Saute onions in butter gently until soft and translucent. Add next nine ingredients, and mix gently with your hands. Form into tiny meatballs. Saute meatballs in butter, or alternatively you can drizzle them with butter and bake them in the oven until cooked through. Heat the gravy and cream mixture and pour over the meatballs right before serving.