Finnish Meatballs

I don’t cook with allspice all that often, so when I saw this recipe, it piqued my interest. I made this recipe on a weeknight, and it took me an hour and forty-five minutes total time. That said, it was worth it. I followed the recipe to a tee, but with two minor changes.

First, I pulled three slices of French bread from my freezer for this recipe. They absorbed the milk well but were still a bit firm in places after 30 minutes. To avoid large pieces of bread in the meatballs, I pulled the bread apart before adding it to the mix. It worked just fine. Second, I had to skim some fat off of my meatball/sauce combination while it was in its final cooking stage. After skimming, I was left with a nice sauce. The recipe was easy to make.

We enjoyed the meatballs with boiled potatoes and salad. In the future, I will wipe out my pan between Steps 2 and 3. I will also make a double batch – one for immediate consumption and one for freezing. I will cook the second batch thoroughly and freeze them after Step 2. This recipe reminded me why I should be cooking with allspice more often. The meatballs come out tender and flavorful by themselves. Add in some Lingonberry jam, and you’ve just upped the game. I already want more!

Being a big fan of Swedish meatballs, these are a nice alternative. You will enjoy some of the same flavors, and the omission of the nutmeg allows for the allspice to shine. The red onion is a nice change as well, as it provides a bit more bite.

I make my own bread, so I used my whole wheat sourdough, which worked out fine. The recipe doesn’t call for salt or pepper, so I added 1 1/2 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of pepper to the initial mix. I always make a little tester to fry in the skillet before finalizing to check the seasoning. I added about 1 tsp more salt and 1 tsp pepper plus added about 1/2 tsp more of the allspice before I got the flavor I liked. I ended up with about 34 meatballs.

As the meatballs are a bit moist, I let them firm up in the fridge for 2 hours before searing them in the skillet. Something to note as well, my local butcher’s ground pork had a rather high fat content, so I needed to remove a bit of excess fat before I made the gravy, so that’s something to watch out for. You really don’t want more than 1-2 tablespoons of residual fat left before you make the gravy. There were lots of nice bits of onion left in the skillet, which really helped flavor the gravy.

I served the meatballs with some roasted carrots and potatoes. I don’t keep lingonberry jam in the house, so I omitted that from the plating. These would be a nice party appetizer as a change up from your typical meatball recipe.

As I have celiac disease, I obviously didn’t use regular white bread, but substituted white gluten-free bread, which worked just as well. I also substituted white rice flour for all-purpose flour. The recipe specifies ground allspice, but I like to toast whole allspice and grind it for a fresher, more intoxicating flavor. Of course, that is not necessary, but is my personal preference.

These meatballs are nothing really unusual at all, but are very tasty with the creamy sauce. We do not have lingonberries here, and at the time I did not have lingonberry preserves, so I used cranberry jam. Red currant would also work nicely. The slightly sweet yet savory meatballs contrasted nicely wit the tart jam. Perhaps next time I will add a touch of freshly-grated nutmeg as well. To sum up — a simple and basic — yet delicious — meatball recipe that deserves to be enjoyed again and again.