Thanks to IKEA, everybody have heard about Swedish meatballs. Now it is time you hear about Norwegian meatballs, cause they are totally different, and totally delicious! How to make Norwegian Meatballs?

Norwegian Meatballs Ingredients

(I like to double the recipe)

  • to 1/2 pound lean ground beef
  • 1/2 pound ground pork
  • 1 egg
  • 2/3 cup Panko breadcrumbs
  • 1/4 cup light cream
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice
  • Some recipes also include 1/4 teaspoon ground
  • I did not
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped or coarsely grated
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 cup flour (I use Wondra flour for gravies – less lumps)
  • 2-4 cups chicken broth
  • 1/2 onion, skin removed, cut into 2 pieces
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup red or rose wine
  • Dash gravy browning agent (e.g. Kitchen Bouquet)
  • salt and pepper to taste for gravy

Norwegian Meatballs Directions

  1. In a large bowl, whisk the egg, then whisk in the light cream.Whisk in salt, pepper, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. Add chopped onion and mix well.
  2. Stir in breadcrumbs. Let sit for a couple of minutes.
  3. Add meat and knead well until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed. If too soft, add a small amount extra breadcrumbs. If too dry, add small amount extra light cream.
  4. Form the meat into balls about the size of golf balls. Heat a couple of Tbs. or so of butter in a large Dutch oven or deep frying pan and fry the meatballs, carefully turning until they are well browned on all sides, but not cooked through. Do not crowd the meatballs in the pan, you may have to fry them in batches to make sure they don’t steam each other.
  5. Once all of the meatballs have been browned, return them all to the Dutch oven, or to a deep casserole dish, add the half onion, and pour the broth over them.

Norwegian Meatballs To Cook:

  1. Stovetop: In Dutch oven, pour in enough broth to cover 1/2 way and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through, about20-30 minutes. Stir a couple of times. Remove from heat and remove the onion.
  2. Oven at 350 degrees: In deep casserole, pour in enough broth to almost cover the meatballs. (I prewarm it in the microwave to speed things up). Bake for 30 minutes.
  3. To make the gravy: in a large saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the remaining 4 Tbs. of butter. Stir in the flour to make a roux and allow to cook for a minute. Then, bit by bit, whisk the broth that the meatballs were cooking in into the roux, whisking vigorously to prevent clumping.
  4. If you didn’t use all of the broth to cook the meatballs, add the rest of the broth to the gravy and bring to a simmer. Turn to very low heat. Whisk in the sour cream, wine, gravy browner. Stir in salt and pepper to test. Also adjust the rest of the flavorings to taste. If the gravy is too thick, add in a little hot water from the potatoes that you should be boiling at the same time (you almost always eat meatballs and gravy with potatoes.).
  5. When the gravy is seasoned to your liking, pour it over the meatballs in a serving dish. Serve with boiled or mashed potatoes (actually, though not traditional, I like them over wide noodles), sweet-sour red cabbage, and a green vegetable.

Note: My Norwegian grandmother also included some cardamom in her meatballs. Also, my grandma always said a secret is to MIX very well. There is no such thing as an “official” recipe. Like Lefse, most families probably had a little variation.