Danish Meatballs Recipe

Danish Meatballs  are a staple of the Danish diet and are made from a combination of ground beef, pork or even veal along with minced or grated onion, breadcrumbs, milk, flour and seasonings.   Below is my recipe for making Danish Meatballs along a delicious gravy to be  served with them.  I love to enjoy my Danish meatballs and gravy with some delicious mashed potatoes,  They go wonderfully together.

Ingredients:

3/4 pound of ground beef
1 pound of ground pork
1 medium onion, grated
1/2 cup of breadcrumbs
4 tablespoons of flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon of Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
3/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon of dried marjoram, crumbed
1/3 cup of half & half
1 tablespoon of butter
1/2 tablespoon of olive oil
3 tablespoons of flour
1 cup of heavy cream
1 tablespoon of beef bouillon
1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of dill weed
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

Take a large mixing bowl and add in your ground beef, ground pork, onion, breadcrumbs, flour, eggs, salt, pepper, nutmeg, garlic, and marjoram and mix your ingredients together with your hands.  Once your ingredients are well combined slowly add in your half & half.   Then place your meat mixture in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes to chill.  This will make your meatballs easier to form.  After that time remove your meat from the refrigerator and form your meatballs.  You want your meatballs to be about the size of walnuts.  Then preheat your oven to 220 degrees F.

Now add in your olive oil and butter to a large heavy duty skillet and place your skillet over a medium heat.  When the butter melts add in your meatballs to your skillet, but do not crowd them.  You will want to slightly press down on them when you place them in and then cook for 4 to 5 minutes per side.  You will have to work in batches.  You will have to add in a little olive oil and butter with each batch and you may have to adjust your heat if they are browning too much.  When your meatballs are done place them on a platter, place some foil on top and then put them in your preheated oven to keep warm.

When finished making your meatballs you will want to remove your oil from your pan, but leave the drippings and the brown bits at the bottom of your skillet.   To make your  gravy you will want to increase your heat to a medium high and then add in your flour to your drippings.  Make sure you whisk vigorously as you do this.  If you don’t have at least 3 tablespoons of drippings in your pan you will want to add in some butter.  Then whisk your flour into your drippings to make a roux.  Your roux will thicken your gravy.  When the flour is fully absorbed into the drippings slowly add in your cream, making certain to whisk as you add in your cream.   You will want a creamy consistency and you will not want any lumps so make certain to constantly whisk until all of your cream has been added.   Then add in your beef bouillon, garlic and dill weed and cook while whisking occasionally as it cooks until you have the consistency of a gravy.  You will also want to scrape the brown bits from the bottom of your skillet and incorporate them into your gravy as it cooks. When finished, give your gravy a taste and add in some salt and pepper to your liking.  You will want to serve your gravy with your Danish meatballs.