Celia Barbour's Finnish Meatballs

Okay, so it's no big secret that meat doesn't photograph well. Pardon me, dear readers, for offending your eyes with this picture. Believe me when I tell you that these meatballs, despite being stodgily unphotogenic, were the highest praised items at my birthday lunch last weekend. I know - four great recipes this week and counting. We're on a quality roll here!

Those meatballs are Finnish meatballs, courtesy of Celia Barbour's grandmother, which you know must guarantee success, because who pulls out their grandmother's recipes to be published nationwide if they haven't got a deep, abiding faith in their deliciousness? I'd had the recipe earmarked since Celia wrote about her feelings on pasture-raised meat a few months ago (I guess we feel the same way). As Ben and I would have never been able to eat our way through a mountain of those meatballs on our own, and it's a well-known fact that meatballs make every party a better party (what? you didn't know that? it's the truth), I cooked up a batch for my friends on Sunday.

To prepare the raw meatball - er, batter? what does one call this uncooked pile of meat? - I grated a mountain of Gouda before mixing it into a verdant soup of beaten eggs, parsley, chopped (not fine enough) onions and spices. Then I squished in an enormous pile of soppy bread and ground meats (my ground pork was whey-fed, according to the Bobolink girls, which, in principle, seems revolting, but apparently it makes the pork taste delicious and who am I to criticize the gentle pork farmers of New Jersey?) until all the ingredients were well-combined and evenly distributed.

It took me quite some time to roll marble-sized meatballs and coat them lightly in flour - and my kitchen started to look like a truffle workshop - but there was something intensely peaceful and soothing about the work. It was eight in the morning on a Sunday, I was up to my elbows in cold, raw meat, and everyone I knew was still asleep, but there in my kitchen, as the sun rose and the birds sang, I had my little meatball rhythm going and couldn't have felt more whole.

I browned those little marbles in olive oil - it took four batches in my 12-inch skillet - before dumping them all into a tiny amount of simmering chicken broth (well, actually, after the meatballs were cooked, I let them sit on their plates for a few hours and then I dumped them in the pot, and they were no worse for the wear and suited my schedule much better). After the broth simmered and the meatballs warmed and cooked a bit further, I swirled in some cream, turned off the heat and watched a miracle of chemistry take place. The cream thickened and glossified - coating each meatball with a toothsome, creamy glaze.

With toothpicks set out for everyone, and the pot on the still-warm stove, the meatballs were the stars of the day. Little flavor bombs of spiced meat bound by buttery cheese - I couldn't imagine eating a whole plate of these with noodles unless I was, well, an alcoholic Finn soaking up his bacchic transgressions with saturated fat. But pierced with a toothpick and eaten one at a time while leaning against the stove with my friends, they were absolute perfection.

Finnish Meatballs
Yields 8 to 10 servings

3/4 cup milk
3 slices white bread, crusts removed
6 ounces mild and buttery Gouda-style cheese
1 1/2 cups loosely packed fresh parsley, finely minced
3/4 cup finely minced onion
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup chicken or beef broth
1/4 cup vegetable oil, or as needed
1/2 cup heavy cream

1. In a bowl, warm milk in a microwave until just steaming. Remove from heat and press bread into the milk; set aside.

2. Grate cheese on large holes of a box grater and place in a large bowl. Add parsley, onion, eggs, salt, both peppers and allspice. Stir well to combine. Add ground beef, ground pork and milk-soaked bread (discard the milk). Knead by hand until well-blended.

3. Spread flour on a plate. Roll meat mixture into 1 1/2-inch balls, and roll in flour to coat. Place a Dutch oven over very low heat, and add broth. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering.

4. Working in batches, add enough meatballs to loosely fill pan. Sear for about 1 minute, then shake the pan to turn meatballs. Continue until well-browned on all sides, adding more oil to the pan as needed. Transfer meatballs to Dutch oven and allow them to gently simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring carefully from time to time. Add cream and turn the heat off. Mix gently.

Comments

[Tanna]

Luisa you do realize you have writen a most excellent reason and feeling about why we cook...
there in my kitchen, as the sun rose and the birds sang, I had my little meatball rhythm going and couldn't have felt more whole.
That is a classic as it would seem so is the meatball recipe.
Absolutely love picturing everybody around the pot on the stove with tooth picks...what could be more perfect.

[Lia]

You're on a quality recipe roll and a writing one as well. Thanks for sharing all this delicious food from your party with us!

[ann]

I remember when that recipe came out. I actually had to make a trip to Ikea because I was so obsessed with the idea of meatballs, and I love their so much!
Maybe I'll make these for the hungry masses soon to descend upon my mom's house...

[Renee]

Your comment about whey-fed pork reminds me of an old family story. My father, raised on a subsistence farm in Vermont, always complained that modern pork is flavorless, compared to the meat of his childhood. Growing up, the family fed their pigs the unmarketable skim milk left after they sold off the valuable cream, and the potatoes too small to sell (no market for baby potatoes in the 1920s, apparently). Whey is another dairy by-product with a pretty limited market, and I bet the Boblink pork is delicious!

[RA]

These sound so good! I've been looking for a nice meatball recipe for our New Year's party and this may do the trick. Do you think you could use a slow cooker on low instead of a Dutch oven?

[Alana]

Luisa, I've been a faithful reader for months and finally wanted to say hello. This week's recipe's look fantastic but this one in particular is just what I've been looking for to take to my Grandmother's house for Christmas! Have a nice holiday.

[gemma]

I should warn your other readers that once they try one.... its pretty near impossible to stop eating them. I am too embarrassed to say how many I ate - but in my defense they were SOOOOOO good x

[Leah]

Happy belated birthday!! xo

[Molly]

I am a huge meatball fan - is there a more perfect form of meat? I don't think so - and these look SO good. Thanks for sharing them with us... xo

[Luisa]

Tanna - well, thank you! I'm glad that resonated with you. For some cooking is so stressful; for us it's an escape.

Lia - Thank you, thank you. And, you're welcome!

Ann - just think how much easier it will be to whip these up in your own home rather than making the trek out to LI or NJ! :)

Renee - that is interesting, indeed. Funny how skim milk and baby potatoes used to be considered pig's food. Bobolink's pork was absolutely delicious, so I trust what they're feeding those pigs!

RA - you're really only cooking the meatballs for another 20 minutes in the broth, so I'm not sure if you gain all that much by sticking them in the slow cooker. The bulk of the cooking is done in the fry pan. But if you're looking to be time efficient, you can do what I did: fry the meatballs and reserve them until 20 minutes before you're ready to serve. You then pop them in the hot broth and finish them with cream.

Alana - thanks for saying hi - I'm so glad you've found something to take to your grandmother's house: I'll bet they are a huge hit. Happy Holidays!

Gemma - well and furthermore, you ARE eating for two, so you get all the meatballs you want!

Leah - thank you!

Molly - meatballs are pretty fine, aren't they? Though I don't know how these measure up to your friend Doron's!

[Leland]

These look great! Very similar to Mom's Swedish variety, but with cheese.

When I was reading Mario's book the other day, he lamented the fact that Italians who moved to America stopped using bread in their meatballs because they thought of it as a meat extender, when in fact it adds an unbeatable texture.

[Holley]

Luisa, I love your site and I love what you do, don't get me wrong, but the photo with this dish just put me in mind of the funniest website I've ever, ever seen... bar none, poundy.com: http://www.candyboots.com/wwcards/fishballs.html and for the main page, to enjoy and laugh til tears come (thank you Wendy!) I have to share them with new fans: http://www.candyboots.com/wwcards.html

[Leo]

I just discovered your web site through a typical rabbit's warren set of links. It is great. The recipes sound great. Your commentary is fun. The photos are useful. And the comments from your audience are fun and useful. I will be back.

[Heikki]

I love finnish meatballs - I am finn.

[C]

New reader here - I made these for my superbowl party, and they were very popular.

The funny part is that I soaked the bread in milk as the directions require, then completely forgot to add it! The meatballs were more dense than they probably should have been, but still quite good. So, future readers, if that happens to you, it's ok.

[s]

Do you have any recommendations of what to serve along side these meatballs? I'm planning a birthday dinner and would love to serve these, but not really sure what works well with them. Any suggestions?

[Luisa]

S - I made the meatballs as part of a buffet that included homemade hummus, a bulgur salad with pomegranate molasses dressing, and a vegetable tart (recipes all on the site). If you're planning a sit-down dinner, I think these could work great as an hors d'oeuvre for your guests to eat while they're standing around having a glass of wine and before you sit down to eat. It's a pretty casual dish.