Swedish Meatballs can be prepared without pork

Dear Cook’s Notebook: My newer cookbooks do not have a recipe for Swedish Meatballs. Do you have a good one? Thanks. – Virginia Czechowski, Spokane

Dear Virginia: I found two recipes for you. One is from the Dorothy Dean archives. It appeared several times including in the “Swedish Smorgasbord” flier in 1973.

The second recipe was a highly-rated recipe from Food Network chef Alton Brown. Many people said they substituted all beef for the recipe since they didn’t have ground pork.

Swedish Meatballs

From Dorothy Dean Homemakers Service

1 pound ground beef

1/2 pound ground pork

3/4 cup dry bread crumbs

3/4 cup half and half

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup minced onion

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2 tablespoons shortening or vegetable oil

1/4 cup water or broth

Grind beef and pork together twice. Soak bread crumbs in half-and-half. Fry onion in butter until golden. Combine meat, crumb mixture, cooked onion with egg and seasonings. Mix well then chill. Form into 1-inch balls. (Mixture will be soft; for ease in shaping, wet hands frequently.) In hot shortening or oil, fry meatballs, a few at a time until brown. Shake pan often to keep balls round. Place in casserole; add water then cover. Bake at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Yield: About 5 dozen

Approximate nutrition per serving, based on 10 servings: 254 calories, 17 grams fat (7 grams saturated, 62 percent fat calories), 16 grams protein, 8 grams carbohydrate, 81 milligrams cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 495 milligrams sodium.

Swedish Meatballs

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, Food Network 2005

2 slices fresh white bread

1/4 cup milk

3 tablespoons clarified butter, divided

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

A pinch plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 pound ground chuck

3/4 pound ground pork

2 large egg yolks

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups beef broth

1/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Tear the bread into pieces and place in a small mixing bowl along with the milk. Set aside.

In a 12-inch straight-sided sauté pan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sweat until the onions are soft. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the bread and milk mixture, ground chuck, pork, egg yolks, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, black pepper, allspice, nutmeg, and onions. Beat on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes.

Using a scale, weigh meatballs into 1-ounce portions and place on a sheet pan. Using your hands, shape the meatballs into rounds.

Heat the remaining butter in the sauté pan over medium-low heat or in an electric skillet set to 250 degrees. Add the meatballs and sauté until golden brown on all sides, about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the meatballs to an ovenproof dish using a slotted spoon and place in the warmed oven.

Once all of the meatballs are cooked, decrease the heat to low and add the flour to the pan or skillet. Whisk until lightly browned, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add the beef stock and whisk until sauce begins to thicken. Add the cream and continue to cook until the gravy reaches the desired consistency. Remove the meatballs from the oven, cover with the gravy and serve.

Yield: Approximately 30 meatballs, 4 to 6 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving, based on 6: 399 calories, 27 grams fat (13 grams saturated, 62 percent fat calories), 26 grams protein, 11 grams carbohydrate, 178 milligrams cholesterol, .5 grams dietary fiber, 872 milligrams sodium.

Reader Priscilla Reems shared her favorite seasonal recipe from Dorothy Dean for Zucchini-Nut Cookies.

“I have made them every year since it was first published, and they freeze well… which helps in using up all that extra squash.”

On the recipe, Reems notes that she usually cuts the cloves down to 1/4 teaspoon to suit her taste and flattens the cookies down a bit before baking.

Zucchini Nut Cookies

From the Dorothy Dean Homemakers Service, 1975

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 cup grated raw zucchini

2 cups sifted flour

1 teaspoon soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Cream shortening and sugars. Beat in egg. Add zucchini. Sift dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture. Stir in raisins and nuts. Drop by tablespoonful onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes until lightly browned.

Yield: 3 dozen soft cookies

Approximate nutrition per cookie: 89 calories, 3.8 grams fat (less than 1 gram saturated, 38 percent fat calories), 1 gram protein, 13 grams carbohydrate, 6 grams cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 52 milligrams sodium.