The Best Ever Meatballs with Gravy!

Ruthy note: I was scheduled to do Swedish Meatballs today with my sister Patty Kay's recipe... only I couldn't find it. So I found one online that looked really close, delicious and still easy... Imagine my surprise when I double checked our labels and found Missy used the same Alton Brown recipe last March for Speedbo!!! Great minds think alike.... This is quick, delicious, easy, but it doesn't taste like a "throw together" meal... It's like beef stroganoff only with no wine and meatballs. But I like it just as much... I also add mushrooms to ours, nice big ones if I have them (not HUGE, but good sized because by the time they cook they shrink a little)

In a pinch, mushroom slices work great too and are (as my husband likes to point out) "Fork Friendly"

So here it is, a reprint of Missy's take on Alton Brown's Swedish Meatballs and egg noodles!

Missy, here. And this post is written with apologies to our vegetarians who hang out with us! But for those of us who eat meat, I've created a recipe for amazing meatballs.

I got on the Food Network website and did a search for ground pork since that's all I had available for dinner the other night. I found a recipe for Swedish Meatballs from Alton Brown. What I'm sharing here is my take on it with the ingredients I had on hand. And it turned out amazing!

Ingredients:
2 slices white bread (I used white wheat)
1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
Kosher salt
1 pound ground pork
2 large egg yolks
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken or beef broth (I only had chicken on hand)
1/4 cup half-and-half (or heavy cream)
1 bag wide noodles (I used whole grain)


Preheat oven to 200 degrees to keep meatballs warm while making gravy. Boil water for noodles and cook according to package directions.

Tear bread into pieces and place in a small bowl. Pour the milk over the pieces and let sit to absorb.

In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add onion and pinch of salt and cook onions until soft and translucent. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, combine the bread/milk mixture, ground pork, egg yolks, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper (about 1/2 tsp), and onions. Beat on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. I worried about this step because I've always heard not to overwork meat, but these turned out so tender I'll never worry again!

Roll out 1-ounce sized meatballs using your hands. They're very delicate and hard to keep together. Place them on a plate/cookie sheet as you make them.

Heat the remaining butter in the skillet over medium-low heat. Add the meatballs and saute, turning them, until brown on all sides. I cooked mine 10-12 minutes because I worry about undercooking meat. All mine fit in one batch, and it made 18 meatballs. I used two spoons to turn them. Once done, I removed to a clean baking sheet. If you have too many for the skillet, work in batches and keep the cooked ones warm in the oven.

Decrease heat to low and sprinkle on the flour. I also added about another tablespoon of butter because it just looked like it needed it (I always make my gravy based on how it looks!).

Whisk until lightly browned, about 1-2 minutes.

 Whisk in the beef/chicken broth. Whisk until it begins to thicken. Add the cream and continue to cook until desired consistency. Add in meatballs and serve.

I served over the noodles, and the family loved them! They're tender and delicious!