Venison Swedish Meatballs
2 slices white sandwich bread
¼ cup milk
4 tablespoons clarified butter, divided use
½ cup finely chopped shallots
Kosher salt
12 ounces D’Artagnan Venison Ground Meat
12 ounces ground pork
2 large egg yolks
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground caraway seed
¼ cup all-purpose flour
3 cups beef stock
¼ cup heavy cream
Lingonberry jam, optional (cranberry sauce or apple sauce are good substitutes if lingonberry is unavailable)
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add bread and milk. Set aside.
- Melt about 1 tablespoon of clarified butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add shallots, season lightly with salt, and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- To the bread and milk mixture, add ground venison, ground pork, egg yolks, 1 teaspoon salt, about ½ teaspoon black pepper, allspice, nutmeg, and caraway. Mix on low speed, about 1 minute, then add shallots and continue to mix on medium speed about 1 minute more.
- Using a scale, weigh 1-ounce portions of the meat mixture and place on a sheet pan. Dampen your hands with water and shape them into round meatballs.
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
- Heat the remaining clarified butter in the same sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the meatballs, working in batches, and sauté until golden brown all over, about 10 minutes each batch. Remove the meatballs to an oven-safe dish with a slotted spoon and place them in the oven.
- Leave any fat in the sauté pan and turn the heat down to low. Add flour, whisking until smooth; cook until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes.
- Gradually add beef stock and continue to whisk until sauce begins is smooth and begins to thicken. Add the cream and continue to cook until the gravy has thickened to your desired consistency. Taste for seasoning, add salt and/or pepper if needed. Remove the meatballs from the oven, cover with the gravy and serve with lingonberry jam (or other substitutes as mentioned above).
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