Swedish Meatballs!!

Well howdy folks! 

If you haven't picked up from the blonde hair and the wide-set, blue eyes... my fam is Swedish.  Needless to say, I'm a fan of ginger snaps (pepparkokar), lefse, and good ol' Swedish meatballs. 

Now, I'm not going to lie and say that Swedish meatballs were a staple in our household.  My family is mad for my mom's sweet and sour sauce (drool!) and my first real exposure to Swedish meatballs was at IKEA.  I know I know... a shame to my heritage!  But IKEA knows what they are doing... they are delicious!! Albeit, full of grains and fillers so I set out to make a primal-friendly version of these yummy eats. 

So let's talk ingredients!  This is what I started out with.

For the meatballs:

1/2 lb ground beef (grass-fed organic is best)

1/2 lb ground pork

2 eggs

1 teaspoon coconut flour

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon coconut oil

In a bowl, combine everything except the coconut oil.  I use my hands.  It's messy, but somehow therapeutic, and gets the job done a lot faster than using a spoon or fork.

Once the mixture is combined, use a small scoop or tablespoon to portion out small meatballs.  I used my trusty small cookie scoop!

Melt the coconut oil in your pan and brown your meat balls in small(ish) batches.  Once brown, set the meatballs aside.

Once the meatballs are all browned, we are ready for the sauce.

For the sauce:

1 1/2 cups broth or water (I used homemade bone broth!  If using broth, make sure it is low or no-sodium broth as the liquid will be reduced by about 3/4)

1/2 cup heavy cream (or coconut milk - place in fridge and scoop the cream from the top to measure)

4-5 springs of thyme

Sea salt, to taste

Add the broth/water first and gently scrape the yummy brown bits off the bottom of the pan.  Add the cream and fresh thyme sprigs (I left mine whole and just fished the stems out after it was done reducing).

Bring the sauce to a boil and add back the meatballs.  Lower the temperature to medium/low and simmer for 20-25 minutes, until it reaches your desired consistency!

After 20 minutes you are left with tender meatballs and a beautiful sauce! YUM!

Note: Do not add the salt until the sauce has reached the desired consistency.  If you add the salt before it reduces it will become waaaaaaay too salty!

Hope you enjoy!  Adjö!