Meatballs in Mushroom Gravy
Hearty swedish-style meatballs in a rich mushroom gravy.
Delicious, satisfying meatballs in a rich gravy. Make a big batch and freeze some for later!
Just the Recipe | 6 Servings
Meatball Ingredients
1/2 cup Dried Porcini Mushrooms
3/4 + 1/2 Cup Beef Stock
1 Large Yellow Onion
2 1/2 lbs of Meatball Mix [Ground Beef (1), Ground Pork (1), Ground Veal (1/2)]
1/4 Cup Flour
2 tsp Kosher Salt
1 tsp Ground Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Ground Allspice
2 TBS Butter
1 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Gravy Ingredients
1 1/2 TBS Butter
1 1/2 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Shallots
2 Garlic Cloves
12 oz Cremini / Baby Bella Mushrooms
6 oz Shiitake Mushrooms
3 TBS Flour
1/2 Cup Red or White Wine (dry; like a chardonnay or pinot noir)
2- 2/12 Cups Beef Stock
3/4 Cup Reserved Porcini Broth from the meatballs
Fresh Thyme
Salt & Pepper
Braiser or Dutch Oven | Stove Top and 300° Oven
Meatballs
Rehydrate the dried mushrooms:
Heat 3/4 cup of beef stock in the microwave for about a minute until warm but not boiling.
Place the dried mushrooms in a bowl or glass measuring cup and cover with the heated beef stock.
Cover and let stand for about 30 minutes.
Remove the mushrooms, rinse briefly in cold water and pat dry.
Strain broth through a sieve or coffee filter, saving the porcini broth for the gravy.
Chop the rehydrated mushrooms very finely.
Peel the onion and then grate into a large bowl using a box grater.
To the large bowl with the grated onion, add the meat, flour, 1/2 cup of beef stock, chopped mushroom, and seasonings. Mix gently (your hands work the best!) to incorporate all of the ingredients, but don’t overwork the mixture.
Chill for at least 30 minutes.
Once chilled, form the meatballs. Wet your hands to keep the mixture from sticking as much and shape spoonfuls of the mixture into about 1 1/2 - 2 inch balls. Form all of the meatballs, placing onto a plate until all of the mixture is used.
To the braiser or dutch oven, add the butter and olive oil and turn to medium - high heat. When hot, fry the meatballs in a single layer with space between them (don’t overcrowd the pan). Brown on all sides, about 3-4 minutes per side, using tongs to turn the meatballs. Once fully browned, add to a clean platter and tent with tin foil to rest. Work in batches to fry the rest of the meatballs.
Gravy
Prepare the veggies:
Peel and finely dice the shallots and garlic.
Wipe the caps of the mushrooms. Discard the stems. Slice into smaller pieces.
Gently tear about 1 tsp of thyme leaves off their woody stems and chop roughly.
To the pan where you browned the meatballs, add the butter and olive oil on medium-high heat.
When the butter and oil are hot, add the shallots and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir, cooking for about 2 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and another pinch of salt and pepper and fresh thyme. Cook, stirring, until the mushrooms have lost much of their water; about 5-7 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook for another minute, stirring.
Deglaze the pan with the wine, stirring to loosen all the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Continue cooking until alcohol has cooked off and the mushrooms have absorbed much of the wine.
Add the flour, sprinkling to coat the mushrooms. Stir well to combine and allow to cook, stirring, for about a minute.
Add 2 cups of the stock and the porcini broth to the pan and stir gently. (Save 1/2 cup of the stock to thin the gravy if it gets too thick). Cook, stirring frequently so it doesn’t stick, until the sauce is bubbling, not quite a boil, and the gravy has thickened.
Taste and adjust the seasoning as desired.
When thickened, turn the heat to low. Add the meatballs back to the pan, nestling into the gravy. Simmer on low - or add to a preheated oven and bake at 300° - for 15-20 minutes.
Serve with roasted vegetables or steamed green beans and mashed potatoes.
Kitchen Acumen Tips:
Meatball Mix The combo mix isn’t always available in stores. If you can’t find it, piece together by selecting a pound of 85/15 ground beef, a pound of ground pork mix and 1/2 pound of ground veal. If you don’t like (or can’t find) veal, consider substituting sweet Italian sausage. Or simply use 1 1/2 lb ground beef, and 1 1/2 lb of ground pork.
Gluten Free. To make gluten free, use potato starch instead of flour.
Dried Porcini Substitutions.
Instead of the porcini mushrooms, you could use nutritional yeast to add more depth of flavor to the meatballs.
Or, instead of grating the onion finely dice it and gently cook in some oil, with salt and pepper, until starting to caramelize. Add some soy sauce and worcestershire sauce to deglaze the pan. Set aside to cool to room temperature and then add to the meatball mixture.
Swedish Meatball Gravy. For a more traditional Swedish meatball style meal, skip the mushrooms and just make a brown gravy. Add 1/4-1/2 cup of sour cream to the gravy once thickened and before adding the meatballs. Add off the heat and stir in gently. Use a full-fat sour cream. Then return to the heat and keep on low. Serve over egg noodles and with a lingonberry jam on the side.
Mixing. For this style meatball, I prefer to keep it simple and work gently with the meatballs using my hands to mix and shape and tongs to cook. I’ve never had an issue, but if you find the meatball mix to be too crumbly, add an egg and 1/2 cup of plain bread crumbs. (This may happen if you choose very lean meat.)
Mushrooms. The amount of mushrooms used can be adjusted. We like a lot of mushrooms, but you could easily scale down to one 6 or 10 oz package of baby bella. Feel free to adjust the types of mushrooms to your preference as well. Exotic mushroom mix works well here.
Storing. Meatballs freeze very well, so do mushrooms. If you make the sauce without adding any dairy you can easily freeze the meatballs in the sauce in a freezer bag. Remember to label and date your freezer containers. They’ll keep for about 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight before heating gently in a pan or in the oven.
Wine. You can use any red or white wine in the gravy. Both work nicely and flavor the gravy a bit differently. Always use a wine you will drink. To make my decision, I choose what wine we want to enjoy with dinner and use 1/2 cup from that bottle in the recipe. Red tends to pair better with beef, but there are some interesting white options you could choose (or a dry sparkling wine). Avoid rose or fruit flavor wine here.
