Retro Recipes

This small Scandinavian meatball was very popular as an appetizer in the 1950s and 1960s. America was on the move, not only in their cars but away from formal dining arrangements. People liked to sit watching TV. Buffets became popular at parties, as did cocktail parties, barbecues, and eating out on the patio.

There are many variations on the recipe. This one has ground beef and pork sausage in beef gravy rather than a cream sauce.

2 lbs. ground beef
1 lb. pork sausage (out of the casings)
4 slices dry white bread
¼ cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
Salt and pepper to taste
2 T vegetable oil
2 cups beef bouillon (canned, packaged, or reconstituted from cubes)

In one bowl, combine the ground beef and pork sausage. In a larger bowl, crumble the bread into the milk and combine until it forms a paste. Add the meats, eggs, onion, garlic, spices, salt and pepper. Roll into 1” balls and put on waxed paper. Let them stand for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet and brown the meatballs. Put them into a 9” by 13” pan. Add the beef bouillon. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve warm with toothpicks in some of them.

Yield: 36 meatballs.