Frikadeller (fried meat balls)
- 450-500 gram minced pork and veal (half of each) - 8-10% fat*
- 1-1½ teaspoon of coarse or kosher salt
Mix with a spoon or electric mixer with dough implements. Make sure it's mixed well, but don't overdo it - it'll make them rubbery.
- 1 yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 deciliter of flour (or rolled oats or dried breadcrumb - or some of each)
- 1 egg (or two if they are small)
- 1-1½ deciliter of water or milk
- A dash of black pepper
Add the other ingredients to the meat and mix well. Again - don't overdo it - it should be like a coarse paste, sticky and soft, but not too smooth.
Leave it in a cool place for at least 20 min. to let it 'set' - the moisture needs to spread evenly. 30 min. is better.
Heat up a generous amount of margarine or butter on a large frying pan. Grab a dessert/soup spoon in your dominant hand and scoop up a portion of the mixture. Now use the spoon to shape the meat ball in the palm of your other hand (scrape it up and dump it back down a few times while you try to aim at a nicely smooth and rounded shape). If you've never done this before, practise a little before heating up the pan. The size should be a little larger than a golf ball**. Dump them directly on the pan - they are too soft and sticky to shape first and then transfer to pan later. Flatten it a bit with the spoon once it's placed on the frying pan.
Fry them for about 5-8 min on each side. Once they are done take them off the pan, else they'll soak up more fat.
Don't try to place them too close at first, but once they've fried a few min. they'll set and you can push them closer together. This amount will just about fit onto a large frying pan in one go. If you make a very large portion they can also be cooked in the oven.
They can be frozen and later re-heated.
They can also be poached instead of fried to use in stews.
Can be eaten warm or cold - for dinner or for lunch - cold in slices on bread. Goes very well with potatoes and gravy and some kind of cabbage - or warm with rye bread for lunch.
* More than that and they will shrink too much - less than that, and they'll soak up frying fat anyway
** can also be tiny, made with a teaspoon for a lunch table, or even larger if you wish (but they don't fry as evenly)