Ikea is giving away the recipe for its iconic Swedish meatballs to help people get through their time at home during the coronavirus pandemic — and you don’t need an Allen key to put them together yourself.
The Swedish furniture retailer published the recipe for its meatballs and gravy on Monday so fans of the iconic morsels can enjoy them even while Ikea stores remain closed due to the COVID-19 threat.
“We know that some people might be missing our meatballs, which is why we’ve released an at-home alternative which, using easily accessible ingredients, will help those looking for some inspiration in the kitchen,” Lorena Lourido, country food manager at Ikea, said in a news release.
Ikea is just the latest corporate giant to release one of its beloved recipes to the public. The Doubletree hotel chain released its recipe for chocolate chip cookies earlier this month, and Canada’s Wonderland has also published the instructions for making its funnel cake dessert.
Global News has not conducted a taste test with the meatballs yet, but early reports on social media suggest they’re pretty gööd.
The recipe was released in classic Ikea-style diagrams, but if those drive you crazy, we’ve got you covered with simple, step-by-step directions. We’ve also converted some of the British measurements in case you’re used to working with cups and teaspoons.
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So, without further ado, here’s how to make about 16 to 20 meatballs and sauce:
Swedish meatball ingredients
- 500 grams (about 1 pound) of ground beef
- 250 grams (about 0.5 pounds) of ground pork
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed or minced
- 100 grams (1/2 cup) of bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- 5 tablespoons of whole milk
- generous amounts of salt and pepper
Cream sauce ingredients
- Dash of olive oil
- 40 grams (3 tablespoons) of butter
- 40 grams (3 tablespoons) of plain flour
- 150 millilitres (2/3 cup) of vegetable stock
- 150 millilitres (2/3 cup) of beef stock
- 150 millilitres (2/3 cup) of thick double cream
- 2 teaspoons of soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
Directions
Meatballs
- Combine ground beef and ground pork in a bowl and break it up with your fingers to get rid of lumps.
- Add chopped onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, egg and mix together.
- Add milk and season with salt and pepper.
- Roll mixture into small meatballs. Place on a clean plate, cover and refrigerate for two hours.
- Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Add meatballs and brown on all sides.
- Heat oven to 180 C (350 F). Add browned meatballs to an ovenproof dish, cover and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.
Cream sauce
- Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a pan.
- Whisk in 3 tablespoons of flour and stir for two minutes.
- Add 2/3 cup of vegetable stock and 2/3 cup of beef stock, stirring continuously.
- Add 2/3 cup of double cream, 2 teaspoons of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard.
- Simmer until sauce thickens.
- Drizzle over meatballs and enjoy.
“Staying at home can be hard, but we want to help make everyone’s lives that little bit easier and more enjoyable,” Ikea’s food manager said in the news release.
“Bon appétit or, smaklig måltid, as we say in Sweden!”
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