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[[ Venison · Meat · Dinner · Meatballs ]]

Venison Meatballs, Swedish Style

Venison mince takes well to the Swedish meatball treatment, with warm spices like allspice and nutmeg running through each one. The cream sauce has depth from stock and a quiet sweetness from plum jam. Good for a weeknight when you want something hearty and a bit different from the usual mince dishes.

An original recipe by Jamie, created in collaboration with AI. The drawing is AI too.

Time: 45 min
Effort: Medium
Steps: 9

4 of the steps have a timer you can start with one tap.

Pencil drawing of Venison Meatballs, Swedish Style

Ingredients

2 to feed

450 g venison mince
0.5 whole small onion
1 cloves garlic
35 g fresh breadcrumbs
35 ml milk
1 whole egg
35 g tallow
3 g salt
1 g white pepper
1 g ground allspice
0.5 g ground nutmeg
20 g butter
12 g plain flour
220 ml beef or venison stock
80 ml cream
6 ml soy sauce
3 g Dijon mustard
50 g plum jam
15 g flat-leaf parsley

How it goes

PrepGrate onion and garlic · Soak the breadcrumbs · Melt and cool the tallow · Mix the meatball base · Roll the meatballs
CookBrown the meatballs · Build the cream sauce · Finish in the sauce
PlateServe the meatballs

Method

Grate onion and garlic
Finely grate 0.5 small onion and 1 clove garlic using a microplane or box grater — grating rather than chopping keeps the meatballs smooth and helps them bind together.
Soak the breadcrumbs
In a small bowl, combine 35g fresh breadcrumbs and 35ml milk. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes until the milk is absorbed and the breadcrumbs are soft.
Melt and cool the tallow
Gently melt 20g tallow in a small pan or over a low heat. Set aside to cool to room temperature — it must be cool before mixing into the meat or it will start to cook the egg.
Mix the meatball base
In a large bowl, combine 450g venison mince, 20g cooled melted tallow, grated onion and garlic, soaked breadcrumbs, 1 egg, 3g salt, 1g white pepper, 1g allspice, and 0.5g nutmeg. Mix gently with your hands until just combined — do not overwork or the meatballs will be dense.
Roll the meatballs
With damp hands, roll the mixture into balls roughly 3–4 cm in diameter — about the size of a large walnut. You should get around 14–16 meatballs. Place on a tray as you go.
Brown the meatballs
Heat 15g tallow in your large frying pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add meatballs in a single layer. Brown for 5–6 minutes, turning every couple of minutes to colour all sides evenly.
Build the cream sauce
Remove meatballs and set aside. In the same pan, melt 20g butter over medium heat. Add 12g flour and stir for 1–2 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Gradually whisk in 220ml stock, a splash at a time, until smooth. Add 80ml cream, 6ml soy sauce, and 3g Dijon mustard. Simmer for 5–6 minutes until slightly thickened. Taste and season with salt and white pepper.
Finish in the sauce
Add the browned meatballs back to the sauce. Simmer gently on low heat for 6–8 minutes until cooked through and the sauce coats them glossily. Do not over-simmer — lean venison meatballs can tighten up if pushed too hard. Place a lid on slightly askew to keep things moist without stewing.
Serve the meatballs
Serve over mashed potato or egg noodles. Spoon the cream sauce generously over the top. Add a dollop of 50g plum jam on the side and scatter with fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley.