Konigsberger Klopse (German Meatballs)
Published September 6, 1983
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
1 pound ground veal
Freshly ground pepper to taste
4 teaspoons butter
½ cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
½ cup fine fresh bread crumbs
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 ½ tablespoons flour
1 ½ cups unsalted beef or chicken broth
¼ cup white wine, preferably Rhine or Moselle
¼ cup sour cream
1 egg yolk
Juice of ½ lemon
¼ cup chopped, cored, seeded hot cherry peppers without salt
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
13 grams carbs; 113 milligrams cholesterol; 382 calories; 10 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 24 grams fat; 1 gram trans fat; 1 gram fiber; 278 milligrams sodium; 26 grams protein; 4 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Put veal in mixing bowl. Add pepper to taste.
- Step 2
Heat 1 teaspoon of butter in saucepan and add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, until wilted. Add mixture to veal. Add bread crumbs, parsley, chives and nutmeg. Shape mixture into 28 balls of equal size.
- Step 3
Heat remaining butter in saucepan and add flour, stirring with wire whisk. When blended and smooth, add broth and wine, stirring rapidly with whisk. Add meatballs to simmering sauce. Stir gently from time to time so they cook evenly, about 25 minutes.
- Step 4
Beat sour cream with the egg yolk and lemon juice. Beat in a little of hot sauce. Add mixture to meatballs. Add the cherry peppers. Heat briefly without boiling. If mixture boils, sauce may curdle. Serve hot with mashed potatoes or rice.
Private Notes
Comments
Konigsberger Klopse, are actually made a lot easier than this. No one in Germany makes them this way. Groundbeef, onion, bread, egg, flour, butter, beef broth, lemon juice, salt, pepper and the very most important ingredient that you have not even there, capers.
Without capers, it can’t be Königsberger Klopse.
Hot cherry peppers? In Germany?! Must be a typo from another recipe. Should be three meats for the meatballs: ground veal, pork and beef. The sauce is a simple roux using the now seasoned water used for boiling the meatballs, finished with cream, and then capers and lemon juice/zest added for extra flavor. Finely minced parsley is sprinkled on everything in Germany.
I’m looking at the printed Craig Claiborne (“with Pierre Franey”) recipe for Königsberger Klopse from The NY Times Magazine of November 11, 1979. There are significant differences between this app’s recipe and the one my mother tore out 46 years ago—starting with calling for 1/2 lb. each pork, beef, and veal and ending with “1/2 cup drained capers.” Yes, CAPERS. No peppers. The article is called “Nationalizing the Meatball,” and also includes recipes for “Polpette alla Romana” and “Watercress and pork-ball soup.” Please, NYT Cooking, add Mr. Claiborne’s other (original?) version—it’s delicious!
Made this for Germans in the heart of Prussia. They loved it! (I did skip the cherry peppers). Veal is considered classical.
With or without capers it’s one of my Claiborne favorites.