Frikadelle at home

Ever since the night I apprenticed in the kitchen with a native German, I have been craving Frikadelle.  I’ve had it at a fest since then, but there’s nothing like making it at home.

Aimee emailed me her notes from the night and I combined mine with hers and together, we have a very good recipe!  There are a few slight changes as I couldn’t find the exact same seasoning packet for the sauce, but I found one close enough.

Three notes:

1.  For this meal there are three components.  The meat, the sauce, and the apple-kraut. The third may sound gross and, I assure you, had I simply read this recipe I would have skipped this part.  But I promise you, it is worth it.  The meat and sauce are on the salty side, the kraut is on the sweet side.  The magic is in the three things on the plate together.  Trust me.  If you make the kraut and don’t like it, just don’t eat it.  But make the apple-kraut anyway, and when you put it all together, you’ll see just what I’m talking about!

2.  If you skip to the bottom I have the ingredients and instructions listed so you can easily copy/paste for easy printing.

3.  I have since learned that it’s a great idea to make a triple batch of the meat part so I can freeze two meals of meat for later use.  Making the meat mixture is the most involved part so having the meat already completely cooked makes having this meal on a whim much easier.  To reheat the frozen frikadelle patties I put them in the crock pot for 2 hours and make the sauce and kraut while they’re heating.  The crock-pot tip comes from my fantastic neighbor, Evelyn.

So, without further adieu, the recipe:

Ingredients:

Frikedelle:
3 lbs meat (ground beef and ground pork. I used 2 lbs ground beef and 1 lb ground pork.)
3 eggs (rule of thumb: one egg per pound)
2-3 packets Hackbraten seasoning
1 small onion, finely diced (I used my Pampered Chef Chopper)
3-5 slices wheat bread (I’m sure any bread will do, but the darker the better)
salt and pepper to taste
garlic to taste
vegetable oil for cooking

Ingredients for Frikadelle

Sauce
1/2 small onion, diced or finely chopped
400g fresh mushrooms, sliced (or two small cans, but really people, fresh is best)
2 half-pint containers of heavy cream
2-3 packages of Jaeger-Sahne for Schnitzel
vegetable oil for sauteing
milk to thin sauce if you want to thin it

Ingredients for the Sauce

Rotkraut
1 jar Apfelrotkohl (red kraut)
1 apple diced
1 -2 onions diced
small amount of apple juice or apple sauce
vegetable oil for sauteing apple and onion

Ingredients for the Apple-Kraut

Tip:

First, start with a clean kitchen, an empty dishwasher, and a sink with hot, soapy water. This is a trick I learned in Cooking by the Month that makes ALL big-meal cooking a breeze.
Next, consult your notes and the first blog you wrote on the topic.

Apple-Kraut Step 1.  Sauté diced apples and onions in vegetable oil.

Apple-Kraut Step 2.  Once the apples and onions are tender, add in the red kraut and some apple juice or apple sauce.  Simmer that on very low heat until you’re ready to serve. Stir occasionally and add more juice/sauce if necessary.

Apple and onion, ready to be sauteed.

Sauce Step 1.  Sauté diced onions until tender.  Add in mushrooms and saute just a few minutes.

Sauce Step 2.  Pour in both half-pints of cream and both packets of Hackbraten Sauce seasoning mix. (Note.  I had to use Jaeger-Sahne for Schnitzel because the store I went to didn’t have the right stuff.  It worked just fine!)  Stir until well mixed and then lower temperature while you cook the meat.  Stir frequently.  (Taste often, just because it is SO GOOD!)

Mushrooms. YUM!

 

Wash dishes as you go and put them on the counter to dry. This helps make clean-up much easier.

Frikadelle Step 1.  Put all the ingredients except the bread and seasoning in a large bowl and mix with your hands.  Gross, I know, but it’s the best way to mix all that together.

Frikadelle ingredients

Frikadelle Step 2.  Fold in seasoning.  (The first time we folded it in dry.  Today I got a separate bowl and combined a cup of water and the seasoning packets.  Then I poured the mixture into the meat.  Both ways were yummy.)

Frikadelle Step 3.  Place bread in a bowl of water.

I know. I’ve never heard of this either.

Frikadelle Step 4.  Break off a palm-sized piece of the bread and squeeze gently, removing a good bit of the water.  Then mix into the meat mixture.

Frikadelle Step 5.  Heat a little oil in a large skillet and patty the meat into mini-hamburgers.  Fry them until the meat is no longer pink and place on a plate with something to absorb the excess grease.

When you’re at the step, you’re getting close!

(I bet by the time you get to this point you will have “tested” enough of the food that you will be stuffed.)

When you have finished cooking all the meat, put a couple of the patties on a plate, the sauce on top, the kraut to the side and enjoy.

Stand at the window and wait for your husband to return home because if you stand anywhere near the kitchen you will go ahead and eat without him.

No German meal is complete without the best Chocolate in the world. And Carolina blue, at that!

Ingredients and Instructions for copying/pasting:

Ingredients:

Rotkraut
1 jar Apfelrotkohl (red kraut)
1 apple diced
1 -2 onions diced
small amount of apple juice or apple sauce
vegetable oil for sauteing apple and onion

Sauce
1/2 small onion, diced or finely chopped
400g fresh mushrooms, sliced (or two small cans, but really people, fresh is best)
2 half-pint containers of heavy cream
2-3 packages of Jaeger-Sahne for Schnitzel
vegetable oil for sauteing
milk to thin sauce if you want to thin it

Frikedelle:
3 lbs meat (ground beef and ground pork. I used 2 lbs ground beef and 1 lb ground pork.)
3 eggs (rule of thumb: one egg per pound)
2-3 packets Hackbraten seasoning
1 small onion, finely diced (I used my Pampered Chef Chopper)
3-5 slices wheat bread (I’m sure any bread will do, but the darker the better)
salt and pepper to taste
garlic to taste
vegetable oil for cooking

Apple-Kraut Step 1.  Sauté diced apples and onions in vegetable oil.
Apple-Kraut Step 2.  Once the apples and onions are tender, add in the red kraut and some apple juice or apple sauce.  Simmer that on very low heat until you’re ready to serve. Stir occasionally and add more juice/sauce if necessary.

Sauce Step 1.  Sauté diced onions until tender.  Add in mushrooms and saute just a few minutes.
Sauce Step 2.  Pour in both half-pints of cream and both packets of Hackbraten Sauce seasoning mix. (Note.  I had to use Jaeger-Sahne for Schnitzel because the store I went to didn’t have the right stuff.  It worked just fine!)  Stir until well mixed and then lower temperature while you cook the meat.  Stir frequently.  (Taste often, just because it is SO GOOD!)

Frikadelle Step 1.  Put all the ingredients except the bread and seasoning in a large bowl and mix with your hands.  Gross, I know, but it’s the best way to mix all that together.
Frikadelle Step 2.  Fold in seasoning.  (The first time we folded it in dry.  Today I got a separate bowl and combined a cup of water and the seasoning packets.  Then I poured the mixture into the meat.  Both ways were yummy.)
Frikadelle Step 3.  Place bread in a bowl of water, allowing it to absorb water.
Frikadelle Step 4.  Break off a palm-sized piece of the bread and squeeze gently, removing a good bit of the water.  Then mix into the meat mixture, repeating until you’ve mixed in all the bread.
Frikadelle Step 5.  Heat a little oil in a large skillet and patty the meat into mini-hamburgers.  Fry them until the meat is no longer pink and place on a plate with something to absorb the excess grease.

Serve with the sauce over the Frikedelle and Apple-Kraut on the side