Venison IKEA Meatballs
A comfort food classic for the cold
Good evening! I would argue that eating IKEA meatballs as a child is a rite of passage, and I am happy to bring that delightful meal to you in the form of this venison version of the classic. A new autumnal go-to dinner, I hope. Since my game meat awakening, me and venison have hit it off, and this is the perfect cosy plate to demonstrate why. Before we tuck in, I extend a big hello to my new subscribers, I hope you’ll enjoy this week’s recipe!
Shower me in lingonberry sauce, and call me Birgit … When it comes to IKEA canteen meals, you might dabble with the Daim cake or the salmon, but we all know, when push comes to shove, it’s the meatballs drowning in creamy gravy that everyone really cares about. Every trip I make to IKEA is really an excuse to eat this plate of food. And obviously the canteen’s popularity has becoming blindingly clear as the conglomerate has decided to open a food-only venue in West London, news I fittingly saw the week after working on this recipe.
Apparently when you’re breastfeeding, as I currently am, (in fact literally as I type slowly and badly with my left hand), you need to consume 100g of protein a day. 100g of venison will give you about 30g of protein – so it’s a good choice and still feels like a treat when prepared as it is here. In a classic Swedish meatball recipe, beef or pork are the traditional proteins of choice, but using venison here makes so much sense. I’ll tell you why. 1) Deer in Scandinavia (and the UK) are plentiful. 2) Venison meatballs taste fantastic. 3) It’s a meat that you’re actually doing good by eating in the UK (even Chris Packham thinks so).
I always feel a bit guilty after eating beef. I think probably since watching the depressingly alarming film Food Inc years ago. So I do try to eat less of it, and in this recipe you really don’t miss it. Venison is a leaner meat than beef or pork (better for your cholesterol too) and so the meatballs benefit from being firmed up in the oven, unlike fatty pork or beef meatballs which can maintain their integrity bubbling stove-top. So, in this recipe the balls are seared in a hot pan, then baked before being stirred through their gravy.
You can find British venison at many of the UK’s supermarkets now, but it’s also a great time of year to ask for some at the butcher. I’ll stop harping on like I’m being paid by Big Venison to say this (I promise I ain’t) and just urge that if you can’t make it to half-price canteen Fridays at IKEA, the simple solution is to make these meatballs in your own kitchen.
Venison IKEA Meatballs
For the meatballs
650g venison mince
100g breadcrumbs
1 onion, grated
1 garlic clove, finely grated
2 tbsp milk
1 egg
½ tsp nutmeg
3 juniper berries, grated (optional)
1 tbsp olive oil
For the gravy
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp plain flour
300ml beef stock
120ml cream
1 tbsp soy sauce
Mix the venison mince, grated onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, milk, egg and spices together in a large bowl. Season well with salt and pepper and then shape into balls about the same size as a golf ball. The mixture will make about 25 balls. Place on a plate or baking tray and refrigerate, covered with a lid, cling film or foil, for at least 30 minutes.
Turn your oven on to 180°c. In a heavy bottomed pot on your stove, heat the olive oil and brown off the meatballs in two batches until they are well coloured. Transfer to a baking tray or dish and nake in the hot oven for 15 minutes. It helps to use a medium-verging-on-small-dish dish so that the meatballs are on top of each other and their juices pool underneath, rather than evaporate off.
Meanwhile, in the pan in which you browned the meatballs, make the gravy by melting butter into the meat fat and adding the plain flour. Cook until the mixture looks lacy and the raw flour cooks off (about 2 minutes) and then add half of the beef stock, stirring well for a minute. Add the remaining stock and the soy sauce as well as plenty of black pepper and cook on a gentle heat for 5 minutes or so, then finish by adding the cream. Turn the pan off.
At this point the meatballs should be cooked through in the oven. Pour the meat juices from the bottom of their dish into your creamy sauce then gently stir the meatballs through the brown gravy. Serve with lingonberry sauce (or cranberry is a good substitute), chips or mashed potato and peas. That’s the stuff!
Do IKEA meatballs mean something to you too? Let me know what you think!