Who doesn’t know them, the East Prussian meatballs, or at least have heard of them? Skilfully prepared, Königsberger Klopse offers a culinary delight that hardly anyone can resist. Here is an original East Prussian recipe from my grandmother.
Ingredients for 4 persons
- 500 gr. Minced half/half
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 onion
- 2 egg yolks
- Salt pepper
- Bay leaf
- flour
- lemon juice or lemon extract
- sugar or diet sweetness
- 1 jar of capers
- 1 can of canned milk or cream
Preparation of the Königsberger Klopse
A pound of mince is mixed with a cup of breadcrumbs, chopped onion, and two egg yolks, optionally with a little pepper. Everything is kneaded together well into a dough-like mass, from which the meatballs are formed – in any size, because some people like it powerful and big, while others prefer the more delicate “balls”.
Then the pre-formed meatballs, together with a bay leaf, are pushed into boiling water, where they simmer (not boil) until they bob on the surface and float in front of you.
As soon as the meatballs float to the surface, they are removed from their hot broth with a ladle and stored on this side of the pot. The hot brew in the pot, after it has been sieved and freed from the remains of minced meat, is then mixed with flour and canned milk to form a smooth mass. Now the sauce is seasoned with lemon extract and sugar, optionally with dietary sweeteners. A pinch of salt can also be added if necessary. Last but not least follow the well-known and sometimes hated capers, which absolutely have to refine the sauce!
The sauce gets its typically sweet and sour note by seasoning it with lemon and sugar. In the end, the outsourced Königsberger dumplings find a company in the prepared sauce.
Useful additional knowledge about the Königsberger Klopsen
The next day, i.e. after a day in the closed pot, the meatballs taste the most intense! Potatoes and green beans, which find their true taste when mixed with the sauce, are often added to this!
