Germans love their meats and that is quite a well-known fact. They sing songs about the different varieties of meats, use it in parables, stories and the one thing that they adore the most and are proud of.
Germany has had a long tradition and history of cooking meat and eating meat. Königsberger Klopse began as a speciality from the once long standing Prussian Empire. It was named after the city of Königsberg which fell at the destruction of World War II. When the Russian occupation of the city came they renamed the city as Kaliningrad. Then when the German Democratic Republic was formulated the name of the dish was redone as Kochklopse. Kochklopse when translated becomes boiled meatballs. Its popularity gained prominence in the Baltic countries and the Province of Posen.
Culinary historians have shown that grounded meat was introduced into the German diet only 200 years ago and the recipe of Königsberger Klopse there on was developed. You can also find the same dish with slight amount of variations throughout the many regions of Germany and Europe at large. The recipe initially used thin pieces of meat similar to the Wiener Schnitzel. It used to be cooked in tangy and creamy sauces. It is known to have originated formally at the hands of a cook who belonged to one of the merchant families at Königsberg. From then onwards Königsberger Klopse has become a German favourite which is served on all sorts of special occasions.
Recipe
The great German meatball in white sauce recipe in-fact came about quite early in time. Interestingly, till about 1946, Königsberger Klopse was only rather held popularity only in the East Prussian region which is now Poland. This speciality from the German lands holds major popularity not only in Germany entirely but also throughout the world. Königsberger Klopse is flavoured using capers and lemon juice which provide it with a volcano of flavours which will make your pallet want more and more of it.
The following recipe can be made using a combination of meats, sometimes using pork and beef as well but what is popular among the German pallets are grounded veal and/or lamb and at times there can also be fish in there.
It should ideally take about 50 minutes to prepare and cook the following recipe and yields 4 servings of the Prussian meatballs.
Ingredients:
- Bread: either 2 slices of a day old loaf or day old rolls
- Butter or margarine: 1 table spoons or 2 tablespoons (divided)
- Onions: 1 finely chopped and 1 quartered
- Grounded pork: ½ pound
- Grounded Beef: ½ pound
- Egg yolk: 2
- Vegetable or beef broth: 4 cups
- Peppercorns: 5 whole
- Juniper berries: 4 (these can be optional)
- Bay leaf: 1 (this can be optional)
- All-purpose flour: 2 tablespoons
- Capers dried: 24
- White wine: 2 to 4 ounces (or just add more broth of the same quantity)
- Lemon juice: 1 to 2 tablespoons
- Sour cream: 2 to 4 tablespoons
- Sugar: a pinch (optional)
Preparation:
The recipe begins with the soaking of the day old rolls or bread in water. You will then have to squeeze dry the rolls or the loaves, but remember not to break them.
Now take a non-stick pan on the side and put it on medium heat. Now add about a tablespoons worth of butter and the finely chopped onions. Cook them until they get translucent. With that done set it aside and allow it to cool down slightly.
Now take a large sized heat proof bowl. Put the grounded meat in the bowl along with the onions, the bread which was soaked and squeezed and then the egg yolk. Then go on adding salt and pepper as per your taste. Ideally with respect to the proportion of meat ½ teaspoons worth of salt and 1/4 teaspoons of pepper would suffice. Then mix everything till they combine completely either by using a spoon or your hands.
With that done, turn the mixture into small pieces of round meatballs. Just in case the mixture appears to be too dry, then add some more of the broth. This quantity of the mixture should be sufficient for 10 to 12 meatballs.
Take a large sized pot and put it on medium heat. Add the broth to the pot and add some of the cracked spices along with the quartered onions. Bring the broth to a boil and then when it boils – add the meatballs. Cook them for about 12 minutes and then remove the meatballs out of the broth using a strainer, carefully.
Next, take another pan and melt about 2 tablespoons worth of butter in it. Then add the all-purpose flour to it. The idea is to make a roux. It is a thickening agent which is generally made using equal parts of flour and equal parts of butter – measured by weight and not volume. You will have to be careful with the mixture so that it does not get burnt. Ideally using clarified butter will help in that process. While the cooking process continues, you will realise that the butter has started to turn frothy it shows that the water from the butter has started to cook. On the other hand it should also be noted that clarified butter does not contain any water therefore it will not froth. You will see a thick paste like formation building up, this shows that the rawness of the flour is going away. Furthermore, the colouring of the roux depends upon the purpose it has to be used for.
On the side strain out about 1 ½ cups of the meatball cooking liquid and pour it into the roux. Now with the roux prepared, add the cooking liquid into the roux, little at a time, while at the same time stirring rigorously and continuously. The idea is to keep the sauce smooth. Then go on adding capers and white wine along with seasoning to your taste and some lemon juice, sour cream and sugar. Then go on adding the meatballs to the sauce and serve them warm immediately.
The second egg can be added to the sauce to make it bind better. The important thing to remember here is that the sauce should be warmed after adding the egg and not before and in any case does not bring the sauce to boil because that will result in the curling of the egg yolk. The Königsberger Klopse are best served with boiled potatoes and pickled beefs.