Meatballs with Gravy on Rice

It must be a Norwegian thing.  I didn't grow up eating meatballs with cream gravy over rice.  Meatballs- to me- seem to go with spaghetti and marinara, garlic bread, parmesan cheese, etc. But it's one of my husbands all time favorite dishes, so after having it many times over the years at his family's house, I decided I needed to make it, too.  Now it's also one of my favs...as for the kids, well, it'll grow on 'em ;)

Begin with sautéing a small onion in olive oil, butter and pinch of kosher salt in an oven safe pan.

When translucent turn off heat and allow to cool.

In a large bowl I have hamburger, panko breadcrumbs (use whatever you have, that's what I had), 1 egg, heavy whipping cream, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper and the now cooled onions that I sautéed.  (set the pan to the side, you'll need it in a minute.) Mix this with your hands, don't work it too much or the meatballs will turn out tough.

With a small ice cream scoop, scoop your meat and roll into a ball in your hand and place back in the pan that you cooked your onions in.

Pour a cup of chicken broth in with the meatballs and place in a 375F oven for about 30 min, or til cooked through.

Here they are coming out of the oven, place the meatballs into a serving dish and cover with foil.

Put the sauté pan back on the burner and turn to medium-high heat.  Add in the remaining cream and whisk to incorporate.

The sauce will thicken as it cooks, no need to add flour.  If you don't have enough gravy you can add more chicken broth. Taste it to check for seasoning, add salt or pepper to your liking.  Serve over white rice and enjoy!


Meatballs with Gravy

1-2 T butter
1-2 T olive oil
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 1/2 lbs hamburger (I always use extra lean- 9%)
1 egg
1/3 c dry bread crumbs
2 T worcestershire sauce
1 c heavy cream, divided
salt & pepper
1 c chicken stock (my favorite is Better Than Bouillon)
cooked white rice to serve

In a large oven safe saute pan melt butter and olive oil over med heat.  Cook onion with a pinch of salt til translucent.  Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

In a large bowl combine hamburger, egg, bread crumbs, worcestershire sauce, 1/2 c cream , cooled onions and salt and pepper.  Shape into walnut sized meat balls and place back into the sauté pan.  Bake in a 375F oven for about 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and place meat balls in a serving dish, cover with foil and set aside.  Place pan with broth back onto med-high heat.  Add in remaining cream and whisk, picking up any bits from the bottom of the pan.  Cook at medium-high til sauce begins to thicken.  Taste for flavor, adding salt and pepper if needed.  Serve over white rice.