GERMAN MEATBALLS
Meatballs:
1 pound ground chuck or leaner ground beef
1 pound pork sausage, or another pound of ground beef
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated, 2 ounces
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Sauce:
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoon butter
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, 2 ounces
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Pinch nutmeg
Salt and Spicy Seasoning Salt, to taste
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Water, as needed to thin the sauce
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum, optional
Mix all of the meatball ingredients in a large bowl using your hands. Squeeze the mixture together to blend well until it's no longer slimy from the eggs. Roll into about 35 almost golf ball-sized balls. Place on an ungreased rimmed baking sheet and bake at 375º for 15-20 minutes until cooked through. Transfer the meatballs to a large colander and rinse with hot water to remove any egg residue, if necessary.
To prepare the sauce, sauté the mushrooms in butter in a large pot until tender; remove and set aside. In the same pot, melt the cream cheese over low heat, whisking until smooth and creamy. Gradually whisk in the cream, blending well. Whisk in the parmesan and seasonings. Mix well and whisk in a little water if the sauce is too thick. If you use the xanthan gum, lightly dust it over the surface of the sauce while whisking it in. Add about 1 cup water and whisk in well. Adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Add the meatballs and mushrooms to the sauce. Cover and simmer on very low heat about 20-30 minutes until heated through and bubbly. Stir occasionally to prevent the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Makes about 8 servings of 4-5 meatballs each
The meatballs can be frozen, but not the sauce
Made with half ground beef and half pork sausage:
Per batch: 4563 Calories; 385g Fat; 250g Protein; 31g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 26g Net Carbs
Per serving: 570 Calories; 48g Fat; 31g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 3g Net Carbs
Made with all ground beef:
Per batch: 3874 Calories; 314g Fat; 234g Protein; 26g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 21g Net Carbs
Per serving: 484 Calories; 39g Fat; 29g Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 2g Net Carbs
After simmering for awhile, my sauce got oily. I don't think the sauce broke down, I think that the grease seeped out of the meatballs into the sauce. I was able to stir the oil back in, but it eventually seeped out again. They tasted just fine, but perhaps using lean hamburger would help. Another option would be to keep the meatballs hot after baking and add the finished sauce to them and serve at once with no simmering together. I think I will use all hamburger next time. I liked them, but thought the flavor of the sausage was a little strong. These are very good served over French cut green beans.
UPDATE: I added some xanthan gum to the sauce this time and I think that helped stabilize it. I used 1 teaspoon and I that was a bit too much, so 1/2 teaspoon should do. I also used leaner ground beef and a pound of ground pork, instead of sausage, but I preferred it with sausage. This time I made the meatballs earlier in the day, then reheated them in a covered casserole in the microwave on a very low power setting while preparing the sauce. I then combined them with the sauce and simmered them for about 15-20 minutes. A little grease came out of the meatballs, but I think the xanthan gum helped keep it combined with the sauce with a little stirring.