Whether you call them köttbullar, bitterballen, frikadelle or dumplings, the meatballs have become a big hit.
Ever since IKEA gained a foothold in Germany, the little meatballs have been a big hit. Whether you call them köttbullar, bitterballen, frikadelle, meatballs or dumplings, it doesn't really matter.
The different variants
Depending on the country of origin, however, the meatballs are prepared differently, so it's worth taking a look:
- Köttbullar
Of course, these little balls originate from Sweden. Traditionally they are eaten with lingonberries (either as compote or as jam). They are served with cream sauce and potatoes, again you can choose between boiled potatoes and mashed potatoes. To prepare it you need minced meat, egg, onions and of course breadcrumbs. If you soak the breadcrumbs in a little milk or cream beforehand and also sauté the onions, you get the typical taste with pepper, salt, sometimes a little allspice and ginger powder. If you really want to eat Köttbullar traditionally, you can also make them from elk meat - it's just a question of how to get it in this country!
- Bitterballen
Breading a mass of beef and veal, then breading and frying it, you get bitterballen. These small balls are often eaten in the Netherlands, in Flanders in Belgium, in Suriname or even in Indonesia. As a variant there is still chicken with mushrooms. The small balls serve more as a snack with an alcoholic drink - formerly with a bitter, which is probably where the name comes from.
- Frikadelle
In preparation, the meatballs resemble the Köttbullar. Minced meat, often mixed minced meat from pork and beef, eggs, onions and softened breadcrumbs (now and then also old softened bread or rolls) are mixed with various spices. You can obviously taste salt and pepper from the meatballs again, but also parsley, marjoram and even nutmeg, garlic, mustard and caraway. If one wants to eat a Frikadelle in the northeast of Germany, one should ask for a "Bulette", in Bavaria then rather for a "Fleischpflanzerl". In eastern Germany, the term "Beefsteak" (pronounced "Beff-Steck") is probably the most common. Smaller meatballs are more likely to be called dumplings or meatballs.
Frikadelle on the plate
You can eat the meatballs similar to the Köttbullar with potatoes or mashed potatoes. Of course, you can also just eat them on a nice juicy meatball bun, which, by the way, was the origin of the plain hamburger. Who would have thought it!!!
In addition, meatballs make a great addition to sauces and soups. Thus, the most famous variant for this is probably the dish "Königsberger Klopse". Another very famous soup dish with meatballs is "Hochzeitssuppe" translated as wedding soup.
In a distant sense, even bifteki and cevapcici can be seen as a kind of dish made of meatballs - only in a slightly different form. Thus, one can enjoy the actually rather Northern European meatballs with a Southern touch.
Fishy also goes?!
Of course, the whole fun also goes with fish-meat. The meatball is simply made from fish. This is, similar to the meat, previously chopped, so that you work virtually with minced fish.