Konigsberger Klopse - meatballs in caper sauce

Konigsberg is a city in Germany which is obviously famous for it's meatballs. Takes about 35 minutes to make.

Yield:
Serves 4
Category:
Beef
Cuisine:
German

INGREDIENTS:

    • ½ lb. ground pork
    • ½ lb. ground beef
    • 2 small, day-old rolls or 2 slices of bread
    • 2 egg yolks (1 of them is optional)
    • 2 small onions, 1 chopped fine, 1 quartered
    • 1 Tbsp + 2 Tbsp butter, divided
    • 4 cups vegetable or beef broth
    • salt and pepper
    • 5 whole peppercorns
    • 4 juniper berries (optional)
    • 1 bay leaf (optional)
    • 2 Tbsp flour
    • 1-2 Tbsp lemon juice
    • 1 small glass of white wine, 2 - 4 oz. (alternative - more broth)
    • 2-4 Tbsp sour cream
    • 24 capers, drained
    • 1 pinch sugar (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Soak the day-old rolls in water and squeeze almost dry.
  2. Melt 1 tablespoon butter and cook 1 onion, chopped fine, until translucent. Cool, slightly.
  3. Place the ground meats in a bowl, add cooked onion and the rolls, broken in pieces. Add salt and pepper to taste, about ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Mix everything well by hand or with a spoon until mixture can be formed into round meatballs. Add a few tablespoons of broth if necessary to achieve this. Form 10-12 meatballs.
  4. Bring the rest of the broth, with the cracked spices and second onion, quartered, to just under a boil and add the meatballs carefully. Cook until done, about 12 minutes. Remove meatballs and keep warm.
  5. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a pan and add the flour, making a roux. Little by little, stir about 1 ½ cups of the meatball broth, strained, into the roux, stirring to keep the sauce smooth. Add the capers. Add the white wine and season the sauce to taste with lemo