polish meatballs with sour cream sauce

Chicken

Polish Meatballs with Sour Cream Sauce

My Grandma was of Polish ancestry and it was tradition that she would make her famous Polish meatballs for almost all of our family gatherings, especially at Christmas time. Because she had never formally written down her recipe, my Mom worked to recreate it, using a recipe she had found in an old Detroit Symphony cookbook from the 1980s as a reference. Over time, I’ve also made my own adjustments to the recipe, and together, we’ve come as close as we can to recreating my Grandma’s famous main dish. My Mom and Grandma are no longer with us, but just smelling these as they bake in the oven brings me back to my grandparents’ house and our family gatherings every time. Delicious when served with mashed potatoes!

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups soft bread crumbs
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 pound ground beef
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon grated onion
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter
sour cream sauce:
1 beef bouillon cube
1/2 cup boiling water
1 can (10-1/2 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 cup sour cream
optional: mashed potatoes, hot cooked pasta or hot cooked rice, and additional minced parsley

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°. In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs and milk. Let soak for 5 minutes.
In a separate bowl, combine pork, veal, beef, egg, onion, parsley, salt, paprika, garlic powder and pepper. Add soaked bread crumbs, mix lightly but thoroughly.
With wet hands, shape meat mixture into 1-1/2-in. balls. In a large skillet, heat butter over medium heat. Brown meatballs in batches. Place meatballs on a greased rack in a 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake until cooked through, 30-35 minutes.
In a small bowl, dissolve bouillon in boiling water. In a large saucepan, combine soup, bouillon mix and soy sauce until heated through. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream; serve with meatballs. If desired, serve meatballs and sauce over mashed potatoes, pasta or rice, and top with additional parsley.