Name: Frikadellen, aka German Meatballs
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 slices of sourdough or white bread, (1-2 days old, remove the crust if especially thick or hard); 1 medium onion, (finely diced); 2 medium garlic cloves, (minced); 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 lb ground beef; 8 oz ground pork; 3 Tbsp fresh parsley, (chopped); 1 Tbsp German or spicy mustard; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp dried marjoram; 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce, (or Maggi); 1/2 tsp white pepper; 1/2 tsp paprika; 1/2 tsp caraway seeds, (crushed); 1 egg; 1/4 cup milk; 6 to 8 tbsp vegetable oil

Here is one of the dishes my mum kept in her back pocket at all times. It was on regular rotation at the dinner table.

Frikadellen, or hamburger patties, are about as simple as you can get for dinner at our house growing up. Simple patties made with beef, and sometimes pork, with seasonings, onion, garlic would get fried up, and served to us with boiled potatoes, maybe green beans or spinach, or maybe mashed potatoes and cucumber salad if I was lucky!

Think of these as rustic peasant, pub food! A plate with some meat patties, french fries or roasted potatoes, mustard, and salad is often on the menu at German beer halls.

I’m going to show you how easy it is to recreate this classic German meal, with all the fixings for a great summer al fresco experience. Whether in your backyard, on the deck, or on a blanket under a tree, this is a great summer meal.

First off, Frikadellen

Instead of making larger meat patties where one or maybe two will fully satisfy and fill someone, I’m suggesting that you make them smaller. Not only are they more fun as finger food, it is easier to control the cooking time and doneness, without drying out the patties. The filling consists of ground beef, ground pork, (and yes, I have used Italian sausages in a pinch!) finely chopped onion and garlic, chopped parsley, and freshly torn or whizzed breadcrumbs. The seasonings are your typical German flavours: dried marjoram, caraway seeds, paprika, white pepper, mustard and Maggi or Worcestershire sauce) And then an egg and milk for binding. Don’t over work the mixture, use only your finger tips.

You will form the mixture into 24 meatballs. Use a light hand, not over working them, and wetting your hands occasionally to keep the mixture from sticking to them. If you lay them all out onto a wax paper lined baking sheet, then you can decide if you will eat them all right away, or if you will freeze some for future use. If you want to freeze some, leave them on the baking sheet and pop it into the freezer. Once frozen through, just transfer them to a freezer bag, and you’re all set for a whole other meal! 24 Meatballs is good as a snack for up to 8 people. Less if this is a meal, then count on enough for 4-6 people.

Sauté them in a cast iron pan till browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side at medium heat. Transfer them to a baking sheet and bake in a 350F oven till cooked through. Depending on your oven, this may take 7-9 minutes. The inner temperature should be between 160 and 165F using an instant read thermometer. Sprinkle with fresh parsley. These taste great warm, but surprisingly also taste great at room temperature!

Schnittlauchbrot

Right now you are wondering, what on earth is Schnittlauchbrot? And why would I want to make this? Hear me out. This translates as Chive Bread. Or chive tartines. Yes, a slice of bread covered in chopped chives. It’s soooooo good! A simple fresh rye or sourdough bread slice is spread with fresh salty european butter (if your butter isn’t salted, then sprinkle some salt on the butter before adding the chives. Mince up a whole whack of chives and place them on a plate. Turn the buttered slice of bread over and press it gently into the chives. Turn it over, and you are done! The flavour is unbelievable. It isn’t strong at all. Just pleasantly chive-y! A platter of tartines like this is typical for snacking on. In fact, my mum only ever served open faced tartines for us or company. She never understood the two layers of bread- the skewed bread to meat or filling ratio bothered her! Chop up enough chives to make a full 3/4 cup, and you have enough to cover 6 or more average slices of bread.

Radishes with Butter and Salt

Here is another simple side that takes on a whole new flavour when the individual components are served together. Simply wash and dry some fresh crunchy radishes. Melt butter and place it in a small bowl. Refrigerate it so that it starts to thicken up, but not becomes solid again. Stir it every once in a while to keep it creamy. When ready, bring out the butter from the fridge and add it to your table spread. Have another bowl with flakey Malden or good sea salt ready. Dip the radish into the cool butter, and then sprinkle a little bit of salt on them. Eat. Yep, that’s it! There’s something so wonderful about the cool, creamy butter, the mild bite of the radish, and the touch of salt. But you must use good healthy radishes (without the painful sharp bite), creamy butter and crunchy sea salt. Or else it won’t work.

The other way to prepare them is to dip them in the warmed butter and sprinkle with the salt, and then lay them flat on a wax paper lined plate. Place the plate in the fridge, the butter will harden, and they are ready to be served. This eliminates the dipping and salting at serving time.

Here I’m showing the Frikadellen and Chive Tartines with my favourite salad from my childhood, German Cucumber Salad. But for sure, you could add a German Potato Salad. Mine doesn’t use mayo so it is also picnic table friendly, see my Roasted German Potato Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette. If you feel so inclined, add some grilled sausages, sauerkraut, and cold beer, and life is pretty good.

For other German Beer Hall meals, check out this link and this one.

Love Jen