Koenigsberger Klops
Description
More than thirty years ago, my mom put together a family cookbook and she asked her mother, my Memaw, to submit her recipe for her famous Koenigsberger Klops--basically German meatballs in a creamy caper sauce. It is the one reproduced here and uses only hamburger meat. Many years ago, when I got a hankering for them, I made them exactly to Memaw's recipe's specifications, and they came out just as I remember them tasting when she served them at her house when I was a child.
Traditionally, Koesnigsberger Klops include pork, veal and other ingredients that my Memaw perhaps couldn't easily find, or more likely, didn't have on hand. Memaw was a product of some pretty lean times, not only in the United States, having lived through this country's Great Depression, but also in Germany, where she was from. As a result, where cooking was concerned, she substituted ingredients freely. Mostly, the substitutions didn't derail the food too much, but occasionally, Memaw would present a dish that was unrecognizable from the original recipe. When we tried to point it out, Memaw would always say "no one will know the difference!"
Sometimes we didn't...and sometimes we did.
I just made this recipe using 1/3 veal, 1/3 pork and 1/3 hamburger, and I have to say that I actually prefer the 100% hamburger version. However--I grew up in Texas, so I do like me some beef and also, this recipe is very easy, and it absolutely tastes the way I remember my Memaw's Klops tasting. Try it both ways and see which one you like best and remember--no one will know the difference!
Ingredients
Instructions
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Combine meat, bread crumbs, egg and lemon rind.
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Mix and shape into about 12 meatballs. Bring beef broth to a boil in a large sauce pan. Gently drop meatballs into simmering broth. Cook for 15-20 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through. Remove the meatballs and keep warm.
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Dissolve cornstarch in cold water. Add lemon juice and corn starch mixture to broth and stir to mix--continue to stir as mixture thickens. Add the egg yolk into a measuring cup or bowl. While stirring constantly, add the hot broth mixture to the egg yolk. Continue to add and stir vigorously until the egg is "tempered." Then, stirring constantly, add the egg mixture to the broth.
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Add the capers to the gravy mixture and stir thoroughly. Reunite the meatballs with the gravy and bring everything back to a simmer. Simmer for a few minutes to heat through, stirring frequently.
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Serve with potatoes or spatzle (German egg noodles).
