By Chris Eberhart:
Northern European meat dumplings resemble meat balls but are somewhat lighter due to the addition of bread to the mixture. They are also referred to as Danish Meatballs, or Frikadeller, and are common fare from the Alps north into Scandinavia. When I first saw meat dumpling I assumed they were just a meat patty, just like a hamburger. I was pleasantly surprised though when I took my first bite. They are full of flavor and don’t require the addition of any sweet or sour sauce to make them palatable. And in my opinion, if you have to add ketchup or mayonnaise to anything it is a sign of really bad cooking, or a malnourished sense of taste. Meat dumplings have a more complex palate though through the addition of onions, garlic, shallotte’s, and marjoram than any hamburger ever imagined. I have always been suspicious about adding bread to ground meat, but in this case I understand. The light texture is a culinary pleasure to chew. The mix is also a good way to take the edge off of any resemblance of “gaminess” if you are serving guests who aren’t accustom to the taste of real wild meat. This recipe is a German version that I came across while looking for something to do with ground wild boar meat.
Ingredients: 4-6 pieces of dry white bread (or a couple dry breakfast rolls), 150 ml milk, 1 schalotte, 1 garlic clove, 2 small sweet onions, 400 g ground wild boar meat, 1 egg, salt, pepper, 1 teaspoon dried marjoram, 3 tablespoons olive oil, and 8 strips of bacon,.
Preparation: Cut the pieces of bread into small chunks and place in the milk, and let the bread soak up the milk. You should use enough bread so that it soaks up all the milk and is all soft. Cut up the shallotte’s, and the sweet onions, and press the garlic. Mix the ground wild boar, bread, shallotte’s, onions, and garlic together in a bowl, add the salt, pepper and marjoram , and work into homogenous mass. With slightly wet hands roll the mass into 8 to 10 small patties, a bit more round than hamburger patties though. Fry these for about 3 to 4 minutes per side in the olive oil. Remove the meat dumplings from the pan and replace it with your bacon. When your bacon is crisp serve it together with the dumplings. Guten Appetit!