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I like how James shaking his head in disapproval at immature jokes is pretty much a running thing at this point Also the format of cooking the recipe as well as watching the video is nice, it's cool to see you cook

One thing about Ikea meatballs which you can't beat is that you don't need to put any effort and its cheaper than cooking it yourself!

Some notes from a happy Swedish amateur chef: - Just raw-stir the lingonberries with sugar and let it sit until the sugar is melted. This adds a bit of texture, especially when serving with mashed potatoes - On the topic of texture - don't be afraid of lumps in the mashed potatoes! I prefer my potatoes *stomped* rather than mashed. Again, gives some texture to an otherwise mushy dish and I also think it enhances the potato flavour, and it goes better with the gravy. - Before putting the balls in the oven - fry them in butter, and then use that liquid in the gravy (you will probably still need to add some broth as well, but this is another enhancer) - Not sure what double fermented soy sauce is, in Sweden I think *most* people use chinese mushroom soy (which may be double fermented, I don't know) - Don't use that much spice.. I think the allspice is a must, but you could leave it out and still call it traditional. Not all Swedes add this (even thought I think they should!)

The way we used to make meatballs over here, they don't need to be anything fancy. Sometimes we made the meatballs on a simple cast iron skillet and then made the sauce, a simple cream sauce with rosé peppers by just adding cream into the meat juices left over from roasting them on the pan.

You should definitely check out Alex's video when he's served Swedish Meatballs by a Swedish Michillin starred chef. I think this isn't quite a Swedish take on how to do meatballs. Though surely delicious too

Agree with you, mate! Way too much spice used, we don't use that amount and allspice I have never seen used. Salt, pepper and nutmeg is at least my family's receipt. But sure they tasted much better than the IKEA ones, as they are not edible. Great work as always, James and keep it up! 😀👌🔪

White pepper is like nutmeg, magical when you get it right, unpleasantly dominating when you don't.

I complained a bit in a previous video about just straight reactions, especially for simple recipes. Really happy to see this one. Not only did you make the same dish, but you included a few substitutions which many people at home might have to do depending on their location. Thanks for a great video.

Lingonberry jam needs to have whole lingonberries in it, its just weird if theres none. In fact any jam I've ever seen, apart from some ultra processed american style jams, has whole or crushed berries in it. I'm fairly certain our Finnish jam culture is similar to Swedish. I dont think making a textureless jam falls into the "better" category, I think it just ignores the origin of the recipe. Your jam is of course different because you couldnt get fresh berries haha. I didnt know it would be so hard to get them in Spain, I thought we'd have some kind of exchange going where we trade our lingonberries for Spanish strawberries haha, see those all the time in the supermarket.

Tough challenge for Joshua, I guess. He was able to make better meatballs than a furniture store. Good job.

Awesome 👏 As a suggestion, how about you make another plate with your take on the same thing with the changes you would have made. That would allow the viewer to compare and improve on the recipe and choose which one would one go for.

As a swede there are things that feels weird about this recepie. Smooth cranberry jam being the strangest of all, but also the use of garlic and broccoli in this dish. In Sweden we serve meatballs with "pressgurka" which is a kind of quick pickled cucumber and of course lingonberries. Not frying the BALLS is also a bit strange. But it's nice to see swedish dishes being made outside of Sweden. Greetings from Stockholm.

Meatballs from a furniture store makes about as much sense as restaurant reviews from a tire company.

In Sweden we usually add one or more of this extra ingredients: anchovy, raw or fried onion. If using minced meat (cow) add breadcrumbs and milk/cream that soaked in the breadcrumbs. Otherwise they get to dense. As a side it should be pickled cucumber (thin slices of cucumber, ättika (vinegar with high acidity) salt, suger and dill). Oh, and do not forget to taste up the sauce with some lingonberry!

Im not quite sure whether Ikea's meatballs contain anchovy or not, but it's quite popular to add it to your meatballs over here. Especially so for christmas. Anyways, it could be the reason they smell a bit fishy. You also want to pan-fry your meatballs. Once you're done, deglaze your pan with some water, and use that for your sauce. Use some store bought stock if you need to, but dont waste the golden opportunity pan-frying presents.

A bit random, but could you maybe make an in-depth video on how to sautee different veggies? With common pitfalls and how to improve? Loved the cookalong/react style

Raw stirred Lingonberries is something that is pretty Swedish lol I tried cranberry juice, and to me, it tasted nothing alike, but maybe if you make it in to jam? Never had cranberry jam, but no added sugar in raw stirred lingonberry....

i love this format where u actually make the recipes. please keep it going

"You don't have to come to Ikea," says Josh, on his way to Ikea. By the way, dried cranberries are a fantastic snack, they beat raisins any day of the week.

All in all Joshua did a good job. I'm half Swedish and my grandmother was a cook before being a stay at home mom. The main differences I see here is that I typically see less allspice, add in a little nutmeg and add in some clove (great flavoring during winter time). I don't use garlic either. I'll accept the cranberries just because it really is difficult to find lingonberries haha. I live near Chicago so I can always find lingonberry jam. Usually only cook on a cast iron as well. No oven time. That's just nitpicking though. I've noticed Swedes aren't quite as bad as Italians when it comes to exact cooking. Also no broccoli. Usually always something pickled as a side.

According to a popular chef here in Argentina, mashed potatoes taste better if the potatoes are boiled unpeeled. Second better option, he said not to cut the potatoes in small pieces. It would take longer to boil, true, but the flavour is rewarding. I usually do my mashed potatoes without peeling, and maybe it is just me, but it tastes a bit better.

man you're one of my favourite cooking channels on youtube. your insight is fantastic and very fresh, love these videos way more than the reaction videos, hope you're planning on coming back to them full time :)

Dam that's a very cool idea, reacting but also cooking the dish and adding little hints aso.

Mr. James, Josh told us dirty jokes in the class again. Give him detention, please~ On that note, your cooking tutorial is as easy to follow as always, chef. I love it when people used common tongues to educate, instead of big words to boast their lexical prowess.

i wonder if its a local thing to have mashed potatoes more chunky and not this super smooth paste, i enjoy it more chunky and basic salt pepper nutmeg done

I like Chef James. He's an excellent chef and the thing I like the most, is his professionalism, his attention to detail, the way he explains the cooking process in easy-to-follow step by step instructions and also the "scientific" and technical side of the cooking process on how the ingredients counter-act with each other and how to avoid certain pitfalls by mentioning the incorrect methods/techniques that damage the dish, and showing you the correct method of how to correct them, in order to achieve the required result. I think he should be a great culinary arts teacher when he retires. He should open a culinary arts school.

Anyway I gotta say this is the first time I see well peeled potatoes on YT - the protein layer is almost intact. Great way to show skill.

Okay. Here is the basic recipe for making Swedish meatballs (yes, I´m a Swede). It is from the very trusted book "Hemkunskap". I wont translate it, so you do your google stuff. 1 portion 100 gr blandfärs (minced pork and beef in about 50/50 ratio) 1 msk ströbröd 2 msk mjölk 1/2 riven gul lök 1 krm salt 1/4 krm vit- eller svartpeppar Mix milk and ströbröd. Let it rest for some ten minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Make small balls out of the mix and fry them in a pan (not in the oven). To make the small balls from the mix, keep the watertap dripping and drench your hands once in a while - it makes your hands not stick to the meatmix. Fry the balls in a fairly hot temperature to get a crispy crust. Prepare to make 100-200 balls at the same time. Freeze the leftovers and revive them in the oven, when needed.

Joshua is so cheeky but I do enjoy his humor. But I think I learn more from you.

Using my Swedish "Grandfather" recipe - the panade, soak the bread, day-old, slightly dry (torn, tiny cubes, or ground-up) in milk before mixing in the meat mix. Gravy, lighter color, not so much soy sauce, (he used anchovy paste instead)

Love your videos. I do like mine lingonberrys just smashed with a hint or no sugar at all. I think that is traditional finnish way to preserve and enjoy them. Tip- You can store smashed lingonberries in fridge for several months. they are full of natural presentative( benzoic acid).

Your cranberry limitation is giving me a flashback of having a thanksgiving dinner in Spain, as an event arranged through my study abroad program, and being served blueberry sauce instead of cranberry sauce as apparently all the information the cooks had was 'salsa de arándanos'

its mandatory to also sing the instructions when following Joshua's recipes 😂😂😂

I really like these ‘react and make’ videos they feel less judgy if that makes sense. But even more so they allow you to show your experience. I know these are way higher effort that regular react videos but I think they are of more interest and value. I hope they do well and you can make more

This weekend I made Alex's lasagne/bolognese. Funnily enough there was too much water causing too much sauce so I spooned a good bit out. I wished I had some meatballs for that extra sauce, would have been much better than subway. Next time!

I know it is a branding thing but we have this exact dish in Finland as well, we call it "meatballs and mash". It is basically mash, meatballs, sauce, lingonberries and pickled cucumbers. Never seen it as a Swedish thing, I mean you can get similar ready-made meatballs from any grocery store 🤷🏼‍♀️

Feels pretty cool to know I was blessed with your channel at 200k subs. You'll be at Andy Cook's level in no time

In my family tradition it's not lingonberry jam (i.e. boiled with sugar) but "lingon smush" (just smush them with a fork or something and add sugar to taste). It's supposed to be sweet AND sour component.

Well done for starting that a home made chicken stock is likely better than a store bought beef stock I use poultry more often than beef, but at the same time, there are few things that please meore than squeezing a chicken carcass into an ice cube tray, which is a great way to keep that stock ready to go when you only need a portion or two for noodles or something

when I season my meatballs for swedish meatballs I make a hot mix with milk, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, nutmeg, allspice onion, salt and pepper. Basically its buttter and onion first until translucent, then garlic, nutmeg, allspice, salt and pepper for a minute or so, then milk and Worcestershire. That then is allowed to cool a bit before being added to the meat/egg/breadcrumb mixture. It's never steered me wrong, get perfectly seasoned meatballs every time

small note for the title and thumbnail, i kinda saw them and i didn't notice its a 'Chef Makes' video, title drew my eyes to the "IKEA SWEDISH", and thumbnail def doesn't show the 'make' part. i do enjoy chef makes videos and i would love to see these videos of yours spread to more audiences!

I've been watching Chef James for quite some time now, and i really need to say how I love the way he's commenting things. Even undeniably awful ones. He's just so polite and careful with his words, that I always, literally always enjoy watching his videos. And though I also enjoy other people's dirty jokes and (sometimes) rude humor, every time I'm bout to watch one of his videos, I'm like 'oh, here we go, finally some blissful peace, thank god'

I like this format. A bit more substance than the standard reviews.

Love it when you cook along. It adds something to a reaction video that I am usually missing.

Thoughts on keeping the pizza stone in the oven like Josh does? I've found it's good to more evenly distribute heat in a non-convection oven, and (if wrapped in foil) can also act to catch any spillovers if you place it right.

In Sweden 20y ago before online, every year, every family got one IKEA catalog, they sell that good.

i know this sounds bizzare but i would reccomend soaking the dried cranberries first overnight at room temp if you want that slight fermentation or put it in the fridge if you dont want it

Black or red currant jelly (clear jelly, not chunky jam) is something that is used instead of lingonberry jam, in SWEDEN. Usually only for big more special dinners (with brown gravy). Like oven roasted meats (turkey, pheasant, venison, etc) for a large gathering of people. Not for an every day meatball dinner. It's old fashioned and fancier. At least that's the impression I got from my grandma. This is mostly a TIP for Brits and other Europeans. Red and black currants are even harder to find then lingonberries in stores in the US. Because of the bushes being hosts to some pine tree killing fungus, they were illegal to grow there. Still are illegal in some states

If you do not have the time to let the potatoes sit to let off residual moisture, use a can of evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed) and then add cream or half-and-half ideally until desired consistency.

In my family we use aged herring anjovis brine in the meatballs. classic spices for meatballs are all-spice, cloves, onions and pepper either black or white. I use a 50/50 mix pork and beef mince and also i like a little worchester sauce.

"But better" always = "But bigger"

I add onion fried in butter, I think with the spices (I usually only add nutmeg and some black pepper) it adds nice sweetness and I fry my meatballs, use the fond to create the gravy. And splash of dark soy sauce for colour. On the side I like to have a selection of pickled vegetables.

I like to say you did a pretty good job chef. It looks better than the IKEA version.

Man that was a bit of a savage critique of Joshua at the end there haha

When he put the white pepper in, I really thought to myself "how much"???

If your doing the traditional way to make meatballs then your supossed to put the bread, milk and egg together mix and then let it sit for a few minutes then you usually add everything else into the bowl and mix everything. Try to not mix for too long or they may become a bit tough or chewy. Then you usually make the meatballs in a frying pan, but it also works to do them for like 10 mins in the oven and then finish them in the frying pan for some nice color and a bit of crunch. Of course you can just make them in the oven but thats usually when your making a large batch or being lazy :D But yeah basically the recipe is minced meat, usually mixed as shown, onion, salt, blackpepper, egg, milk and breadcrumbs. Don't think I've ever seen a recipe with nutmeg outside of for christmas cause then people usually go crazy and make spicy meatballs or add anchovy. Also while I really like garlic it has quite the powerful taste so it's not really added in meatballs since it takes over the taste too much. Also I have no idea what kind of jam that was at the start since usually you just go for lingonberry, water + sugar, usually something like 1 kilogram of lingonberry + 200ml of water and, 0.5 kilograms of sugar. If you wanna be adventurous or get a bit more chunky jam you add no water :D Going for lemons and oranges in this dish is well very adventurous as well I guess xD

Oh Jamie, you're so international! I think we should go to Venice and hang out on the Lido. ;)

My mom used to make the best Swedish meatballs we had them every Christmas

Chef, you should try out Alton Brown’s swedish meat ball recipe - that’s the one i’ve always used - it’s a bit simpler/more authentic and it is delicious!!

Can’t believe I actually followed while watching this and used some vegetarian options(concerning my health) It was good and my family liked it

Another weekend food idea is done. Thank you for the recreation and for your useful tips. We have lingonberries in Transylvania, so I might be lucky and make the "original" sauce.

Great Video James, really like the new format. I always add cheese to meatballs, makes it more juicy.

Okay Swede here. Skipping Lingon berries (Rårörda Lingon) AND pickled cucumber in ättika (Swedish style vinegar) is straight up heresy. We never use Broccoli lol. I get it, it's ikea meatballs.

really good video, liked that you put your version in and the fine details like the white bit from the orange, that it is bitter was great. i always like the fine details that you mention in videos, most chefs forget to mention it cause i think most think its common knowledge

I just can’t with him. Good for you, James, for cooking up a delicious dish. I am a fan of frozen Swedish meatballs because some nights you really don’t want to cook much.

Great video. Agree with you 100%. I'd tweak Joshua's recipes a little. For the gravy I would actually prefer to use my roast chicken gravy so I'd probably roast a fowl beforehand and use some of the home made gravy.

When I make lingonberry jam I use the whole berry, no blending

Watch Alex the French cooking guy when he visited Sweden for the traditional Swedish meatbals

Not an IKEA recipe but very delicious: tiny meatballs on a stick/pin with parts of red Union, pickle and Amsterdam unions. Bake*. After baking poor hot Gado Gado sauce over it. Or better, serve with this peanut sauce. On top fried dried baked unions. ...delicious! *Mostly I bake the meatballs before sticking them together with the pickle and unions. Store cold. And when needed just take out of the fridge and bake untill warm or fry them. Serve as mentioned above. Note: You can make a dish out of these when adding Basmati rice and the Gado Gado salat (Indonisian cuisine). ...enjoy cooking!

Also you pickle cucumber with this dish. We call it "pressed cucumber" (roughly translated). Finely sliced, add salt, make it rest. Put in in a strainer. Shake to lose some of the liquids. Place a small plate on it with a weight to press most out the remaining liquids out for 30 min. (therefor the name) Vinegar essence, sugar, water, white pepper, salt to a boil. Add finely chopped parsley and pour it over the cucumber slices. I'm offended. I work in a nursing home for elders in Sweden and cook traditional dishes for 80-100 year olds.

I think Chef James would like "Men With the Pot" videos. It has asmr from the chopping and crunch from tasting. It might be something different to watch.

Great observations, James. . I will make some following this video. Indeed, when spices are out of proportion, they can kill a dish.

I've seen, but never gotten to play in, a micro tabletop RPG about being lost in an ikea store. There are several indie horror games about having to navigate an ikea store. There's at least 1 3PP module for D&D 5e on DM's Guild where the dungeon is an ikea store. Someone made a digital-only hack of the boardgame Magic Maze where it's an ikea store instead. The ikea store captivates many tabletop players for some reason...

Greetings from Finland! Well i sure wouldn´t use those spices at the meatballs. My kids love my meetballs and meatloaf, and i usually make same kind of mixture from groundmeet. So the spices i use are smoked paprika, black pepper (grinded) and about desiliter of bouillon. And of course very small bits of onion and two cloves of garlic crushed as paste. I don´t necessary use bread or breadcrums at all (if i make to my self, becouse of ketogenic diet) but one egg never hurts anyone (unless allergic). Well i usually make mashed potatoes that after boiling and getting rid of the water i throw the the butter and salt in to the cattle and i first smash little bit the boiled potatoes with electric mixer and then i´ll pour litlle bit of the milk as i start mixing and i poor it as long that it is silky smooth and if there is not enough salt i´ll season it so that it tastes like heaven in my mouth. Just too shame that i can´t eat it becouse my keto lifestyle, but everyone else can enjoy it. I think lingonberg and cranberries doesen´t have so large difference in taste that it would matter witch you use in the dish. One thing still misses from the dish of Ikea and it is fresh peas. Those are just must in the meatball dish. Then just the regular brown souce with a hint of cream mixed in and it is perfect!

Lingonberry is the berry that I like in my crapes.

I'm going to make this but I like my cranberries with some texture so I'm only going to lightly mash them and skip the food processor. Also I just use my hand mixer to mash potatoes, put in milk butter and salt and it's great

James, many thanks for your entertaining videos. You are not just judging, but more important describe why to do and what to avoid. For me as an amateur in the kitchen it helps me to develop my skills and ideas.

I enjoy your video more and more as I watching it :). Your review is too mellow. Contrasting the chaotic nature of the source video like the one with uncle roger. It was a perfect balance in my :) taste

I made Swedish Meatballs last week, just using a recipe I found online and it was *soooooo* good! Even my kids ate it! #theultimatewin #ihadtosharetho

Awesome to see this type of content - cooking with your recommended tweaks!

I've never tried IKEA meatballs, but I remember that a few years ago here in Italy there were people who were intoxicated and hospitalized because of those meatballs, so I don't have such good memories haha

Up here in alaska you can pick wild lingon berries often referred to as low brush cranberries up here. They are a must have come fall season.

There is a Swedish lady who works at a restaurant in New York that makes swedish meatballs, you can find her on KZfaq and make here version too and compare :)

When I boil my potatoes, whether it's for basic boiled or to mash, I put butter, salt, pepper and garlic powder (sometimes Italian seasoning and/or a dash of Old Bay..it depends on what I'm making them for) in the pot then add the water and potatoes. Since during the cooking process in when they will absorb the most. I'm real picky about my potatoes.

Marfona is a good potato variety - creamy, holds its shape well, very amenable and tasty. And when you're next able to get cranberries, may I suggest you try lime, juice and zest, no "pumpkin spice"? Sugar to taste.

Sweden here, the classic recipe for the standard Swedish meatball contains one anchovy, it brings out the umami-flavor. I'm unsure of how many anchovy but I think it's just the one.

Well done chef James!

Anchovies would be considered correct as a spice for meatballs. IKEA meatballs are widely considered acceptable in Sweden but ofcourse they can't compete with 20$ alternatives. P.S: most of the stock and flour could be replaced by frying the balls in a pan and then using cream to extract the goodness from the pan. I personally use half butter-fried and half raw onions in the meatballs, with peppercorn. No. Bloody. White. Pepper.

Milk soaked bread mixed into ground beef is still one of the best tips i ever got for making meatballs. Coconut milk is even better in some cases. It makes the meat more tender also.

To add: we would never in a million years serve broccoli with that dish. Pickled cucumber, lingonberries, the cream sauce, nutmeg and white pepper in the mash that is it. NO PANKO NO GARLIC, jesus. ANT NOT THE OVEN. My ancestors are crying.

James - A fun vid, as usual. As to Josh's take on Swedish meatballs, a few things. First, a meatball is a meatball, Swedish, Italian or Italian/American. As well, a meatball is just a meatloaf, in the shape of a ball. It's all the same recipe, distinguished only by herb and pecorino, in the case of Italian/American meatballs, compared to meatloaf, being otherwise of the same ilk. As to Josh's recipe, compared to mine, if you took the volume of onion and bread crumbs in his, and reversed them, you would find mine. Two things I know, to result in a tender, juicy meatball, is firstly, the volume of breadcrumbs, should be close to the volume of ground meat, perhaps a little less. Of course, one egg to one pound of ground (beef, pork or both), and for Italian American meatballs, a healthy dose of grated Pecorino, and some basil and/or oregano, fresh or dry, with more chopped parsley than you would at first, suppose appropriate. Secondly, to use some stock that has been reduced to a firm 'Jello/jelly', when refrigerated. I discovered this when cooking for a friend who was on an extreme 'low fat/low salt' diet, and 95/5 was the fattiest meat I could use, in his case, which by standard recipes, would end up with a 'rubber' hamburger, meatball, meatloaf, sausage, etc. I first added the gel chicken stock, searching for flavor, in a no salt situation. What I discovered, was that such a gel, mixed with whatever ground meat, made quick work of attaining a juicy bit of ground meat, so much so, that even slightly more than 'a little', resulted in a mix that, as ground meat alone, would not hold together, as a hamburger or sausage patty normally might (or any of the rest of it would, if using meat of a higher fat content - 80/20 being standard). It is the equivalent of making a pasta dough, with only egg yolks, or oil. It looks good, but it just won't hold together, as minus water, even if of just the egg white, no gluten will be formed, such as vodka is often used to replace half the water of a pie dough recipe. Theory being, the less gluten formation, the more flaky and tender the crust, and in the case of pasta, in my experiments, how firm to the tooth, fresh pasta could be. Noticed, the more egg yolks, the firmer, but it needs at least the water of one egg white (or from another source, to 8 oz of Semolina), to complete the process of a glutened dough, so as to be useful. As usual, I always learn from your dissections, and get a good laugh from your winces, as well. Thank you for that.

It would be cool if you'd make it again with your adjustments and let us know on the ratios and such you settled on.

Thanks for the tip on covering the mash with cling film. I don't know why I have never thought of that before. I only have one working burner in my house right now, so I'm a bit of an expert at stovetop chess. haha. But mash is always tricky. I'll try the cling film next time I make a bunch o mash.

Never had Swedish meatball and don't think I ever would.

Tip for making meatballs. Use Knorr french onion soup dry mixture! It has good onion flavour and all the needed spices. Recipe here: 1 bag Knorr French onion soup (dry ingredients) ½ dl breadcrumbs 1½ dl water (or 2 dl sour cream) 1 egg 500 g minced beef Mix onion soup dry ingredients, breadcrumbs and water (or sour cream). Stir and wait a few minutes for the ingredients to rehydrate from the water. Add egg and minced meat, stir into an even mixture. Form even sized meatballs and set them on an oven tray. Bake the meatballs in the oven at 225°C, for 15-20 minutes.

I see other comments commenting the things I would say. But instead of broccoli, take some pickled cucumber. Not broccoli. And yea, allspice in our meatballs is a bit.. weird. And putting the meatballs in the oven is also a bit unusual. We fry them in a frying pan. And we can make the gravy in the same pan after the meatballs.

Hah, this will be interesting as a Swede. I will edit with all the grumpiness 😉 Edit one, not using lingon is like using cream in carbonara.. Edit two, mash too fancy, just chuck butter, milk, salt and pepper in with the potatoes and use a hand masher. 😋 Edit three, use cream 40% fat not milk in the meatballs and soak the bread crumbs with the spice before mixing it with the meat. Edit four, fry them in a pan with butter and use the juice from the meatballs to mix with the roux not stock.. Edit five, Soy sauce? Ok..

Ikea produced a cookbook some years ago, which I happen to own, so pulled it out of it's hiding place. No fish, or fish products, in the meatballs so not certain where that smell came from. Somehow cross-contaimination from the pickled herring maybe? The recipe Joshua created for the cream sauce, is pretty close to the one in the book.

great video like always keep it up also thanks for all the videos about how it is to become a chef it helps alot :D