Here's the recipe from the book, let me know if I made any mistakes transcribing it. PORK MEATBALLS WITH MUSHROOM CREAM SAUCE For the Meatballs 1 pound freshly ground pork shoulder Kosher salt ¼ cup buttermilk or heavy cream ¼ ounce (1 packet) unflavored gelatin 2 slices high-quality white sandwich bread, crusts removed 1 teaspoon soy sauce ½ teaspoon Marmite 2 anchovy fillets, mashed to a paste with the back of a fork 3 medium cloves garlic, minced or grated on a Microplane (about 1 tablespoon; reserve about 2 teaspoons for the sauce) 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 large egg 1 tablespoon sugar ½ teaspoon ground fennel Freshly ground black pepper 2 cups vegetable oil For the Sauce 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 8 ounces buttom mushrooms, cleaned and sliced 1 small onion, finely diced (about 1 cup) Reserved garlic from above 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1½ cups homemade or low-sodium canned chicken stock 1 teaspoon soy sauce ½ cup heavy cream 2 teaspoons sugar Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves 1. To make the meatballs: In a large bowl, combine the ground pork with the salt. Mix thoroughly with your hands, then set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes. 2. Meanwhile, pour the buttermilk into a large bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Allow to hydrate for 10 minutes. Add the bread and allow to soak for 10 minutes, turning the bread occasionally until completely saturated. 3. After the meat has rested, add the soy sauce, Marmite, anchovy paste, 1 teaspoon of the garlic, the red pepper flakes, egg, sugar, fennel, and pepper to taste to the bowl. Add the bread and buttermilk mixture and mix gently with your hands until well combined; do not overknead. Pull off a teaspoon-sized portion of the mixture, place it on a microwave-safe plate, and microwave it on high power until cooked through, about 15 seconds. Taste for seasoning, and add more salt and pepper to the meat mixture as desired. 4. Using wet hands, form the mixture into meatballs about 1 inch in diameter (a generous tablespoon per meatballs-you should get roughly 30 meatballs), placing them on a large plate as you go. 5. Heat the vegetable oil in a 10-inch nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until it reaches 350°F (a meatball should sizzle vigorously when you dip the edge of it into the hot oil). Set aside 4 meatballs and carefully transfer half of the remaining meatballs to the pan. The temperature will drop to around 300°F-adjust the flame to maintain this temperature (the oil should continue to sizzle vigorously but not smoke) and cook until the meatballs are well browned on the first side, 1 to 2 minutes. Carefully flip them with a small offset spatula or a fork and cook on the second side until well browned, about 3 to 4 minutes longer. Using tongs, transfer the meatballs to a paper-towel-lined plate. Repeat with the remaining meatballs, allowing the oil to return to 350°F before adding the second batch. Set the meatballs aside (discard the oil or strain and save for another use). 6. To make the sauce : Return the skillet to medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons of the butter, and heat until the foaming subsides. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until they give up their liquid and start to brown, about 8 minutes. Push the mushrooms to one side and add the remaining tablespoon of butter to the center of the skillet. Add the reserved 4 raw meatballs and mash with a wooden spoon, then cook, stirring to break up the meat, until it is no longer pink, about 1 minute. 7. Add the onions, stir the meat, mushrooms, and onions together, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Slowly pour in the chicken stock, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the soy sauce, heavy cream, and sugar, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer. 8. Add the remaining meatballs to the sauce and cook, stirring and turning them occasionally, until they are cooked through and the sauce has thickened to the consistency of heavy cream, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, stir in the lemon juice and thyme, and serve.

Kenji on his first date with his wife: So anyway, here's the most mathematically efficient way to cut an onion...

“Damp hands make smooth balls.” -Chef John

FIRST.

Ok but don't play with my heart Kenji, a collab with Chef John is a dream come true

17:22 "These aren't sweet meatballs, they're just sweet-ish/swedish" once again, fantastic dad humor. Kenji's shaping up to be the daddiest of dads

I’m sure this has been said by countless others, but the main reason I love your content is that you’re in your actual home. We see your regular kitchen with its everyday clutter and we hear your adorable daughter in the background! The comfortable setting along with your casual delivery and minimal editing (mainly just switching from one camera to another) makes it much easier for me to follow your instructions and retain the advice you give. It’s just like learning from a friend or an uncle.

The Internet has spoken and we demand a Kenji / Chef John collaboration!!!

Nobody: Kenji every time he cuts an onion: my friend and I built a 3D model of an onion to show how to maximize dicing

dude has more spices and seasonings in the rows of his pullout-cupboard-esque contraption than i have books in my drawer

I've enjoyed reading all the comments here. While growing up, I would comment to my friends that our family couldn't have a family gathering for: birth, baptism, confirmation, graduation, wedding, &/or funeral without 400 meatballs. As other "Swedish meatball" traditionalists have commented, ours were much smaller. Can't fault Kenji for reducing "fiddly", but ours were always intended to feed many, not a family dinner. We had a group of women (and children) gather for an afternoon to roll meatballs, bake them, and gossip. Happy memories of our times together. My Mom just entered hospice, and our "next door-Swedish" family lost their youngest daughter yesterday to cancer. Grieving on both ends of the spectrum, I pulled out my mothers meatball recipe. It starts with 10 lbs. of meat: 6 beef, 2 pork, 2 veal. (not making that much today) Her spices included measured amounts of salt and pepper; and cinnamon, ginger and allspice "to taste" . I remember her tasting the raw mixture, and grimaced trying imagine how I would get that mix right! Very happy to see Kenji's microwave method. Thank you Kenji!

29% of comments: epic video! 30% of comments: balls lol 40% of comments: meat tastes meaty me: hah papa kenji gave his daughter some milk and cheese and made meatballs per her request ;)

My man broke an egg in the package and poured it in anyway. He's achieved his final form Grandma cook. It doesn't matter what culture you come from, a grandma can turn a broken egg into a 3 course meal.

Love Chef John

"there aren't sweet meatballs, these are swedish(sweet-ish) meatballs" Genius.

I really love the fact that you show adaptability in your cooking. You're making your own recipe from your own cookbook, but don't have all the ingredients so you adapt it to what you have on hand.

We never eat this with potato salad, at least around my parts. Plain boiled potatoes or mash is the standard, though the cucumber and lingonberry jam are exactly right.

You’re a good dad Kenji. I appreciate that you decided not to show your daughter. I’ve seen channels where a persons children are used to promote sponsors and ask for follow and clicks. To each his own but personally I think it’s manipulation of the audience and exploitation of the kids.

Chef John just said on his stream that he would love to do a collab

I'd say allspice is way more the traditional Swedish meatball spice. Traditionally allspice, nutmeg and cloves - or something called Epice Riche (1 part nutmeg, 2 parts white pepper, 1 part allspice, 1 part cloves). But if only one spice - definitively allspice. Not complaining just Swedish meatball trivia :) Great video and excellent meatballs! Soy sauce is actually very traditional too. We have hundreds of years old Swedish cook books with recipes for making your own soy sauce. A simple cream sauce made by just putting some cream and soy in the pan after frying the meatballs and letting it reduce is how you do it. Adding some lingon berries is excellent.

10:57 anyone else finds satisfying this part where Kenji chops mushrooms?

I am so stressed while I prepare food...watching you prep and be so chilled is really inspiring. it's like watching a jazz solo. You just go.

The microwave trick, just wow. I’ve made meatballs/dumplings a lot of times and never thought of that. Thanks for sharing Kenji!

I just bought your book! I am super impressed by it. I have never seen such a detailed analysis scientific get practical approach to everything that is food. I recommend everyone who reads this please go check it out. I can definitely see it was a labor of love! And it' huge! I will be referencing it often without a doubt!!

Your cooking videos are the only ones I watch these days. We have your book, but I love how you simplify your own recipes and make it start to finish in 30 min and under!

Lmao the sound Jamón made when he grabbed that bite

Eggtoplasmic Residue... That was a good one, Kenji.

Hey Kenji, I just wanna thank you for letting me relive similar moments of cooking with my uncles in the kitchen, the random tidbits of knowledge and subtle jokes thrown in out of nowhere was something I really enjoyed growing up. It's never been the same since I've been somewhat disowned by my family.

Swedish meatballs was the first recipe I made on my own as a child. I remember how happy I was, and the love for cooking it created in me.

Kenji I just wanna show my appreciation for your continued uploading on KZfaq, you are very entertaining, informative, and the production of the videos are great. Thank you for being awesome 👊

I love how you have normal plates and an average American kitchen. A lot of cooking channels have all the fancy stuff that most of us don't have.

You and Chef John are by far my favourite cooking youtubers. I love how you both reject macho cooking culture BS and ultimately see cooking as the fun thing to do and act of love it is.

"My daughter wanted some milk and cheese". This girl is just an entire blanket wrapped, stuffed animal snuggling, casual Sunday kind of mood and I'm all about it.

audibly chuckled "of course you did", when you mentioned creating a model of an onion about using a horizontal cut. love it!

I just love your videos. I’ve been a reader and ‘fan’ for years and have learned TONS just reading your book and SE articles. These vids really an extra dimension and clarity. Please keep up the great work!

I’ve been watching you and chef John for over 4 years now and a collaboration would absolutely make my heart so full.

Swede AND a Chef John-fan! It was actually Chef John that got me interested in cooking. And yes, you should absolutley do a collab! Also: Hot roux, cold milk = no lumps!

That microwave is insanely powerful. Also, when you started talking about cucumber salad I was suddenly struck with the craving for it, and then you mentioned potato salad and I resolved to make my way to a German restaurant post-haste.

2:49 “meat tastes meaty” - he’s speaking the language of the gods

@J Kenji López Alt, I am watching a livestream from Chef John right now and someone told him about your shoutout. He said he is a huge fan of your work and that he would love to do a collaboration with you.

First time Kenji has ever had a recipe book open

When I make meatballs or meatloaf, I make a panade with all the ingredients but the meat. I mix it thoroughly. Then I add the meat. When the other ingredients are pre-combined, you don’t need to work the mixture as much, so there’s less risk of over-mixing

I love how he always shares with his dogs at the end.

Kenji, you and Chef John are my Gods of cooking...And you Kenji, after all, are the master of the ball!!

As a swede, i'm really consufed about the "swedish meatball" ingredient list and size of the balls

Not gonna lie, when I watch your video, it makes my mouth watering. Edit: Besides that, these are quite satisfying content I ever watch. Love this channel from, Malaysia.

Love your show! So real for me. I just tried the roasted potato recipe and it was amazing! Thank you Chef Kenji!

The browning on those meatballs looks freaking amazing! Nice job Kenji

Swedish-ish Meatballs and Mushroom Gravy. A few of the less precise measurements I took from the book. Otherwise I tried to keep it like it was in the video. In the method, it’s a little long winded but I tried to keep the personality and some of notes provided. Enjoy! Meatballs - 1/4 cup milk - 1/4 oz gelatin(1 packet) - 1/2 pound each ground pork and beef - 1 egg - 1 tsp soy sauce - 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce - 2 slices white bread, crust removed. dried and crumbled into crumbs - 3 cloves garlic, minced - Fresh thyme(leaves from 2-3 stems) - Salt - white pepper - Fresh grated nutmeg Mushroom gravy - 8oz crimini mushrooms, stems removed, Sliced - 1 small onion, fine dice. (Approximately 1 cup) - 2 cloves garlic, minced - 3 tbsp butter - 1 tbsp flour - Small bundle fresh thyme - 1 cup chicken stock - 1 cup milk - Soy sauce - Lemon juice - Salt - White pepper - Fresh grated nutmeg Add gelatin to milk to bloom. In a separate bowl, season ground meat with salt, white pepper, red pepper flakes, and nutmeg. Add egg, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, fresh thyme, bread crumbs, and bloomed gelatin to meat mixture. - Mix to become homogenous If you’d like to check the seasoning, take small pinch of mixture and microwave till cooked through and taste for salt. Heat medium sized pan with about 1/4 inch of oil to shallow fry the meatballs. Heat an additional pan with oil for sauce While your pan is heating, set up a small bowl of water and a plate. Form medium sized meatballs while keeping your hands damp to prevent sticking. (In this video Kenji yielded 10) Add meatballs to preheated oil to fry. Try not to move meatballs very much during initial stages of cooking. Add sliced mushrooms to separate pan, cook until lightly browned. Season with salt and white pepper. Add butter, onion, garlic, and small bundle of fresh thyme to mushrooms. Let aromatics briefly sweat then add flour. Stir to disperse flower and coat in fat. During this whole process periodically check meatballs, turning when each side becomes deeply browned. Turn down heat if necessary. The meatballs will finish cooking in the sauce. Once flour is stirred in, add stock 1/4 cup at a time. Mixing well between each addition to prevent clumping. Mixture will be very thick at first. Once all of the stock has been added and well mixed, add milk. slightly less care can be taken when adding. Still mix thoroughly. Add additional nutmeg to taste, Add meatballs and bring to a simmer. Cook until sauce is slightly reduced and thickened to your liking. Add splash of soy sauce and lemon juice, if desired

I love how he uses the cracked egg that broke in the container. No reason to waste it, still perfectly fine, love it!

The sound of the chopping, with sizzles in the background and mumbling… Who needs ASMR when you can watch a Kenji video!

Chef Kenji's videos are like a cook subreddit. I live them.

Kenji, you’ve touched on this a bit in other videos, but I’d love to hear your philosophy on spices, your organization of them, maintaining freshness, etc. The spice situation is a disaster in nearly every home kitchen I’ve been in (including my own).

This is hands down my favorite KZfaq channel.

First Sohla from Bon Appetit gets hired by Babish, now Kenji brings up an idea to do a collab with Chef John? This needs to happen within the next couple months to make this year feel less bad.

Hey Kenji! Thanks for the tip with gelatin - tried it today and those meatballs came out nice, moist and tender!

The sound of your knife cutting the mushrooms in rapid succession (or well, hitting the cutting board) is only relaxing/ASMR ish

Köttbullar as we say in Sweden, this is an interesting...variant :)

This recipe was awesome. Because of the POV I could eyeball everything like the video and it turned out great. Thanks so much!

Made the mushroom gravy last night and served with meatloaf and jasmine rice. It was outstanding and a nice change from the usual glaze and mashed potatoes. Had to save the milk for breakfast, didn’t have cream so finished gravy with a few tablespoons of sour cream. Worked great and we ate every bit of it. Thanks Kenji

You know that meatball is going to be packed with flavor when you enhance your flavor enhancers. In this case, he is using inosinic acid (Worchester sauce) to enhance the glutamic acid (soy sauce) which is already used to enhance flavors.

Your dogs crack me up at every video. One is all wiggly and excited. The other just waits for you to get close so he doesn’t have to strain. Love them. You made my favorite meatballs. Only thing we use dill not thyme. Love the change

2:24 is part of why I love Kenji so much. Waste not, want not. Also love the little laugh.

The timing has never been better, I was just in the mood for this and was gonna get some tonight. Might just make it now.

"damp hands make smooth balls", "hot roux, cold milk, no lumps" - chef john

3:19 the most perfect pronunciation of Worcestershire sauce I've ever heard from an american, thats how you know you're a real chef. made a brit proud

I love that you feed your dogs! I want to see a collaboration with Chef John -- I'll tell him! I am very thankful to have found your channel. You make me feel like I can cook without actual measures and without sweating the small stuff. Thanks!

The sound when cutting those mushrooms was one of the most satisfying things I've ever heard.

what we need is a supercut of kenji washing his hands

Definitely a Chef John fan here. I laughed out loud with your “navy-gravy” homage to his rhyme-thing. I vote for that collaboration! Hope you’ll do it!!

Chef John is amazing. He's one of the best things to come out of my home of Western NY.

Totally nailed it with the Commander of the Navy bit Kenji

Okay but if a Chef John / Kenji collab isn't happening in the foreseeable future i'm going on a hunger strike

that egg technique 💯

Gonna make this later!! After taking out the meatballs. I will use the remaining sauce to make pasta then just add. Parmesan or Pecorino and Basil Leaves. Thanks Kenji for another wonderful recipe.

A delight and a pleasure to watch it and in eal time but also that you live in the real world with a family. more power to you.

MEATBALLS: 1/4 cup milk 1/4 oz gelatin 1 lb beef/pork Salt to taste White pepper to taste Red pepper flakes to taste Nutmeg to taste 1 egg Soy sauce Worcestershire sauce 2 slices of bread's worth of crumbs Few cloves garlic Fresh thyme 1. Mix milk and gelatin 2. Mix meat w/spices and add egg, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, milk/gelatin mixture, breadcrumbs, minced garlic and thyme 3. Fill heated pan with 1/4 inch of oil 4. Mix well and make meat balls to desired size 5. Fry meat balls in pan MUSHROOM SAUCE: 8 oz cremini mushrooms 1/4 onion? minced Few cloves garlic Thyme sprigs White pepper to taste Salt to taste 2 tbsp butter 2 tbsp flour 1 cup chicken stock 1 cup milk Lemon 1. Cut off mushroom ends and slice thinly 2. Add sliced mushrooms to pot w oil 3. Season mushrooms w white pepper and salt 4. Add butter, onions, garlic, and thyme to mushrooms 5. Cook down mushrooms and then add flour 6. Add chicken stock 1/4 cup at a time to deglaze 7. Add cup of milk and nutmeg 8. Put cooked meatballs in pot and stir 9. Add squeeze of lemon

Your videos are great

I love white pepper. Used to live with friends who were very picky eaters; they insisted they hated pepper, and could not be swayed. So whenever I made homemade mashed potatoes, I always seasoned the potatoes with white pepper so they couldn't see the specks of pepper. And shock of shocks, they said my potatoes were the best they'd ever tasted. 😄

Quite different from the traditional recipies you'd find here but still cool and interesting i guess!

Shabu & Jamon know it's good times when the gopro comes out for a recording session!

Kenji, you might be the only person alive to have ever uttered the words “my friend and I created a 3D model of an onion using mathematical equations” ever. Alongside your friend of course.

I enjoy your work. Well done.

I love your book, but it’s fun to watch your videos, and get your tips. I’ll be using gelatin in the future 😊 I’m also a fan of Chef John. Thanks for posting.

These look delicious! Being Australian, it was cool to see you recognise Vegemite as an option for the umami hit. I always put Vegemite in my rissoles and meatloaf. BTW: I would love to see you do a collaboration with Chef John! That would be so good! Best wishes from Down Under 😊

"Damp hands make smooth balls" -Chef John

Always a huge fan of your work! Looks really tasty! As a swede you encounter so many different variations of meatballs, and everyone does it differently. Onion is often included in the meatball either presoftened in a pan with butter or raw. Sometimes mixed, precooked and raw. Some mix their meatball dough while others don`t. The meatball is almost always fried in butter and we eat them with the brown sauce and mashed potatoes or just cooked potatoes. Lingonberry jam can be replaced with blackcurrant jelly and not jam to get a similar feeling. Dont know if you can buy that kind of jelly in the US though. It was really fun seeing you make your own kind :) Cheers from Sweden

I have been binge watching this channel throughout the day.

damp hands make smooth balls - Chef John

I haven’t finished the video yet (obviously, just came out), but looking forward to comparing notes with Alex’s research!

I love the scientific details about the umami flavor boosters and the Batman and Robin analogy. It makes sense why soo many recipes have anchovy paste / worcestershire sauce in them!

I Love the way you get your mise en , clean While you cook and MOST importantly you frequently wash your hands. Microbiology changed my life :) !

Oh what a great idea with gelatine!

Damn he's flexing on us with that spice drawer no cap

I have to say I am not a horizontal onion cutting person. I prefer uneven, rustic pieces of onion in my recipes. But, I do get the math of the structure. I just like a more rustic shape. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, cooking, and home!

I know you maybe dont read this but I'm from Costa Rica,i watch all of your videos and i really love what you teach and show us Greetings From Costa Rica

That egg was like: "Nope! I ain't coming out! What are you doing whoooa, awe man..."

Hey Kenji, we in sweden often use an icing bag to ”make the balls”, just push it out onto a lightly oiled plate and drop them all into the frying pan within literally seconds 😃

A dad cookout with Chef John and Kenji Lopez-Alt!!!!! I'm already excited for the dad jokes and delicious looking food.

Made this today, it was soooooo worth it. Doubled the sauce and served it with pasta. It was incredibly delicious and the meatballs were so tender!