Hi, I know some of the Königsberger Klops, are made with sardines. Sardines are not one of my favorite foods. So I will not put them in any recipes!!!!! I know some people like them. Katharina > >Well, Katharina, you beat me to the punch !! However, I'm certain the >resulting meals will differ, as good German cooking should do from preparer >to preparer. So, I offer MY recipe, with annotations (for those of you >who >are patient enough to read them !! >========================================================== >MEAT BALLS WITH CAPER AND SARDELLEN SAUCE >(Koenigsberger Klops mit Sardellen- und Kapernsosse) > >1-1/2 lbs. raw veal 1) 1/4 lb. fat pork 1) > 3 T. butter > 1-1/2 hard rolls 2) >2 T. grated onion 3) 1/2 t. grated lemon peel >3 eggs, beaten 1/2 t. pepper 4) > 1 t. salt > 1 T. lemon juice 5) >1 t. Worcestershire sauce 6) Chopped parsley >1-1/2 qts. stock or bouillon 7) > >Grind meats very fine; mix with 2 T. butter 8) Moisten rolls with water; >when soft, squeeze water out, pick into small chunks and mix with meat. 9) > Sauté onion in butter until browned 10). Add to meat mixture >with >lemon peel, eggs, pepper, salt, lemon juice, Worcestershire and parsley. >11) 12) Mix thoroughly. Shape into 12 balls. 13) > Heat bouillon/stock (see #7) to boiling; drop balls in and simmer, >covered, 15 minutes. Remove from stock with slotted spoon to a warmed dish >and make gravy. > >GRAVY (Sardellen und Kapernsosse) >4 or 5 T. butter 4 or 5 T. flour 14) > >1 or 2 small boneless sardines 2 T. Capers 15) > >2 T. chopped parsley 1/2 cup buttered crumbs > >Measure stock; for every 2 cups of stock, mix 2 T. butter with 2 T. flour >16) > Stir into hot stock and stir until smooth and boiling. > Mash sardines with 1 T. butter 17); stir into gravy with capers >and >parsley. Reheat meatballs in gravy. Serve covered with buttered crumbs. >Serves 4 or more. > >ANNOTATION NOTES > 1) Veal is so expensive; it makes great Klops, but I’ve begun making >the >Klops purely from good ground pork, and this seems to be perfectly >satisfactory. Have your butcher grind up a pork shoulder or some such. >Lots >of fat is good for the Germans’ taste, but we try to keep our cooking as >low-fat as possible. I suppose that one could add some ground beef (lean) >in >place of the veal; I’ve never tried it. > 2) I buy Kaiser rolls at the supermarket and let them dry out WELL !! > 3) I mince lots of onion rather fine and add it, not bothering with >grating. Mincing with the Chinese knife is quicker and not so messy. > 4) Or more to taste > 5) I use extract straight from the bottle > 6) Or more, to taste > 7) I start with the water I’ve saved from making Spaetzle (it’s good >and >starchy; see N.B: below), then add several cans of the store-bought beef >broth -- or I use home-made beef stock, if I have any on hand. This is FAR >more satisfactory than starting out with straight water or broth. > 8) I no longer use butter at this phase; the eggs and other liquids are >quite sufficient moisture to achieve a good mix. > 9) At this point, mix bread and meat VERY thoroughly (yeh, with your >hands >!! Rings off first !!) >10) As I said, I just chop up the onion and add it directly to the >meat/bread mixture. Suit your own tastes !! >11) If you have some Liebstoeckel, you can throw a bunch of those flakes >in >too. If you don’t know what Liebstoeckel is, don’t ask !! I don’t >either, >except that it’s a good additive in German cooking. It’s a plant, and >maybe >someone out there can explain it. It comes in herb bottles, dried and in >flakes. We get it in Germany. >12) I’ve found that expanding the mixture with Wheaties or Corn Flakes >doesn’t hurt, maybe requiring another egg. Naturally, your choice. >13) I make mine about the size of golf balls; they swell as they cook. A >double recipe makes about 30 meat balls, 1” to 1-1/2” in diameter. >14) I use cornstarch dissolved in water (I LOVE to stir things up !!) >15) I usually make the double recipe, so I put in the entire bottle of >capers, including the brine. It doesn’t hurt to have more capers, >believe me >!! >16) This is busy work !! Just use the cornstarch/water in sufficient >quantity to thicken this broth to the desired consistency. >17) Now, you’re going to have some sardines left in that can !! My >procedure is to have some Saltines handy, as well as a bottle of white >wine. >While I’m mashing the sardines (this normally takes a VERY long time >:-)))), >I put the other sardines on crackers, munch the combination, washing it >down >with the good German wine. Good sardines shall NOT be wasted !! > >N.B: Our usual accompaniments are salad (your favorite; but a Swiss >Cheese/Wurst salad is a good one), Spaetzle, Rotkohl mit Apfeln und >Zwiebeln, >Apfelmuss, and a light dessert. Of course, we wash all this down with good >Mosel/Saar/Ruwer wines. We normally do this conglomeration in the >wintertime. We normally do it for company. Therefore, I make the Spaetzle >two days ahead (they should be kept in cold garage or fridge; if any are >left >over, they will freeze successfully for future use); I set the Spaetzle >water out in the garage in the stock pot, then bring it in the day before >the >company to do the Klops. Then I set the whole stock pot, broth, Klops and >all, back out in the garage until time to heat it all up for the company. >The Klops benefit from the day of sitting in the broth. > >HAPPY COOKING AND EATING !! > > > > > >==== GERMAN-LIFE Mailing List ==== >To UNSUBSCRIBE from this mail list send a message to: >GERMAN-LIFE-L-request@rootsweb.com and in the message add the word >UNSUBSCRIBE and send. > >============================== >Visit Ancestry.com for a FREE 14-Day Trial and enjoy access to the #1 >Source for Family History Online. Go to: >http://www.ancestry.com/subscribe/subscribetrial1y.asp?sourcecode=F11HB > _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com