Königsberger Klopse

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 500 gminced veal
• 1stale bread roll
• 100 mlmilk
• 1onion, very finely chopped
• 1egg
• 4anchovy fillets, mashed
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspwhite pepper
• a grating of nutmeg
• 1 tsplemon zest

Broth

• 1 litreveal or vegetable stock
• 1onion studded with 3 cloves
• 2bay leaves
• 1 tsppeppercorns

Sauce

• 50 gbutter
• 50 gplain flour
• 800 mlof the poaching broth
• 150 mldouble cream
• 3 tbspcapers, plus their brine
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1egg yolk

To serve

• boiled potatoes
• beetroot

Directions

1. Soak the stale roll in the milk until soft, then squeeze it out and crumble it into the veal.
2. Mash the anchovies to a paste and work them through the meat.
3. Anchovy in a German veal meatball surprises people and it is authentic. It goes in as a savoury backbone rather than as a fish flavour, and you should not be able to identify it in the finished dish.
4. Mix in the onion, egg, salt, white pepper, nutmeg and lemon zest, and work it thoroughly.
5. Wet your hands and roll the mixture into balls about 4 cm across.
6. Bring the stock to a bare simmer with the clove-studded onion, bay and peppercorns.
7. Lower the meatballs in and poach them very gently for 15 to 20 minutes.
8. Poach, never boil. A rolling boil breaks the klopse apart and clouds the broth you are about to make the sauce from.
9. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and keep them warm, then strain the broth.
10. Make a blond roux with the butter and flour, cooking it 2 minutes without letting it colour.
11. Keep the roux pale. Königsberger Klopse is a white dish and a browned roux turns the sauce beige, which is immediately wrong.
12. Whisk the hot strained broth in a ladleful at a time until smooth, and simmer 10 minutes.
13. Stir in the cream, the capers and a good splash of their brine, and the lemon juice.
14. The caper brine goes in as well as the capers. It is where most of the sharpness lives and it is what balances the richness.
15. Take the pan off the heat, beat a ladle of hot sauce into the egg yolk, then stir that back into the pan.
16. Temper the yolk properly and never let the sauce boil afterwards, or it curdles into threads.
17. Return the meatballs to the sauce and warm them through gently.
18. Taste for lemon and salt, which should be pronounced, and serve with boiled potatoes and beetroot.
19. The dish is named for Königsberg, now Kaliningrad, and it travelled west with people displaced after the war.

Technique

• Veal is traditional and a veal and pork mix is the common domestic version.
• The sauce should be sharply lemony and caper-forward rather than merely creamy.
• It was one of the most popular dishes in East Germany and it remains a canteen classic.

Substitutions

• A veal and pork mix, or all pork.
• Sardines or a little anchovy paste in place of fillets.

Variations

• With more capers, as it is usually made in the north.
• Without anchovy, which some households prefer.
• Served with rice rather than potatoes.

History

Meatballs, made from a mixture of ground meats and soaked bread, poached gently in a broth rather than fried, and served in a creamy white sauce flavoured with capers and lemon, developed in the former city of Königsberg, once part of East Prussia and now the Russian city of Kaliningrad following major border changes after World War Two. Its gentle poaching method, rather than frying or browning, distinguishes Königsberger Klopse from many other European meatball traditions, and the dish’s caper-and-lemon cream sauce reflects a refined, specifically East Prussian culinary style that survived and remained popular in German cuisine even after the dish’s originating region ceased to be part of Germany. Königsberger Klopse remains a well-known traditional dish across Germany today, closely tied to this specific and now historically displaced regional origin.

Frequently asked questions

What is Königsberger Klopse?

Königsberger Klopse is a main from Germany: veal meatballs in creamy caper sauce with boiled potatoes. Meatballs, made from a mixture of ground meats and soaked bread, poached gently in a broth rather than fried, and served in a creamy white sauce flavoured with capers and lemon, developed in the former city of Königsberg, once part of East Prussia and now the Russian city of Kaliningrad following major border changes after World War Two. Its gentle poaching method, rather than frying or browning, distinguishes Königsberger Klopse from many other European meatball traditions, and the dish’s caper-and-lemon cream sauce reflects a refined, specifically East Prussian culinary style that survived and remained popular in German cuisine even after the dish’s originating region ceased to be part of Germany. Königsberger Klopse remains a well-known traditional dish across Germany today, closely tied to this specific and now historically displaced regional origin.

How long does Königsberger Klopse take to make?

Königsberger Klopse takes 25 min of preparation and 40 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Königsberger Klopse?

Yes, within limits. A veal and pork mix, or all pork. Sardines or a little anchovy paste in place of fillets.

What is the most important thing to get right in Königsberger Klopse?

Anchovy in a German veal meatball surprises people and it is authentic. It goes in as a savoury backbone rather than as a fish flavour, and you should not be able to identify it in the finished dish.