• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Subscribe
Subscribe by email Connect on Facebook Connect on Pinterest Follow Me on Instagram

Hunter Angler Gardener Cook

Finding the Forgotten Feast

  • Home
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
  • Shop
    • Public Events
  • Podcast
  • Game Recipes
    • Venison Recipes
    • Duck Recipes and Goose Recipes
    • Rabbits, Hares and Squirrels
    • Pheasants, Turkey, Quail
    • Dove and Pigeon Recipes
    • Wild Pig and Bear Recipes
    • My Best Taco Recipes
    • Wild Game Sauces
  • Charcuterie
    • Homemade Sausage Recipes
    • Smoker Recipes
    • Bacon, Jerky, Hams, etc
    • Salami Recipes
    • Confit, Pate, Terrines
  • Fish
    • General Fish Recipes
    • Salmon Recipes
    • Snapper Recipes
    • Crabs, Shellfish and Squid
    • Little Fish and Oddballs
  • Gathering
    • Preservation Recipes
    • Mushrooms
    • Sweet Things
    • Wild Greens and Herbs
    • Acorns, Nuts, Starches
Home » German » Konigsberger Klopse, German Meatballs

Konigsberger Klopse, German Meatballs

By Hank Shaw on April 20, 2017, Updated June 6, 2022 - 35 Comments

Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe Comment
4.67 from 9 votes
German meatballs on a plate.
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
German meatballs on a plate.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

Who doesn’t love meatballs? They’re easy to eat, fun to make and come in endless variation. Hell, there have been whole restaurants and cookbooks dedicated to the humble meatball. These are German meatballs.

Königsberger klopse is a classic German dish that uses several ingredients I don’t normally associate with German food: capers, anchovies and lemon zest. I found the recipe in Mimi Sheraton’s classic, The German Cookbook: A Complete Guide to Mastering Authentic German Cooking, which is to German food what Joy of Cooking is to traditional American food.

Apparently this is a very common recipe in Germany. East Prussia, to be exact, where Königsberg once stood. The city was leveled in World War II. Afterwards, when the Russians took East Prussia, they renamed the city Kaliningrad.

Historically, these meatballs are made from veal or pork. I first made them with wild pork, then with ground bear, sent to me by my father, whose friend in upstate New York wanted to see what I could do with bear meat. Both were good.

That said, I’d stick to pork, or even pork mixed with ground turkey or chicken, or of course veal — if you can find humanely raised veal.

I initially used bread soaked in milk and torn to pieces, as the original recipe does. But I didn’t care for the texture, so I now use breadcrumbs instead. Much better.

Pronounced something like ker-nigs-burger klop-seh, these German meatballs are a little unusual. For starters, they are not browned. You cook them in broth, very gently, and then use that broth to make a roux-thickened sauce studded with capers. Sour cream and parsley is mixed in at the end.

Capers and anchovies, Mediterranean ingredients, do appear here and there in German cuisine. After all, Germany isn’t that far from Italy, and trade has been going on there since Antiquity.

German meatballs on a plate.
Print Recipe
4.67 from 9 votes

German Meatballs, Königsberger Klopse

This is a comforting, mellow dish that has just enough zing in it from the capers, anchovies, lemon zest and sour cream to keep everything interesting. I normally use wild pig for these meatballs, but if you are not a hunter, go for ground veal -- if you can find humanely raised veal -- or ground pork.
Prep Time30 mins
Cook Time35 mins
Total Time1 hr 5 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: German
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 753kcal
Author: Hank Shaw

Ingredients

MEATBALLS

  • 1 cup minced onion
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 pounds ground boar, veal or pork
  • 2/3 cup breadcrumbs
  • 2 teaspoons anchovy paste or 5 anchovies, mashed
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • Zest of a lemon
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon white or black pepper
  • 2 eggs

SAUCE

  • 1 quart duck, beef or veggie broth
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup minced onion
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 2 tablespoons capers
  • 2 tablespoons parsley
  • 2-4 tablespoons sour cream
  • Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Heat the 2 tablespoons butter in a small frying pan and cook the cup of onions over medium heat until they are soft. Do not brown them. Sprinkle a little salt over the onions as they cook. When they are translucent and soft, remove from the pan and set aside to cool.
  • Once the onions are cool, mix all the meatball ingredients together in a bowl. Form into small meatballs with a teaspoon. You can make them bigger, but a heaping teaspoon makes a nice size.
  • Heat the broth in pot large enough to fit all your meatballs. A wide, deep saute pan with a lid is a good choice. Once the broth is simmering, turn the heat down to as low as it will go and add the meatballs carefully. If they're not all submerged in the broth it will be OK. Cover the pot and let the meatballs cook gently for 25 minutes. Carefully remove them and set them aside.
  • Pour out the broth and save it. Wipe the pan with a paper towel and set it back on the heat. Add the 3 tablespoons butter and turn the heat to medium-high. Cook the onions until they're translucent. Don't brown them. Add the flour and mix well. Cook this over medium heat, stirring often, until everything is the color or coffee-with-cream. Add the hot broth a little at a time, stirring constantly. Keep adding it until you have a sauce the consistency of thin gravy -- not as thick as Thanksgiving gravy, not thin like soup. You probably will not need the whole quart.
  • Return the meatballs to the sauce and add the capers. Heat through on low heat, then add the parsley.
  • Serve with the sour cream at the table. Have people mix it in when they eat. This will prevent the cream from curdling and will let people make the dish as creamy as they want. Grind black pepper over everything and eat!

Notes

Some old recipes for königsberger klopse just say to simmer the meatballs in salted water, but I prefer to use stock or broth. A tip: Do not let the meatballs simmer. Just get the broth to a simmer, carefully drop in the meatballs, cover the pot and turn the heat down to its lowest setting. The meatballs will cook gently, will not fall apart and will remain tender. Serve these with boiled or mashed potatoes or a good German bread.

Nutrition

Calories: 753kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 55g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Cholesterol: 248mg | Sodium: 1952mg | Potassium: 870mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 846IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 116mg | Iron: 4mg
Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @HuntGatherCook or tag #HankShaw!

Thanks for Sharing This!

1.4K shares

Filed Under: German, Recipe, Wild Game

Avatar for Hank Shaw

Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet's largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Avatar for InkaInka says

    August 2, 2021 at 6:42 am

    the sauce needs vinegar or lemon juice !

    Reply
    • Avatar for Betty BetzBetty Betz says

      February 18, 2022 at 7:06 pm

      Absolutely. It has to taste somewhat sour, or it wouldn’t be “Königsberger” Klopse, but
      “Shaws”.
      Some of the ingredients like anchovy paste, Worcestershire Sauce or lemon zest are not needed, since you should use lemon juice in the gravy anyway, but at the end, when it’s finished. Do not simmer.

      Reply
  2. Avatar for ChristinaChristina says

    July 10, 2021 at 7:27 am

    This recipe is absolutely delicious!
    The meatballs were tender and flavourful, and the unique creamy sauce went perfectly together.
    I’ve accompanied this with mashed potatoes and German red cabbage that all work wonderfully with this dish.
    My kids have asked for this recipe to be made again and again!
    Brought back many childhood memories of my Mom making this for our family. I’m so excited to have found this authentic recipe; thank you Hank!

    Reply
  3. Avatar for Skaidrite MezaskalnsSkaidrite Mezaskalns says

    June 4, 2020 at 4:09 pm

    As soon as I read klopse, it was a word of food from our Baltic culture. Prussia and the Prussian language are directly related to us Latvians and Lithuanians. This is delicious way to prepare our food, not German. History lost as the language and peoples went through genocide.

    Reply
    • Avatar for Betty BetzBetty Betz says

      February 18, 2022 at 7:10 pm

      Yes, German! Königsberg used to belongs to Germany before the wars.

      Reply
  4. Avatar for GenaGena says

    June 15, 2018 at 4:45 pm

    I am German. My mom always had a jar of capers in the fridge.

    Reply
  5. Avatar for Robin BumpusRobin Bumpus says

    May 23, 2018 at 4:58 pm

    I was stationed in Jacksonville Fl. When
    My husband was in the Navy one of our friends made meatballs like these with the gravy and combined them with Sauerkraut. It was fabulous! Have never been able to find a recipe .like it. I could have sworn it was called Feldeskraut, or something similar. Anyone ever heard of it or Seen a similar recipe?

    Reply
  6. Avatar for OliverOliver says

    March 8, 2018 at 5:29 pm

    I love this recipe I’ve made a few adjustments because I use it for my restaurant and when it’s a 10x batch you can chill on the strong ingredients like lemon zest and anchovy (I also use house made pork broth). Thank you so much for putting this out there.

    Reply
  7. Avatar for YvetteYvette says

    January 8, 2018 at 5:45 pm

    Oh my goodness Hank! I am sure I broke some religious rules of cooking but I made this tonight. I did end up with ground boar from the market. And combined it with local beef and lamb. And I added the red wine and the blueberry plum jelly into the sauce and it was ridiculously yummy! Made a fennel, butternut squash and green tomato gratin for the side.

    Reply
  8. Avatar for MarkMark says

    January 6, 2018 at 4:51 pm

    I made this tonight with ground venison, no fat added. I was VERY HAPPY with the results. Simmering in broth kept these lean meatballs moist and I love the subtle flavor of these meatballs without the guilt of a lot of heavy ingredients. I would echo the comment above, for my taste, a slight bit more acid would do – though I think next time I’ll just serve lemon wedge with it and use a gentle squeeze on top after serving.

    Great recipe, it’s going in my personal cookbook after just one dinner, though that’s not entirely uncommon with recipes from this site, lol.

    Thanks Hank!!!

    Reply
  9. Avatar for MaryMary says

    May 10, 2017 at 12:36 pm

    This is similar to my German Mennonite grandmother’s recipe for Saur Klops. Her recipe called for a flour roux and vinegar stirred into the broth just prior to serving. The vinegar bite with the creamy sour cream and potatoes added at the table was and is considered comfort food among the cousins.

    Reply
  10. Avatar for PJ WallacePJ Wallace says

    April 25, 2017 at 7:20 am

    I have a bunch of cougar left. Would I be correct in thinking this might be a perfect recipe to try?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      April 25, 2017 at 7:41 am

      PJ: Yes, this will work. I’d grind the meat with bacon or other pork fat though, so it’s not too dry. And be sure to cook it through – as you probably know, cougar meat is very often infected with the invisible parasite larva that causes trichinosis; they die when the meat is well cooked.

      Reply
« Older Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Hank Shaw holding a rod and reel in the American River

Hi, my name is Hank Shaw. I am a James Beard Award-winning author and chef and I focus my energies on wild foods: Foraging, fishing, hunting. I write cookbooks as well as this website, have a website dedicated to the intersection of food and nature, and do a podcast, too. If it’s wild game, fish, or edible wild plants and mushrooms, you’ll find it here. Hope you enjoy the site!

More about Hank...

Featured Recipes

red chimichurri with venison steak
Red Chimichurri
Cucumber sauce for salmon on a pretty plate
Cucumber Sauce for Salmon
A plate of arrachera tacos with salsa
Arrachera Tacos
A bowl of cherry tomato confit
Cherry Tomato Confit
Fire roasted salsa in a molcajete
Fire Roasted Salsa
Two hands holding a fried fish sandwich
A Simple Fried Fish Sandwich

As Seen In

As seen on CNN, New York Times, Simply Recipes, Martha Stewart, Food and Wine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Field and Stream, Outdoor Life, and The Splendid Table

Never Miss a Recipe

Receive recipes direct to your inbox.

 

 

Back to Top
  • Home
  • About
  • Classes & Events
  • Tutorials
  • Podcast
  • Charcuterie
  • Wild Game
  • Fish
  • Foraging
  • Privacy
Subscribe by email Connect on Facebook Connect on Pinterest Follow Me on Instagram

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

© 2022 Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, All Rights Reserved.

Site built by: Site by Status Forward

1.4K shares
  • Print
  • Pinterest
  • 1.1KFacebook
  • WhatsApp
  • Save
  • Email
1.4K shares