Day 222: German Meatballs with Buttermilk Gravy

Last night's dinner was a cook and run.  I had to have my daughter to a cross country work out at school so I didn't get to see dinner until it was cold.  Its days like those that I'm really glad my oldest son can cook.  I started it and he finished it.  I found this recipe here, and it looked pretty good.  Caramelized onions are always a plus in my book.

German Meatballs with Buttermilk Gravy
14" dutch oven

2 lbs Lean Ground Beef
1 Egg
1/4 cup Milk
1/3 cup FRESH Bread Crumbs
1 Small Onion, diced small
2 tsp Spicy Brown Mustard or Regular Yellow Mustard
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1 Tbsp Vegetable or Canola Oil
1 Medium Onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 cup Flour
2 cups Buttermilk
1 tsp Brown sugar
2 Tbsp Butter

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in a 10" dutch oven and melt together over a full spread of coals. Add the 1 teaspoon of light brown sugar to the melted butter/oil, add the sliced onion and cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally until onions begin to brown. Remove a few coals to lower the heat and continue to cook onion stirring occasionally until softened and caramelized, about 15-20 minutes.

While the onions cook, mix the egg, bread crumbs, milk, salt, pepper, and mustard together in a bowl. In a medium bowl add the ground beef, diced onion and bread crumb mixture together. Mix gently until the onions and bread crumbs are evenly incorporated. Shape into walnut sized meatballs. After the onions are caramelized add 1-2 tablespoons of water to the onions to deglaze the pan and set aside. Put the meatballs in a 14" dutch oven and bake them at 400 for about 30 minutes or until they are no longer pink.

Remove meatballs from the pot and add 2 tablespoons of butter to it, add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk the buttermilk into the flour, continue whisking until the gravy is smooth. Taste gravy and season with salt and pepper if needed. Add the caramelized onions and meatballs back to the skillet and allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes or until the gravy has thickened. Serve over hot spaetzle noodles or rice. Serves 8.
 

I couldn't get a picture of this since I was gone.  Sorry!

 
The Review
 
These were just okay.  The gravy was bland even with the caramelized onions.  Some beef bouillon or even some nutmeg would have helped.  They weren't difficult to make, just a little time consuming.  I most likely won't make these again, especially since I have so many other good recipes for meatballs.  Grade C.