Königsberger Klopse Is An Iconic German Dish!
Searching for a great recipe that incorporates meatballs and a delicious gravy? This Königsberger Klopse recipe is for you!
This classic German dish – also known as meatballs with gravy – is exactly as advertised.
These nicely spiced pork-beef meatballs are made with a creamy, rich caper sauce. When served with potatoes, Königsberger Klopse is a filling dinner dish with unique flavors and textures that leave you wanting more!
Königsberger Klopse is different from regular German meatballs. While we love classic meatballs (Frikadellen) you’d get at a Beer Garden, these meatballs are boiled in broth and served with their gravy.
The gravy just adds a whole other dimension to the experience. If you like capers, you’ll love Königsberger Klopse!
The dish was actually invented in Königsberg (the capital of East Prussia – present day Russia) over two centuries ago, but is still a dish that many Germans love.
Recipe Tips and Substitutions
There are quite a few steps in this Konigsberger Klopse recipe so be sure to read through these recipe tips before starting to cook.
Most of the steps aren’t overly difficult but it may be good to get your head around how the recipe works!
Make sure to use a mix of beef and pork for the meatballs – it just tastes better this way.
Traditionally, the meatball mix is made with a stale crusty roll. We know that in this day and age it’s not that common anymore to just have stale rolls or bread sitting around so feel free to use breadcrumbs instead. Just make sure that they are unseasoned.
You can substitute the beef broth for vegetable broth if you’re not a fan of beef broth. The flavors will change slightly but overall it won’t change the dish too dramatically.
It’s important that the gravy doesn’t come to a boil anymore after you have added the egg yolk – just something to keep in mind.
Feel free to adjust the number of capers as well as the amount of caper and lemon juice in the gravy to suit your preferences. The sauce is supposed to have a little bit of a sour taste though, so don’t skip them completely.
How to Make Königsberger Klopse – Step by Step Instructions
If you want to make these German meatballs in cream sauce, you can follow the recipe card at the bottom of this post for exact measurements.
For those wanting to follow recipe process steps visually, you can find the step-by-step process photo in this section.
This way, if you have any questions, you can check out the photos to see if you’re on the right track with this recipe!
If you’re using a stale crusty roll, soak it in some water.
It will try to float to the top so you might have to put something on top of the bun so it actually stays in the water. Let it soak until it is soft.
In the meantime, peel and finely chop the onion.
Ideally, you chop them even smaller that we did in the photo above – this way they won’t be so visible in the meatballs later.
Place the ground pork and the ground beef in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Also add the chopped onion, egg, salt, and pepper.
Squeeze the excess water out of the soaking bun, rip it into smaller pieces, and add it to the bowl as well. Alternatively (if you’re not using a stale bun), add the unseasoned breadcrumbs.
Mix everything together using your clean hands until it is well mixed.
If the consistency is overly sticky, feel free to add a few (more) breadcrumbs.
Now form 6-8 meatballs in the palms of your hands. Alternatively, you can also make a few more, smaller ones.
Set the meatballs aside on a plate and prepare the broth for them to boil in.
Add approximately 8 cups of beef broth to a large pot and bring it to a boil. Depending on the exact size of your pot, you can also use slightly more or less.
While the broth is heating up, peel an onion and cut it into quarters. Then add the onion pieces as well as a bay leaf to the broth. This will give it additional flavor.
When the broth is boiling, turn down the heat so that the liquid is just lightly simmering and add the meatballs.
Let them sit in the simmering (not vigorously boiling!) water for around 20 minutes until cooked.
If you made your meatballs smaller, then they might be done slightly earlier.
Once cooked and floating, remove the meatballs from the pot and set them aside on a plate.
For it’s time for the sauce.
Take 3 cups of broth from the pot and pour them through a sifter to capture any big pieces. Then set the sifted broth aside.
Take a large saucepan and melt the butter.
Once melted and hot, sprinkle in the flour.
Mix well with a wooden spoon or whisk so that there are no lumps.
Now, little by little add the broth that you just sifted while mixing constantly to avoid lumps from forming.
After you’ve added all the broth and have a uniform consistency, add the whipping cream and bring the mixture to a simmer.
In the meantime, separate an egg. Add the egg yolk and one tablespoon of milk to a small bowl and whisk with a fork until uniform in color.
You can use the egg white for another recipe.
Remove the pan with the gravy from the heat (the gravy should not boil anymore past this point!) and slowly pour in the egg yolk mixture while whisking constantly.
Now add the capers, caper juice, and lemon juice as well as salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
Place the meatballs into the pot to warm.
Serve the Königsberger Klopse with Salzkartoffeln (boiled potatoes that are first peeled, then boiled in saltwater until tender) and chopped parsley.
Storage Tips
You can store the meatballs and the gravy in a sealed container in the fridge once cooled.
To reheat just meatballs, remove the meatballs you want to warm from the rest of the gravy. It’s easiest to warm them in the microwave – but don’t do that with the sauce.
Since the sauce contains egg yolk it shouldn’t be brought to a boil again and that can happen very quickly in the microwave. So we would recommend heating the sauce gradually in a small pot on the stove until warm.
Make sure to consume any leftovers within 1-2 days.
FAQ
If you’re trying to pronounce Königsberger Klopse, it’s “Kou-nigs-ber-ger Clop-sah”.
These German meatballs with caper gravy are best served with potatoes known as Salzkartoffeln. They are first peeled, then boiled in salted water.
Related Recipes
For more great German recipes that feature meat, you can try out these tasty creations:
- German Meatloaf – A yummy meatloaf recipe – with hard-boiled eggs inside.
- Maultaschen – Delicious German stuffed meat pasta served in broth.
- German Schnitzel – A classic recipe for authentic breaded pork schnitzel.
Königsberger Klopse (German Meatballs with Gravy)
Ingredients
The Meatballs
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 1 crusty roll, stale or 3 tablespoons unseasoned breadcrumbs
- 1 medium-sized yellow onion
- 1 medium-sized egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
The Broth
- 8 cups beef broth
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 bay leaf
The Sauce
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 cups broth from the pot
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 3 tablespoons capers
- 1 teaspoon caper juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, more or less to taste
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- If you’re using a stale, hard crusty roll, soak it in water in a bowl. You might have to put something on top of it so it actually stays in the water. Let it soak until it is soft.
- In the meantime, peel and finely chop the onion.
- Add the ground pork and the ground beef to a medium-sized mixing bowl. Also add the chopped onion, egg, salt, and pepper. Squeeze the excess water out of the soaking bun, rip it into smaller pieces, and add it to the bowl as well. Alternatively, add the unseasoned breadcrumbs.
- With your clean hands, mix everything together until it is well combined. If the consistency is overly sticky, add a few breadcrumbs.
- Form 6-8 meatballs (or more smaller ones – that’s up to you) and set them aside on a plate.
- Now get the broth started. For that, add approximately 8 cups of beef broth to a large pot, place it on the stove and start bringing it to a boil.
- In the meantime, peel an onion and cut it into quarters. Add the cut-up onion and the bay leaf to the broth in the large pot.
- When the broth is boiling, turn down the heat so that the liquid is just lightly simmering and add the meatballs. Let them sit in the simmering (not vigorously boiling!) water for around 20 minutes until cooked.
- Once cooked, remove the meatballs from the pot and set them aside on a plate. Take 3 cups of broth from the pot and pour them through a sifter to capture any big pieces. Then set the sifted broth aside for now.
- Now it’s time to make the sauce. Take a large saucepan and melt the butter. Once melted and hot, sprinkle in the flour. Mix well with a wooden spoon or whisk so that there are no lumps. After you’ve added all the broth and have a uniform consistency, add the whipping cream and bring the mixture to a simmer.
- In the meantime, separate an egg. Add the egg yolk and one tablespoon of milk to a small bowl and whisk with a fork until uniform in color. You can use the egg white for another recipe.
- Remove the pan with the gravy from the heat (the gravy should not boil anymore past this point!) and slowly pour in the egg yolk mixture while whisking constantly.
- Now add the capers, caper juice, and lemon juice as well as salt and pepper to taste. Mix well
- Place the meatballs into the pot to warm. Serve with Salzkartoffeln (boiled potatoes that are first peeled, then boiled in salted water until tender) and chopped parsley.
Notes
- You can also use vegetable broth if you prefer it to beef broth
- It’s important to only add a little bit of broth at a time when making the sauce as this makes it easier to avoid any lumps.
Nutrition
This nutritional information has been estimated by an online nutrition calculator. It should only be seen as a rough calculation and not a replacement for professional dietary advice.
What do you do with the remaining 5 cups of broth?
Nothing unfortunately. You could strain it and save it for a different recipe (which is something we like to do sometimes because it feels like a waste draining it). You just need enough broth in the pot so that the meatballs have enough space to cook without sticking to the bottom of the pot or each other. Depending on the exact pot you’re using, you might get away with using less broth to begin with. I hope that makes sense! /Lisa
My mother, from Thüringen, made Königsberger Klops mit Salz Kartoffeln all the time. One of my favorites, and a dish I never learned to make. I got VERY excited when I saw this recipe on Pinterest, because it’s been over 25 years since I’ve last had this dish. Now I can make one of my favorite dishes!
Vielen dank!
I’m so happy to hear that Debbie! That’s exactly why I started this food blog.