Vikings
This is my version of the popular Vikings sold at the fair by the Sons of Norway. Their recipe is a well guarded secret but a bit of experimenting and trying a few knock-off recipes and I came up with this.
This is my version of the popular Vikings sold at the fair by the Sons of Norway. Their recipe is a well guarded secret but a bit of experimenting and trying a few knock-off recipes and I came up with this.
- Carbohydrate 11.948728125 g
- Cholesterol 324.3830990125 mg
- Fat 18.9827237875938 g
- Fiber 1.57116875678301 g
- Protein 24.99416462675 g
- Saturated Fat 7.77374946929375 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (190g)
- Sodium 177.83601825 mg
- Sugar 10.377559368217 g
- Trans Fat 2.27601108484375 g
- Calories 318 calories
Step-by-step
- Saute onion in butter until transparent and soft.
- Mix oatmeal, eggs, and canned milk until combined. Mix the beef and pork together then add the oatmeal mixture, onions and spices. Beat with a mixer until fluffy.
- Using 1/3 to 1/2 cup of meat mixture (depending on how big you want your Vikings)form a ball. Place meat balls on a baking sheet or pan. Cook in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes until done. Remove from oven and alow to cool.
- When the meatballs are cool enough to handle, stick a wooden "popsicle" stick in each one (you can usually buy these at any craft store).
- Mix the Krusteaz pancake batter with water, make it thicker than usual so that it will coat and stick to the meatballs.
- Hold the meatball by the wooden stick and dip it into the batter, then drop it into a deep fat fryer with oil heated to 375. Roll it around so all the sides cook evenly. Cook until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on a plate covered with paper towels. Serve with ketchup, mustard or what ever you want!
Beating a mixture of ground beef, ground pork, and oatmeal with an electric mixer develops a distinct, cohesive protein matrix that prevents the meatballs from crumbling during deep frying. Mechanically agitating minced meat breaks down muscle fibers and extracts myosin, a salt-soluble protein that acts as a natural binder when combined with eggs and evaporated milk. Sautéing the minced onion in butter beforehand eliminates excess water content that might otherwise create steam pockets, ensuring the meat mixture remains structurally sound before it ever meets the oven.
Evaporated milk introduces concentrated dairy solids and reduced water volume compared to standard fresh milk, supplying necessary moisture to hydrate the dry oatmeal without thinning the meat paste. Oatmeal functions as a structural stabilizer by absorbing free moisture released during cooking, trapping it within the starch network so the interior stays tender rather than dense. Incorporating dried ground spices like ginger and allspice evenly throughout the meat guarantees uniform flavor distribution without introducing unwanted moisture from fresh botanical purees.
Baking the formed meatballs at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for fifteen minutes partially cooks the protein interior and cools the surface temperature so the subsequent batter layer adheres properly. Thickening the pancake batter beyond package instructions creates a high-viscosity coating that clings to the spherical surface instead of sliding off into the hot oil. Dipping the cooled spheres onto wooden sticks provides a safe mechanical handle for total immersion.
Maintaining deep frying oil at 375 degrees Fahrenheit ensures rapid starch gelatinization on the exterior batter before the oil can penetrate the interior meat and saturate the crumb. Water turning to steam inside the batter puffs the crust into a crisp shell, while heat transfers inward to finish cooking the pork and beef. Draining the fried portions on paper towels removes surface oil film, preserving the crisp textural contrast between the golden crust and savory center.
