Jaloviina, or Jallu as everybody calls it, is a legendary Finnish cut brandy, made by blending cognac with grain spirit. Its production began in 1932, the year prohibition ended in Finland, as a cheaper alternative to cognac, and this original three-star Jallu was three quarters cognac. The Second World War cut the supply of luxury goods, and in 1940 Jallu had to be replaced by a one-star grade with a mere quarter of cognac in it. During those difficult years the drink grew in popularity, and it has remained in relatively high demand ever since. I read somewhere that in the summer of 1942 a small drop of Jallu was handed out to the troops at the front in honour of Marshal Mannerheim's 75th birthday, and I doubt anyone there turned it down.
Ville Valo, the lead singer of the Finnish rock band HIM, has made meatballs served with Jallu sauce popular in Finland by announcing them his favourite. The recipe was developed a few years ago at his local hangout, Restaurant Tori in Helsinki.
I first tried the recipe a year ago, and both S and I instantly fell in love with the smooth, hearty taste of the sauce. The meatballs are fine too, but it's the Jallu sauce that makes this dish so special. It was only a few weeks ago that we went to Tori to try the original. Their portion is huge: five enormous meatballs with a mountain of mashed potatoes and plenty of sauce. Surely a trucker's meal, but not surprisingly S didn't seem to have any trouble finishing the plate. However, Tori's meatballs were tough and plain, although the sauce and the mash were perfectly fine. After our second and third visits to Tori we had to conclude that taste-wise there isn't really a reason to leave home. The following recipe is really that good.
If there is no Jallu in the cupboard, the recipe's own mix of a quarter of VSOP cognac and three quarters of plain vodka will do. That is in effect the same ratio as in the one-star Jallu of the war years. Two days after the pumpkin pie I'm keeping to the same line of processed ingredients, by the way, as the meatball mix takes onion soup mix and shop-bought fried onion. A pinch of allspice then gives them that familiar taste of Finnish home-made meatballs. The meatballs are baked in the oven, so there is no standing at the frying pan, and they keep their round shape. The one real trick in the sauce is browning the flour in the butter. That is where the colour and the toasty taste come from, but burnt flour turns bitter, so keep stirring all the time. On the plate in the picture four big meatballs glisten under the sauce, with mash and crushed lingonberries alongside, as they should be in Finland.
Recipe card
Finnish Meatballs in Cognac Sauce, i.e. Jallupullat
- Serves 4
- Oven 175 °C (350 °F)
- Baking the meatballs about 30 min
- Simmering the sauce 30 min
You will need
For the meatballs
| 450 g (1 lb) | ground pork and beef |
| 100 ml (0.4 cups) | crème fraîche |
| 50 ml (0.2 cups) | onion soup mix |
| 50 ml (0.2 cups) | dried fried onion |
| a pinch | allspice |
For the sauce
| 50 g (1/2 stick) | butter |
| 100 ml (0.4 cups) | plain (all-purpose) flour |
| 200 ml (0.8 cups) | demi-glace |
| 300 ml (1.25 cups) | water |
| 2 tbsp | beef fond, or two beef stock cubes |
| 100 ml (0.4 cups) | cooking cream |
| 50 ml (0.2 cups) | cut brandy (1/4 VSOP cognac, 3/4 plain vodka) |
| a pinch | crushed black peppercorns |
Method
- Preheat the oven to 175 °C (350 °F).
- Mix the meatball ingredients and roll into 12-16 balls. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until just done.
- Heat the butter and add the flour, stirring constantly until nicely browned. Don't let the flour burn. Add the demi-glace and water, stirring vigorously to avoid lumps. Add the beef fond and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- After the 30 minutes add the liquor and cream, and let settle for a couple of minutes. You can either add the meatballs directly to the sauce (tastier), or if appearances are more important (boring), serve the meatballs and the sauce separately.
- Serve with hot mashed potatoes and crushed, sugared lingonberries. Garnish with fresh parsley.
14 comments
Ah, a Helsinki classic!
However, 1 dl of flour? Really? At least my experiment with that amount didn't really leave much potential for simmering, more along the lines of becoming a meaty pancake. 🙂
Another nitpick on the measurements: 2 dl of demi-glace should be 0.8 cups, I guess?
Kudos, still!
This looks fabulous!
Ripa: I guess you're right; 1 dl of flour might be too much for the amount of water. I actually like the sauce more than the meatballs, so I simply add water until the consistency feels right. The browned flour has a nice taste to it if let to simmer for 1+ hours. But if in hurry, simply use less flours or substitute with Maizena or similar.
Lydia: Thanks 🙂
Thanks for posting this...another Scandinavian favorite of mine! I tried a Finnish meatballs recipe before, and although yummy, the sauce did not sounds as luscious as this! Brandy...oh my!
Hei,
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OK, I have to try the Cognac sauce it sounds delicious. Love the blog.
Jee! Kiitos!
Mä oon NIIN kaivannut Torin jallupullia ulkomailla ollessa ettei mitään rajaa! Pakko päästä heti testaamaan, mutta voisitko kertoa uusavuttomalle mitä on demi-glace?
Tänks 🙂
I now understand how the Finns get through those long winters!!
My wife is of Finnish ancestery so I asked her to make me these meatballs last weekend. Unfortunately, she had just pulled a double shift at the Correctional Medical Center (she's a RN) and ended up drinking most of the brandy during the 30 minute simmering while we ate some crabmeat appetizers and watched Meet the Press.
We ended up using a hit of marsala with some Grey Goose vodka. 2 cups seemed like a lot at first, but we ended up really enjoying the sauce. And the meatballs.
Thanks.
The meatballs look delicious. I have a similar receipe too at http://yemekzevki.net/2007/10/10/patates-puresi-domates-soslu-top-kofteler/ but I did not translated it into English yet. I'll post it to my English blog as soon as possible.
I'm Sophie, Key Ingredient's Chief Blogger. We would like to feature your Finnish Meatballs recipe on our blog. Please email sophiekiblogger@gmail.com if interested. Thanks 🙂
Sophie
http://blog.keyingredient.com/
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[...] 21 October, 2008 The first time I ever showed this recipe for meatballs with Jaloviina sauce to my boyfriend, he was in awe. Jaloviina, or Jallu for short, is a Finnish cut brandy, which is a [...]
I made these as part of Christmas Eve dinner last year, they were a hit with the family, everyone loves meatballs and gravy but ones made like this with this sauce, fantastic! I'll be making them again this year.
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