Sweden has been open to the culinary influences of other countries for centuries. The 1800’s were largely influenced by Britain. Today’s dish, Kalops, comes from the English word “collops” meaning slices or pieces of beef. It has remained a well-known and well-loved dish in Sweden for nearly 200 years.
Kalops is a traditional Swedish beef stew that is slowly cooked with vegetables and spices, most notably allspice berries which gives it its distinct flavor. Traditionally it is always served with potatoes and red pickled beets. Delicious and belly-warming, this is the perfect comfort food for a cold Winter’s evening.
This comes by way of request from Danny and Theresa Hjelm. They requested something Swedish that wasn’t meatballs. Danny and Theresa, I made you some Kalops – you’re going to love this! Now it’s your turn to recreate it in YOUR kitchen!
This is a simple dish to make and the prep time is quick.
Cut the beef into 1/2 inch cubes and dry with paper towels. This step is essential or else the meat will not brown. Sprinkle the flour over the beef cubes and turn to coat. Dice the onions and mince the garlic.
Heat the butter in a Dutch oven (I used a skillet and then transferred it to a Dutch oven – I was trying to cook and supervise a toddler using finger paints at the same time, so was a little sidetracked! But yes, use a Dutch oven in the first place)…heat the butter on medium-high and fry the beef on all sides until browned.
Remove the beef and set aside. Add the onions to the Dutch onion along with more butter. Saute until the onions are translucent and just beginning to caramelize. Add the garlic and saute for another minute.
Add the flour and stir for one minute to combine.
Add the wine and bring to a boil for one minute. Add all remaining ingredients and just enough water to cover the meat. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 hour. If the sauce is to thin at that point, remove the lid and simmer for another 20 minutes or until the desired consistency is reached. (You can also make a flour-water slurry and add that for thickening if you prefer).
Remove the bay leaves and allspice berries before serving. Serve with potatoes and pickled beets.
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 lb beef chuck, cut into ½ in. cubes
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons flour
- ¼ cup red wine
- 2 cubes beef stock
- 2 large carrots
- 4 bay leaves
- 10 allspices berries
- 10 white peppercorns
- Water
- Salt to taste
- Dry the beef cubes with a paper towel. This is important to ensure the beef browns properly. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the beef cubes and toss to coat.
- Heat the butter on medium-high heat in a Dutch oven. Place the beef cubes in the Dutch oven, being careful not to overcrowd them or they won’t brown, and fry on all sides until browned. Remove the beef and set aside.
- In the same Dutch oven, heat another 2 tablespoons of butter and sauté the onions until translucent and just beginning to caramelize. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Add the 3 tablespoons of flour and stir for 1 minute. Add the wine and bring to a boil for one minute. Add all remaining ingredients, adding just enough water to cover the meat. Bring it to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour. If the sauce is too thin at that point, remove the lid and continue to simmer for another 20 minutes or until the desired consistency is reached. Remove the bay leaves and allspice berries before serving.
- Serve with potatoes and pickled beets.
Jessica says
Funny that people say “this is not kalops”. My mother is Swedish and used to make this alot. I have learned her recipe and this is definitely kalops, with some extra flavour!!! I love the addition of garlic and especially the wine. Thanks for posting this. Love it!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks so much for the feedback, Jessica! :)
Cecilia McGonnell says
My mother used to make a similar recipe with brisket, that due allspice, I always assumed she got from her Swedish grandmother. I look forward to making this and hope to recapture that flavor I grew up with. It was always a family favorite.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, Cecilia, please let us know what you think!
linda says
This is definitly not kalops. But a great recipe in itself. Red wine and garlic is almost unheard of in authentic Swedish or Scandinavian recipies. We tend to be drawn to Clean and quite frankly a Little bland tastes. The ingridients should be as IDL stated. BUT for that amount of beef n Liquids there should be only 2 bayleaves or it will overpoweer the other Spices( to the Swedish palete).
According to wikipedia we did grow garlic in the vikingages but it became unpopular. The Swedish Senapskål (mustardcale) has a similar history. It was forgotten for a long time until the 21-century when Swedish people discovered Italian food. It is now sold as ruccola :)
Ana Cristina Rudholm says
True! Totally agree. My dad is from Sweden and he made it in the traditional way. Later in life, he started adding garlic and claimed that this was very rebellious and laughed about it. He died some years ago and I miss him so much.
Jeanine Carpenter says
Red wine vinegar?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Jeanine, not vinegar, just red wine.
Andy says
I’ve cooked Kalops using this recipe many times now, and I just want to say thank you for putting it up here. It’s delicious, easy to make, full of flavour and my son doesn’t mind it.
Not sure what an ‘authentic’ kalops is like, but I love the flavour from the wine and the garlic.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Andy, I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying this!
Susanna says
I concure with Kimberly! It is never garlic or wine in the Kalops! That is more like a Beef Bourguignone with the wine and garlic. So please remove it from the recipe if you want it to be like a real Swedish dish!
IDL says
Im sure your stew taste great, but it´s not Kalopps. Ingredients in kalopps is prime rib of beef, unions, carrot, butter flower, bay leaf, meat stock and allspice berries. You just chop the meat into cubes, fry them in a pan with butter, putt them in a boiling pan, sprinkle them with some flower and stir. Put some water in the frying pan and whisk it out and poor the water over the meat. Add the stock and water, shop the unions and carrots trow them in there together withe bay leaf and allspice berries and let it boil for 1-2 ours. You might need to add water once and a while, and maybe more stock. But that´s it. Serve with potatoes lingon berries and ore beetroot.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi IDL, I’m a little perplexed why you think this isn’t Kalops. Look over the ingredients again and I’m sure they will look familiar to you. It is true of any traditional dish that slight variations of methodology and ingredients will exist from household to household. Whether you boil the onions with the beef or caramelize them first to enhance the flavor of the stew, or whether you add red wine to further tenderize and flavor the meat (an age-old practice for centuries across Europe), the end result is the same – one simply has more flavor than the other.
Mikaela says
As a swede, I disagree with adding wine and garlic to kalops. Otherwhise it’s as we normally do it.
Kalle Kallesson says
nice one, I did this yesterday using a recipe I got from my mom, I am from Sweden and this is what I used
1 kilo of Beef chuck
8 dl Sage veal stock
4 yellow onions
6 carrots
3 bay leaf
12 allspice berries
and salt and pepper for tasting
I removed the carrots after the 2 hour cooking, a personal thing ;)
http://s10.postimg.org/ee7chv694/kalops.jpg
[img]http://s10.postimg.org/ee7chv694/kalops.jpg[/img]
The Daring Gourmet says
Sounds great, Kalle, thanks for sharing the photo! Smaklig måltid!
Danny & Theresa Hjelm says
Thank You. It will be Sundays meal.
The Daring Gourmet says
The perfect Sunday meal! Be sure to use whole allspice berries rather than powdered. And above all, be sure to return and report! :)
aisling says
is it possible to use allspice powder rather than the berries? if so, how much should i use?
The Daring Gourmet says
Hello aisling! Sure, you can use it in powder form. 1 teaspoon of ground allspice is about the equivelant of 5 allspice berries. You definitely want to use far less in powder form though, because the powder is far more potent than the berry, which releases the flavor more slowly in the cooking process. Using it in powder form you’ll have to do the “taste test” to make sure you’re getting enough of the flavor but not too much. I’d start with about 1/4 teaspoon of allspice powder and go from there.
The Daring Gourmet says
I think I got them at Marlene’s. I would call first to ask if they have them.
Maria Huntsman says
This looks very easy to make!…where do you get your allspice berries?….:)
The Daring Gourmet says
Yes, it is very easy! I think I got the allspice berries at Marlene’s. I would call first to ask if they have them.