Air-Fryer Meatballs -- Five Hundred Twelve, and Every One Counts

St. Lucia Day. December 13. No Sophie this year — finals — and no procession. But I baked the lussebullar and I lit the candles and I sang "Santa Lucia" in the kitchen at six AM, alone, in the dark, the candles making shadows on the walls and my voice filling the empty space. Paul heard me from the bedroom (the study, the bedroom, the room where his bed is now). He called out: "Linda?" I went to him. He was awake, the monitor beeping, the room dark except for the hallway light. He said, "Were you singing?" I said, "Santa Lucia." He said, "Sing it again." So I stood in his doorway and I sang it again, and he lay in his bed and listened, and the candles in the kitchen were burning and the snow was falling outside and my voice was the only sound besides the monitor and the song was old and the moment was new and both of them — the old song and the new moment — were sacred. I brought him a lussebullar in bed, with coffee. I sat on the edge of the bed and held the bun while he took bites, and I held the coffee while he drank, and we ate breakfast like this — me holding, him eating — and the morning was dark and the saffron bun was golden and the coffee was hot and December 13 happened, the way it's happened for centuries, the way it happens in kitchens and bedrooms and churches across Scandinavia and everywhere Scandinavians have carried the tradition. The chain of daughters. The candle crown. The saffron buns. Sophie in her crown. Me in my crown. Mamma in her crown. The women before them, in Uppsala and Gothenburg and the farms between. The chain stretches and stretches and I am one link in it and Sophie is the next and the chain doesn't break just because the husband is in a wheelchair and the house is rearranged and the world is different. The chain doesn't break. I spent the rest of the week on julbord. The Jansson's temptation: assembled, refrigerated, ready for Christmas Eve oven. The final meatball count: five hundred twelve (Mamma's three hundred, my two hundred, and twelve that came out misshapen and I'm counting them anyway). The rice pudding: Christmas Eve morning, two hours, the almond ready. Paul asked me to read to him on Thursday evening. Not shipwrecks. Swedish Christmas stories — the old ones, from the book of Scandinavian traditions that sits on the shelf. I read to him about tomtar (the Swedish gnomes who guard the farm) and about julbock (the Christmas goat) and about the julbord tradition and its roots in medieval Sweden, and Paul listened with closed eyes and the monitor beeped and the candles burned and the reading was a lullaby for a man who needs lullabies now. I tucked him in at eight-thirty. I smoothed the blanket. I kissed his forehead. I said, "Good night, Paul." He said, "Good night, Linda. Good Lucia." Good Lucia. The darkest season. The brightest light.

Five hundred twelve meatballs this year—Mamma’s three hundred, my two hundred, and twelve stubborn misshapen ones I refused to disqualify. The julbord doesn’t happen without the meatballs, and the meatballs don’t happen without someone standing at the stove long enough to believe in them. This year I used the air fryer for my batch, and I’ll confess: it gave me back an hour I didn’t know I had—an hour I spent reading Paul the old Christmas stories instead. If you’re building your own julbord this season, here is the recipe that kept my count honest.

Air-Fryer Meatballs

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 12 min | Total Time: 32 min | Servings: 6 (about 24 meatballs)

Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground beef (85/15)
• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup finely grated yellow onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tbsp neutral oil (for spraying or brushing)

Instructions

1. Soak the breadcrumbs. In a large mixing bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and milk. Let them sit for 3–4 minutes until the milk is absorbed and the mixture is paste-like.
2. Mix the meat. Add the ground beef, ground pork, egg, grated onion, garlic, salt, white pepper, allspice, and nutmeg to the bowl. Using your hands or a fork, mix just until combined—do not overwork the mixture or the meatballs will be dense.
3. Form the meatballs. Scoop and roll the mixture into balls roughly 1 1/2 inches in diameter (about 1 heaping tablespoon each). Place them on a parchment-lined sheet pan as you work. Slightly wet hands help keep the mixture from sticking.
4. Preheat the air fryer. Set your air fryer to 375°F and let it preheat for 3 minutes.
5. Cook in batches. Lightly spray or brush the air fryer basket with oil. Arrange meatballs in a single layer with a little space between each—do not crowd them. Cook for 10–12 minutes, shaking the basket gently at the halfway point, until the meatballs are deep golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
6. Rest and repeat. Transfer cooked meatballs to a clean plate and tent loosely with foil while you cook remaining batches. Serve immediately, or cool completely and refrigerate for up to 3 days for julbord assembly.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 265 | Protein: 22g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 7g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 390mg