Moscows are a uniquely delicious Eastern European-inspired meatball made with ground beef, rye bread crumbs, beet horseradish, Swiss cheese, and sour cream.
In honor of my mother’s birthday today, we’re sharing a recipe that is by far one of the most uniquely-delicious recipes we’ve found so far in her old recipe box. It’s a recipe called Moscows.
This recipe was a bit of a mystery for us – a handwritten list of ingredients on an index card – but no instructions. We were really fascinated by the eclectic list of ingredients including ground beef, rye bread, beet horseradish, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and sour cream – an obvious mix of Eastern European-inspired flavors! Being of Polish decent, I can totally see why this recipe appealed to my mother.
So my husband Jack and I wondered, “Are Moscows a type of meatloaf? Or are they meatballs?” We weren’t really sure – so Jack spent some time online researching the recipe, but all he could find were recipes for a cocktail named Moscow Mule.
Without any other information to go on, we decided to form the mixture into meatball-sized portions and baked them in a muffin pan. And – as soon as these Moscows came out of the oven, we knew we had a winner! The smell was fantastic and they were moist and delicious with an amazing flavor, unlike any other meatball I’ve ever eaten!
And Jack and I both agree – that beet horseradish (which can be found at most supermarkets in the refrigerated section) – really makes this dish. These Moscows are great served warm with boiled potatoes (and more horseradish and sour cream on the side) or served between slices of rye bread as a sandwich! You’ve got to try this recipe!
PrintMoscows
Moscows are a uniquely delicious Eastern European-inspired meatball made with ground beef, rye bread crumbs, beet horseradish, Swiss cheese, and sour cream.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 meatballs 1x
- Category: entree
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Polish
Ingredients
- 1 pound 80/20 ground beef
- 1/2 cup finely minced onion
- 1 teaspoon crushed caraway seed
- 1/2 cup rye bread crumbs (4 whole slices rye bread, see note above)
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 cups fine grated Swiss cheese, divided
- 1/4 cup beet horseradish (this is very mild and sold right next to regular horseradish in your average supermarket)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup well drained sauerkraut chopped
- 2 tablespoons beef broth or water
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix all ingredients until combined except ½ cup of the Swiss cheese.
- Divide the mixture into 12 balls and fill a 12 cup muffin pan with the meatballs. I used a large ice-cream scoop so they were flat on the bottom and round on top.
- Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of cheese over each and bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from pan and discard fat in each muffin cup.
- Serve with additional sour cream and beet horseradish with boiled potatoes, or between slices of rye bread and eaten as a sandwich.
Notes
You can either lightly toast the rye bread slices or let them sit out overnight to get stale before turning into bread crumbs in your food processor. Remove crusts before processing.
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this recipe was a huge hit with my husband, who is French! Just love the mix of flavors. I served them up with sautéed pierogies and beet salad. Thank you for sharing your recipe. It is a definite keeper!
So glad you (and your husband) enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for taking the time to write to us today!
Being of Russian decent and having grandparents who moved to America later in life, these are ingredients I can relate too! This reminds me of how my grandma cooked and many of her recipes. Not only do I love the name, the ingredients and the whole concept, but how you baked them in a muffin pan is quite marvelous! Need to try these, would make grandma proud =)
I hope you enjoy the recipe Laura!