Bitterballen Recipes

DUTCH MEATBALLS (BITTERBALLEN)

Steps:

• In a large skillet melt the butter over medium-high heat. When the butter has melted completely, add the 1 cup of flour, a bit at a time, whisking it, it will turn into a thick paste.
• Slowly stir or whisk in the beef broth. Make sure you stir thoroughly, the broth should all be incorporated in the roux. The gravy should be smooth but still quite thick.
• Simmer the gravy for a couple minutes then add the parsley, onion, and ground beef, stir well. Season with the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary.
• Transfer the meat mixture to a Tupperware container and refrigerate for several hours until the gravy has solidified. I refrigerated mine overnight, but 3 or 4 hours should suffice.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In 1 plate add the flour, in another plate add the eggs and the last plate the bread crumbs.
• Shape the meat mixture into 1 inch balls. Use a small ice cream scoop, it's easier to get the same quantity of meat each time. Place these meatballs on one of the prepared baking sheets.
• Roll the balls first through flour, then eggs, then finally bread crumbs. Place these meatballs on the other prepared baking sheet. Once completed, place the baking sheet with the meatballs in the fridge until ready to fry.
• In a large Dutch oven, skillet or deep fryer, add enough oil, I usually add about 2 inches of oil. Heat the oil up to 375 F degrees.
• Fry the meatballs about 6 at a time until golden brown, should take about 4 or 5 minutes. If you have enough oil in your fryer the meatballs will float to the top when done. Continue until done with all the meatballs. In between batches you might have to clean the oil with a slotted spoon of all the leftover fried bits from the meatballs.
• Serve hot with a grainy or spicy mustard.

DUTCH BEEF BITTERBALLEN

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Place the beef in a large pan with just enough water to cover the meat. Bring it to a simmer. Skim off any foam that forms.
• Add the onion, peppercorns, bay leaf, cloves, and thyme.
• Bring back to a boil, reduce the heat, and let simmer for 2 to 3 hours, or until the meat is very tender. Remove from the heat and allow to cool off.
• Strain the meat, reserving the cooking liquid. Discard the onion and herbs.
• When the meat is cool, cut it into small cubes. Set aside.
• Gather the ingredients.
• In a large skillet, make a roux . Melt the butter and add the shallots and flour, stirring vigorously.
• Add the milk to the skillet. Stir well and add 2 cups of the reserved beef cooking liquid.
• Let the mixture come to a boil, reduce the heat, and let it simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Dissolve the gelatin in the cold water and add it to the simmering mixture, stirring regularly.
• Add salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Add the chopped parsley, Dijon mustard, and the diced beef, mixing well.
• When the pot is cool enough, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or chill for at least 4 to 6 hours.
• Gather the ingredients.
• Roll heaping teaspoons of the chilled beef mixture into neat, even-sized balls; the mixture should make about 60 in total.
• Bread them twice by first rolling each ball in flour, then in the beaten eggs, and then in the breadcrumbs. Dip each breaded ball again in the eggs and roll for the second time in the breadcrumbs. Place on a baking sheet.
• Heat the oil to 356 F/180 C in a deep, heavy-bottomed pan or deep fryer.
• Fry the bitterballen in batches until golden.
• Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels.
• Serve them hot with Dijon mustard on the side.
• Enjoy.

BITTERBALLEN

Steps:

• DAY 1 - To begin add a tablespoon of butter and a little sunflower oil to a large pot and brown the meat. Once browned remove and set aside. Now reduce the heat and fry the chopped onion and carrot until it browns a little. Add more butter to the pan if needed to fry the onions. Add in the thyme and the crushed garlic and stir together. Return the meat to the pan and move onto step 2.
• Add the stock, milk and the bay leaf and bring to the boil and then let it simmer about 4-5 hours, casserole in the oven at 160C; medium heat on a slow-cooker, or 2 hours minutes in a pressure cooker (my preference). The important thing is to do some research and cook the meet the best way for the cut you have, just ask your butcher. When the meat pulls apart easily, it is done.
• Once the meat is falling apart nicely turn off the stove and strain the liquid - making sure to save it in a separate bowl - and place the meat in a large dish. Reduce the sauce down to concentrate the flavours. Rough guide, reduce by 1/4. Remember, if you use a slow cooker more will need to be reduced as less water is lost during cooking. Put the meat and onions through a mincer, or pull apart with folks.
• Place 3 tablespoons of butter in a fry pan and melt. Add in 75 g of plain flour and combine. Whisk in the reduced liquid (about 450 ml) and continue until the mixture is beautifully smooth and very thick. There is no exact recipe at this point, but think glue consistency. If your bitterballen are too runny when you cook them, just remember to add more roux (flour & butter) next time to make a thicker sauce. Remember, everyone likes food different, so find how you like it best!
• Add this sauce to the meat and combine, along with 1 tablespoon of the ketjap manis (optional). You will probably want to add in salt. Don't be too shy here, so far only the butter has contained salt, so be bold, but don't go over the top. Some recipes advocate adding in things such as parsley so feel free to add this or nutmeg if you enjoy the added flavour. Again, dont be scared to taste and adjust until your happy. Pepper is a great addition too here, and Worcestershire Source might be good. Make sure the mixture is evenly spread out in the dish and then cover the dish in cling wrap and put in the fridge overnight.
• DAY 2 - By this point your mixture should be well and truly firm - but if it is not, don't stress, it is still not so hard to roll them into balls if it is a little soft - just put a little flour on yours hands first.
• Start a production line - put some plain flour on a plate, whisk some eggs in a bowl next to it, cover another plate in breadcrumbs and finally an empty container in which to place the finished bitterballen.
• Use a spoon to take small amounts of the mixture and roll them into balls (think golf ball sized) - cover them first in flour, then dip them in the eggs, then cover them evenly in bread crumbs, dip them again in the eggs and again in the breadcrumbs. Make sure the bitterballen are properly coated and that the breadcrumb does not have cracks or they could fall apart when you fry them. Repeat for the remaning filling - you should get around 20. Then placed the finished bitterballen in the fridge until you are ready to cook them - you could also freeze any additional ones for another day.
• To cook these tasty bites, use a little deep fryer like this one, or a heavy saucepan filled one third of the way up with the vegetable oil and heated to around 180 degrees Celsius. Fry the balls until they are golden brown and then transfer them to a paper towel covered plate to take off excess oil.
• Mix the mustard and mayonaise together to make a Dutch sauce which is just perfect to dip these bites into. Enjoy while they are still nice and warm. These go great with a potato wedges or crispy chips and a mixed salad with yoghurt dressing.

GEHAKT BALLEN (DUTCH MEATBALLS)

Steps:

• Place meatloaf mix in a large mixing bowl; crumble bread over meat and knead with hands to combine. Add milk and egg to meat mixture. Knead onion, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and pepper into meat mixture until well-combined. Form mixture into six equal-sized balls.
• Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook and stir meatballs in hot butter until browned on all sides, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir water, tomatoes, beef broth, and onion soup mix into Dutch oven; bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until meatballs are tender and cooked through, about 1 hour.

DUTCH MEATBALLS (BITTERBALLEN)

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add broth; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Carefully add meat and parsley; cook and stir for 2-5 minutes or until meat is no longer pink. Stir in the salt, nutmeg and pepper. Transfer to a bowl; refrigerate for 3-4 hours or until chilled., Place bread crumbs in a small shallow bowl. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, milk and oil. Drop meat mixture by tablespoonfuls into bread crumbs; shape into balls. Dip meatballs in egg mixture, then coat again with crumbs. In an electric skillet or a deep fryer, heat oil to 375°., Fry meatballs, a few at a time, for 2-4 minutes or until golden brown on all sides. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot with mustard if desired.

DUTCH KROKETTEN (CROQUETTES)

Steps:

• If using left-over chicken or turkey, chop it finely and set aside. Continue with the recipe from Step 3, using stock to make the sauce rather than water, and add the chicken or turkey to the sauce at Step 6.
• If using veal or beef, season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Place a large pan over medium-high heat and melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the veal or beef, wine, onion, clove, bay leaves, nutmeg or mace, parsley, thyme, lemon zest or juice and water. (Use chicken stock if you have chosen to use chicken or turkey.) Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. By this time the meat should be tender (or if using poultry, the stock will be bursting with flavor).
• Strain the stock and reserve, along with the meat. Finely chop or cut the meat into into small pieces.
• Melt the remaining butter in the pan, stir in the flour and keep stirring for a few minutes on low heat. Don't let it brown. Slowly and gradually add the stock and cook over moderate heat, stirring until the sauce is smooth and thick. Add more flour, or corn starch to thicken the sauce if necessary. Cool slightly and add the 3 egg yolks and mix well (reserve the whites for later).
• Add the veal, beef, chicken or turkey, mix well and season to taste. The mixture should be thick and stiff by this time.
• Set the mixture aside to cool thoroughly. When ready, cut or separate the stiff, thick mixture into rolls about 1.5" thick and about 3" long.
• Spread the crumbs on a clean, dry chopping board. Slightly beat the eggwhites in a deep plate until just incorporated. Roll the croquettes through the breadcrumbs, then through the egg whites and again through the crumbs. (Make sure that the second coating of crumbs is even and thick and no meat mix sticks out, otherwise the croquettes may burst when being deep fried).
• Deep fry the croquettes in batches of four or five for about 4 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper.
• Serve hot, with French fries or fresh chunks of bread. The best way to season is to slather with mustard, as the Dutch do!