Also known as Liège balls: a traditional Belgian dish of juicy meatballs in a rich, sweet-and-sour sauce. Classically served with frites and a fresh salad, pure border-region Burgundian indulgence.
Liège meatballs (Boulets à la liégeoise)
Region: Liège
Liège meatballs (Boulets à la liégeoise)
Region: Liège
Method
01
Shallot and bread
Melt a knob of butter and sweat the finely chopped shallot until soft and translucent. Soak the bread in milk in a deep plate, leave for 5 minutes and squeeze out well.
02
Make the meatballs
Mix the minced meat with the sweated shallot, squeezed-out bread, parsley, egg, pepper, salt and nutmeg. Knead to a smooth mixture and shape into 8 balls.
03
Brown
Roll the balls in the flour. Heat butter in a frying pan and fry them until golden brown all over (about 5–10 min). Take them out and set aside.
04
Onions and pan scrapings
In the same pan, sweat the finely chopped onions until soft, translucent and brown. Add them to the meatballs. Deglaze the pan with the vinegar and scrape loose the browned bits.
05
Braise
Put the balls back in the pan. Add the brown sugar, bay leaves, thyme and marjoram. Add water until the balls are just covered. Bring to the boil, turn the heat low and simmer gently with the lid on for 25–30 minutes.
06
Finish the sauce
Take out the balls and half of the onions. Blend the sauce smooth with a hand blender and bring back to the boil. Add the Liège syrup and raisins and reduce by ⅓. Put the balls and onions back and heat through thoroughly.
07
Serve
Serve with frites and a fresh lamb’s lettuce salad.
Tips & notes
Use real Liège syrup (not “Rhenish” sugar syrup) for the authentic, full flavour. For evenly sized balls, scoop the mince with an ice cream scoop. Want a glossy, thickened sauce? Stir in a slurry of 2 tbsp potato starch with 1 tbsp water. Keeps for 3–4 days in the fridge, and freezes very well (up to 3 months); the flavour often deepens further by the next day.
Variations
- Replace the bread and milk mixture with 50 g of breadcrumbs for a firmer meatball.
- Add a pinch of cinnamon and mace to the sauce for a deeper, spicier, old-Liège touch.
Contains:
Gluten
Eggs
Milk
Sulphites
| Calories | 651 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 39 g |
| Carbohydrates | 35 g |
| Fat | 40 g |
| Fibre | 2 g |
Estimated values, calculated from standard nutritional values per ingredient.
