Bitterballen Recipes

Steps:

• in a pan put meat, bouquet garni and beef stock slowly to the boil and simmer for about 1 hour until meat is tender.
• Strain off 200 ml stock into a measuring jug.
• Slice the cooked meat very thinly.
• Melt the butter in a pan and stir in the flour.
• Add the stock, while stirring, and continue stirring until the sauce is thick and smooth.
• Leave the sauce to cook gently for about 2 minutes.
• Stir in the meat and add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.
• Pour the ragout onto a flat plate and refrigerate until firm.
• (Best to make this one day in advance) In a deep plate beat the eggs with one tablespoon of water.
• Shape the ragout into 24 balls (Little bit smaller than golfball) and roll in the breadcrumbs.
• Then roll in the beaten eggs and breadcrumbs again.
• Repeat until well coated.
• Heat oil in a deep fat fryer to 180 degrees celcius.
• Deep fry croquettes 6 at the time for 3-4 minutes until brown and crisp.
• Drain on paper towel.
• Serve the warm'bitterballen' on a plate with a serving of mustard next to it.

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!

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.

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.