Belgian meatballs: Boulets à la Liégeoise
€5.51 │ €1.38 per portion │ Serves 4 │ 30-45 mins │ Belgium
A Belgian classic! Meatballs in a rich, sweet sauce, Boulets à la Liégeoise are delicious with fries and perfect to meal plan on a Friday Fry-day.
What to serve it with?
Fries, of course!
Whether baked/air-fried from frozen or ordered from your local friterie/fritkot, fries are the essential side for Boulets à la Liégeoise. As well, don't forget sauces to go with the fries. Our favourites are samourai and andalouse.
For greens, we often accompany the meatballs with peas or green beans.
What beer to use?
This being a Belgian recipe, we have to discuss beer! What makes this recipe uniquely from Belgium is the use of beer to make the stew (as well as the Liège syrup, of course).
What is for certain is that you have to use a rich, dark brown beer. We typically cook Boulets à la Liégeoise with Leffe Brune. If you are in Belgium, you can also use Rochefort 10, St Bernardus 12, or Piedboeuf Brune, for example.
If you are abroad, and want to make this dish for friends and family in other countries, you can use a local brown beer. Though you must take Liège syrup with you, as you can't get that anywhere else!
Leftovers
Spoonfeed meal plans save you money by using the economy of scale. Making extra from dinner into a leftover lunch avoids spending money and extra time cooking!
You can reheat Boulets à la Liégeoise, though they are best fresh. Reheating can be a hassle. If it is just for a lunch, you might not have access to a pan and hob. And in any case, you don't really want to dirty a pan just to warm this up.
Meanwhile, a microwave slightly affects the texture because of the sugar content and that microwaves naturally dehydrate sauces. Fries don't microwave well either. That being said, it can be done (and we've done it). It's just not optimal!
Utensils
- 1 sauté pot and lid
- 1 wooden spatula
- 1 deep cooking spoon
Ingredients
- ~25 meatballs (we use Colruyt's Plan't veggie meatballs)
- 1 large white onion
- 20g butter
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 3 tbsp raisins
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2-3 tbsp Liège syrup
- 30cl dark beer (I use Leffe Brown)
- 1 stock cube for 20cl broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- Cornflour
+€4.52 +15min
Make the meatballs yourself. Traditionally this is 50/50 beef and pork, but do it how you prefer. Add to 500g of minced meat a diced shallot, fresh parsley, and breadcrumbs. Bind with 2 eggs and form your balls. Coat in flour, then fry in butter until medium-cooked inside. Set aside and continue as above.
Method
- If you're using raisins, soak them in warm water for about 20 minutes.
- And if you're making frozen fries, you can already start these as they can take around 30 minutes in an oven. If you're using an airfryer or ordering in, you can skip this as you need.
- Finely dice onion and garlic.
- In a dash of olive oil, fry the veggie meatballs in a sauté pan until browned, then set aside.
- In the same pan, melt butter, then on medium-high heat add the onion, salt it, and sauté until translucent. Take this time to prepare the broth from a stock cube.
- Then add the garlic and raisins, keep moving for another 2 minutes.
- Add Liège syrup and combine well.
- Slowly, add the beer. It will froth up, so add it slowly and mix as you do. Then add the hot broth and your herbs and seasonings. Cover with a lid for at least 15 minutes. The longer, the better, but it comes out delicious in any case. Now's the time to think about/check on those fries!
- Lift the lid and remove the bay leaf. Check the taste, add brown sugar for sweetness, with a dash of salt to balance it, if necessary.
- Prepare a cornflour slurry with 1 tbsp cornflour and 1 tbsp water. Mix well, then add to the sauce. Combine and repeat if necessary to get to the desired thickness. The sauce should be syrupy, not watery, and be thick enough to dip your fries in.
- Enjoy!