Boulettes à la Liégeoise
Large meatballs in a sweet-sour onion gravy made with sirop de Liège, a concentrated fruit syrup.
- prep
- 25 min
- cook
- 50 min
- total
- 1 h 15 min
- serves
- 4
- level
- medium
Boulettes à la liégeoise takes ordinary meatballs and simmers them in a glossy, sweet-sour gravy built on sirop de Liège, a thick fruit syrup unique to the region.
It's a genuinely distinctive flavor, not a generic brown gravy with sugar added; the syrup carries real fruit depth that a substitute won't quite match.
Part of our 20 best Belgian recipes list.
method
Mix the ground meat with the grated onion, egg, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper until combined, then shape into large meatballs, about 4 per person.
Heat a little butter in a heavy pot, and brown the meatballs on all sides over medium-high heat. Remove and set aside.
Add more butter to the pot, and cook the sliced onions over medium heat until soft and golden, about 10 minutes.
Stir in the flour, and cook for a minute, then whisk in the stock, sirop de Liège, vinegar, bay leaf and cloves.
Bring to a simmer, and return the meatballs to the pot.
Cover and simmer gently for 30 to 40 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce has thickened and turned glossy and dark.
Taste and adjust the balance of sweet and sour with a little more syrup or vinegar if needed, and serve hot with fries.
chef's tips
- Sirop de Liège, a thick, dark fruit syrup made from pears, apples and dates, has no real substitute; look for it at a specialty shop before reaching for anything else.
- The sauce should land clearly sweet-sour, not just sweet; the vinegar is there to balance the syrup, not just season it.