Belgian Meatballs Braised in Beer

• Total Time: 1 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 7

MEATBALLS

• 1 cup fresh white breadcrumbs
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 lb ground beef , lean
• ½ lb ground pork or ½ lb veal
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon shallot , minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley , fine minced
• salt and pepper
• 1 pinch nutmeg , grated
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

SAUCE

• 1 medium onion , thinly sliced
• 3 Belgian endive , cored and cut in 1/4-inch rounds
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• salt & pepper
• 1 ½-2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup pilsner beer
• ½ cup beef broth or ½ cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley (for garnish)

Directions:

1. To prepare meatballs, soak bread crumbs in milk until thoroughly moistened; squeeze dry with hands.
2. Combine bread crumbs, ground meats, eggs, shallots, parsley, salt, pepper and nutmeg in medium bowl.
3. Form mixture into 6 to 8 balls or patties (2 inches in diameter and 1/2-inch thick); dust with 2 tablespoons flour.
4. Heat butter and oil in deep, heavy Dutch oven, until hot but not smoking, over high heat.
5. Add meatballs; cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes, making sure butter does not burn.
6. Remove meat balls to platter; keep warm.
7. To prepare sauce, discard all but 2 tablespoons of fat in pan.
8. Add onion and endives.
9. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes.
10. Add sugar, salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons flour to vegetables; cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes longer.
11. Add beer and broth; heat to quick boil, scraping up all brown bits from bottom of pan.
12. Reduce heat to simmer; return meatballs to pan, placing them on top of vegetables.
13. Simmer, partly covered, until meat is cooked through, 45 minutes.
14. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Reviews

[Kishka]

Great Meatballs of Fire! So to speak. These were delicious - a really nice change of pace from the usual tomato sauce based meatballs. Two changes I can think of - I used soy milk instead of milk for the breadcrumbs and I sauteed a chopped onion and minced garlic clove and added it to the meat mixture for added flavor (standard addition to any dish I make). I served these with mashed potatoes and the gravy was just perfect! Thank you for sharing, I will be making this often!