Boulets à la Liégeoise — Print Recipe

Large, tender beef meatballs simmered in a rich, glossy sauce of Liège sirop (concentrated apple-pear syrup) and beef stock — the flagship dish of Liège cuisine.

Ingredients

600g ground beef
200g ground veal
1 egg
80g breadcrumbs
1 onion, finely diced
3 tbsp sirop de Liège (or apple butter)
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
300ml beef stock
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
Fresh parsley

Instructions

1 Mix ground beef and veal with egg, breadcrumbs, half the diced onion, salt, and pepper. Shape into 8 large meatballs.
2 Brown meatballs in oil in a hot skillet on all sides. Remove and set aside.
3 Sauté remaining onion in the same pan until soft. Add beef stock, scraping up browned bits.
4 Stir in sirop de Liège, mustard, and vinegar. Bring to a simmer.
5 Return meatballs to the sauce. Cover and simmer 25 min until cooked through and the sauce is glossy and thick.
6 Serve with frites and garnish with parsley. The sweet-sour sauce is the star.

Did You Know?

Sirop de Liège, the key ingredient, is made by cooking pears and apples for 24 hours without adding sugar — it takes 7kg of fruit to make 1kg of sirop.