Bitterballs/kroketten
Shopping list: 300 grams of beef shank (or another (soup) meat / beef or veal), first cook it through!
- 2 decilitres of stock
- 4 sprigs of parsley (finely chopped)
- 3 tablespoons of butter
- 3 tablespoons of flour
- 2 eggs
- 150 grams of breadcrumbs
- salt
- pepper
- nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon of milk
- 1 tablespoon of oil
Simmer the meat through by first browning it in two tablespoons of butter and a tablespoon and a half of flour, adding salt and pepper and water, and then letting it stew for a few hours. The meat has to be properly cooked, real shredded meat!
Cut the meat into very small pieces, real shreds. Melt the tablespoon of butter in a pan, stir the flour through it (= a roux). Bit by bit and while stirring, add the cold stock (it can also be made from stock cubes) and keep stirring until a smooth sauce is formed. Then stir the meat and the parsley through it and let it simmer gently for 2 minutes. Season everything with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Spoon the ragout into a deep plate and let it get cold and set in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Beat the egg with the milk and the oil in a deep plate. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on a flat plate. Divide the ragout into portions and make each portion into a bitterball or kroket shape. Roll the bitterball/kroket loosely through the breadcrumbs. Then through the egg mixture and once more through the breadcrumbs. The bitterballs/kroketten must be well covered on all sides! Put the bitterballs/kroketten back in the fridge for at least an hour, or freeze them in your desired portions. Heat the frying fat to 180 degrees C. Fry the bitterballs/kroketten for about 5 minutes. With a nice Leffe dubbel and good company (such as James), the mood rises.