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Belgian Meatballs (Boulets à la Liégeoise)
Meatballs from French-speaking Belgium are known as boulets à la liégeoise. They're generously sized and savory-sweet thanks to a sauce made with sirop de Liège, a dark, thick, spreadable fruit juice concentrate. To mimic the syrup's fruity sweetness, we used prunes plumped in beef stock, then pureed in a blender until smooth. Traditionally, the meatballs are served with crisp pommes frites, but roasted potatoes are an easier endeavor at home, and a simply dressed bitter greens salad alongside balances the sweetness of the sauce.
4 to 6
Servings
Tip
Don't use tongs to flip the meatballs during browning or to remove the partially cooked meatballs from the skillet. They're soft and delicate until fully cooked, so it's best to use a spoon or two to maneuver them.
1 hour
plus chilling
Ingredients
-
2
slices (about 2 ounces) rye-caraway bread, torn into bite-size pieces (about 1½ cups)
-
2¼
cups low-sodium beef broth, divided
Directions
-
01Line a rimmed baking sheet or large plate with kitchen parchment and mist with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the bread and ¼ cup of broth, then mix with your hands to form a smooth paste. Add the beef, pork, egg, allspice, nutmeg, 2 tablespoons of dill, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Mix with your hands until well combined and no streaks of bread remain. Divide into 12 portions (a heaping ¼ cup each). Using moistened hands, roll each into a ball and place on the prepared baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or up to 2 hours.
Reviews
February 11, 2026
Great recipe
I had a fantastic meal of meatballs in Brugge and I used this recipe as a starting point to try and replicate that meal. Swapping out 1/2 the prunes with dried cherries and then adding some whole dried cherries in the sauce made a great recipe even better in my opinion. I halved the size of the meatballs and they were still a little too large for my taste. Next time I will probably quarter the size. I recommend having this with spiced potato wedges with pickled peppers (also a Milk Street recipe).
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Does Milkstreet have the recipe for pommes frites or how to do the roasted potatoes referred to in the note?