Liège-Style Meatballs

📝 Ingredients

• 500 g minced pork, 15% fat
• 1 egg
• 50 g breadcrumbs + 50 ml semi-skimmed milk
• 4 brown onions, about 100 g each (1 for the meatballs, 3 for the sauce)
• 800 g floury potatoes (about 5 medium)
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 15 g unsalted butter + 1 tbsp plain flour (10 g)
• 200 g apple compote with no added sugar
• 2 tbsp soft brown sugar (25 g)
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 beef stock cube + 350 ml hot water
• 2 cloves + 1 bay leaf + 1 tsp dried thyme
• Salt, black pepper, nutmeg

🍴 Utensils

• Large baking tray + baking paper
• Ovenproof dish
• Mixing bowl
• Sauté pan
• Peeler
• Chopping board and knife

📖 Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 220 °C. Peel the potatoes, cut them into chips 1 cm thick and rinse them in cold water until the water runs clear: removing the starch makes them crispier. Dry them very thoroughly in a tea towel.
2. On the tray lined with baking paper, toss the chips with the oil and a pinch of salt, then spread them out in a single layer without overlapping. Bake in the upper third of the oven for 35 to 40 min, turning them halfway through.
3. For the meatballs, soak the breadcrumbs in the milk for 5 min. Peel and very finely chop 1 onion. In a mixing bowl, mix the pork, egg, soaked breadcrumbs, chopped onion, 1 tsp salt, some pepper and a little nutmeg by hand, without overworking.
4. With wet hands, shape 8 nicely round, compact meatballs (about 90 g each) and place them in the ovenproof dish without them touching. Put them in the oven below the tray of chips 15 min after the chips, for 20 min: they should be golden and firm, with clear juices.
5. Meanwhile, thinly slice the 3 remaining onions. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over a medium heat and cook the onions for 10 min, stirring, until soft and lightly golden. Sprinkle over the flour and stir for 1 min.
6. Dissolve the stock cube in the hot water. Add the brown sugar to the onions and let it melt for 1 min, then pour in the vinegar (watch out for the fumes). Gradually pour in the stock, stirring to avoid lumps, then add the compote, cloves, bay leaf and thyme.
7. Simmer for 15 min over a low heat, uncovered, stirring from time to time, until the sauce is glossy and coats the back of a spoon. Remove the cloves and bay leaf, taste, then season with salt and pepper: the sauce should be sweet and tangy.
8. Lift the meatballs out of the dish, leaving their cooking fat behind, and drop them into the sauce. Simmer for 5 min over a low heat, basting them regularly so they soak up plenty of sauce.
9. Take the chips out when they're golden and crisp and salt them lightly. Serve 2 meatballs per person, generously coated in onion sauce, with the chips on the side.