Bitterballen

Ragout

• beef shin500 g
• beef stock1 l
• bay leaves2
• butter75 g
• onions1
• plain flour90 g
• flat-leaf parsley3 tbsp
• Worcestershire sauce1 tsp
• nutmeg¼ tsp
• salt
• black pepper

Coating

• plain flour100 g
• eggs3
• fine dried breadcrumbs200 g
• sunflower oil1½ l

To serve

• Dutch mustard5 tbsp

Ragout

1. 01

   Put the beef shin, in one or two pieces, with the stock and bay leaves in a pan, adding water if the meat is not covered. Bring to a bare simmer, lid on, and cook for 2 and a half to 3 hours until the meat pulls apart with two forks.

2. 02

   Lift the meat out and let it cool. Strain the cooking liquid, skim off the fat and measure out 600 ml, topping up with water if you are short. Keep it hot.

3. 03

   Shred the beef with your fingers, then chop it on a board until the strands are short and almost paste-like. Long fibres make the balls hard to roll and the ragout hard to bite through.

4. 04

   Chop the onion very finely. Melt the butter in a wide pan and cook the very finely chopped onion over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes until soft but not coloured. Stir in the flour and cook the roux for 2 minutes, stirring, until it smells biscuity.

5. 05

   Add the 600 ml of hot cooking liquid a ladle at a time, whisking hard after each one. Simmer, stirring, for 5 minutes. It should end up far thicker than a normal sauce: when you draw a spoon across the base, the furrow should stay open for 1–2 seconds.

6. 06

   Finely chop the parsley. Stir in the beef, the finely chopped parsley, the Worcestershire sauce and the freshly grated nutmeg, and season firmly with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cold food tastes flatter, so make it taste slightly too strong now.

7. 07

   Spread the ragout into a shallow tray in a layer about 2 cm deep, press a sheet of clingfilm onto the surface and chill for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, until it is firm enough to cut into clean squares.

Coating

8. 08

   Set out three shallow bowls: flour in the first, beaten eggs in the second, breadcrumbs in the third.

9. 09

   Cut the cold ragout into about 24 squares. Roll each one between damp palms into a ball roughly 3 cm across, working quickly so it does not warm up.

10. 10

    Roll each ball in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs, then straight back into the egg and breadcrumbs a second time. The double crumb is the seal that keeps the ragout in when it melts.

11. 11

    Lay the coated balls on a tray and chill for at least 30 minutes before frying.

Frying

12. 12

    Heat the oil in a deep pan to 180°C, no more than a third full. Fry one ball on its own first: if it holds together for 4 minutes, the batch is safe.

13. 13

    Fry in batches of five or six for 3 to 4 minutes, until deep golden brown all over. Crowding the pan drops the oil temperature and the coating soaks up fat instead of crisping.

14. 14

    Drain on kitchen paper and let them sit for 1 minute. Serve hot with the mustard, and warn people that the middle is molten.