Grandma's meatballs in gravy
The Dutch meatball as it should be: big, tender inside, with a deep brown gravy you want to dip your bread in. The secret is three things. Half beef, half pork mince (not just beef, the marbling keeps the ball juicy), really letting them rest in the Dutch oven after browning, and building up the liquid step by step so you get a natural gravy without stock cubes. Serve with mashed potatoes and red cabbage for the full picture.
- 1 small stale white roll (or 2 slices white bread)
- 100 ml milk
1 Crumble the bread into a bowl and pour the milk over it. Leave to soak for 5 minutes, then squeeze out the extra milk.
- 500 g mixed beef and pork mince
- 1 small onion
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp mustard
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- freshly ground pepper
- pinch of nutmeg
2 Chop the onion very finely. Put everything in a bowl with the soaked bread and mix with your hands until the mince just binds, no longer, or the meatballs get tough. Shape 4 large balls and leave them to rest on the worktop for 10 minutes.
- 75 g butter
3 Melt the butter in the Dutch oven until it foams. Carefully lay the meatballs in the pan and put the lid on straight away. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes over medium-high heat until the bottom is deep brown. Turn them carefully and fry for another 3 minutes. Turn the heat down low.
- splash of tomato purée
- 300 ml warm water (or stock)
- 1 bay leaf
4 Add a little tomato purée to the Dutch oven. Pour a small splash of water against the hot pan. It sizzles and loosens the brown bits. Stir them loose, then add the rest of the water and the bay leaf. Put the lid on.
5 Let the meatballs simmer gently for 25 minutes. Turn them halfway and spoon the gravy over. The gravy should be silky and glossy. If it's too thin, take the lid off and reduce for 5 minutes.
Ingredients
Step 1
- 1 small stale white roll (or 2 slices white bread)
- 100 ml milk
Step 2
- 500 g mixed beef and pork mince
- 1 small onion
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp mustard
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- freshly ground pepper
- pinch of nutmeg
Step 3
- 75 g butter
Step 4
- splash of tomato purée
- 300 ml warm water (or stock)
- 1 bay leaf
Method
- 1 Crumble the bread into a bowl and pour the milk over it. Leave to soak for 5 minutes, then squeeze out the extra milk.
- 2 Chop the onion very finely. Put everything in a bowl with the soaked bread and mix with your hands until the mince just binds, no longer, or the meatballs get tough. Shape 4 large balls and leave them to rest on the worktop for 10 minutes.
- 3 Melt the butter in the Dutch oven until it foams. Carefully lay the meatballs in the pan and put the lid on straight away. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes over medium-high heat until the bottom is deep brown. Turn them carefully and fry for another 3 minutes. Turn the heat down low.
- 4 Add a little tomato purée to the Dutch oven. Pour a small splash of water against the hot pan. It sizzles and loosens the brown bits. Stir them loose, then add the rest of the water and the bay leaf. Put the lid on.
- 5 Let the meatballs simmer gently for 25 minutes. Turn them halfway and spoon the gravy over. The gravy should be silky and glossy. If it's too thin, take the lid off and reduce for 5 minutes.
