Bitterballen

Bitterballen are the Dutch equivalent of the Spanish croqueta. They’re made with a roux, laced with mince or veal, which is chilled, rolled into a ball, coated in bread crumbs, and then deep fried. 

Cooking them in the Big Green Egg wok is the perfect way to cook them.

Method

To make the roux

You could do this on your Big Green Egg but to be honest, it’s much easier to do it on the hob indoors.

1. Add the stock, carrot, celery, bay leaf, and onion to a pan and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Strain out the solids, reserving the liquid.  You’ll use the veg again later.
3. Into a pan, melt the butter and once melted, add the flour. Stir to combine and fry for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
4. Now a small amount at a time, add the stock, stirring to combine to make a paste. Cook for about a minute.
5. Add back the veg you strained from the stock in step 2.
6. Add in the mince, garlic, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, nutmeg and lemon zest and cook over a low heat for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Once cooked cool overnight in the fridge.

To form the Bitterballen

1. Into two bowls, add the beaten eggs and breadcumbs.
2. Take about 1 heaped tsp of the cooled roux and form into a round.
3. Dipped the formed roux into the breadcrumbs to coat it, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs.
4. Place each one on a parchment lined tray.
5. Repeat this making about 24 balls with the roux.
6. Pop these back into the fridge for 30 minutes.

To cook

1. Setup your Egg for a direct cook with the EGGspander basket and wok part filled with oil (4cm deep).
2. Set your Egg for about 140°C, this should mean your oil in the wok will reach 180°C, you can test this with a Thermapen.
3. In batches of 5, gently lower the bitterballen into the oil and cook until they turn golden brown.
4. Using a slotted spoon remove them from the oil and place them onto a plate lined with kitchen towel.
5. Repeat for the other batches.
6. Serve warm but not straight from the wok as they will be dangerously hot.