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Home » Main Course » Boulets liégeois

Published: Oct 13, 2014 · Modified: Jun 8, 2020 by Lisa Johnson

Boulets liégeois

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meatballs on a white platter sitting on a fall colored napkin

O – M – G these Boulets liégeois are amazing! I know, I know, I say that a lot, but seriously….this meal is amazing! This month’s Food of the World is taking us to Belgium, and I was really excited to create an authentic dish. I asked my daughter, who just spent a year in Belgium, what the most popular, well-known dish served all over Belgium is? She didn’t even hesitate…..

meatballs on a white platter sitting on a fall colored napkin

You have to make Boulets liégeois!! They are meatballs swimming in an apple and onion gravy, served with French fries. French fries? I’m in! 😉

meatballs and french fries on a small white plate sitting on a multi-colored napkin

So I hit the internet and started looking for recipes for this wonderful dish…and that is where the problems started. All of the recipes are written in French, so I hit the translate button and…let’s just say not everything can be translated. “Singer with flour and mix”. What? “Ready the device for meatballs by mixing the chopped eggs and parsley”. What chopped eggs?

Then there is the main ingredient, Sirop de Liège. Uh huh, sure. I live in Iowa, where on earth am I going to get my hands on that? More Google searches ensued…..

meatballs on a white platter sitting on a striped napkin with a serving spoon on the side

According to Wikipedia – “Sirop de Liège (French for syrup from Liège, sometimes translated into Dutch as luikse siroop) is a Belgian jam or jelly-like spread made of evaporated fruit juices. Apple and pear juices are used, and date or other fruit juices can be used as well. It could be considered a form of apple butter, or a syrup, albeit a soft, solid syrup. Yes… I know what apple butter is and it is readily available. 🙂

Now I just need to figure out how much 500 grams of beef equals in American. Why do they not teach us metric?? I decided to go with 1 pound, nice and easy!!

How to make Boulets liégeois:

Start by placing your de-crusted bread in a food processor and pulse to make breadcrumbs…..

Boulets liégeois bread cookingwithcurls.com

Mix the ground beef and pork together in a large bowl…..

Boulets liégeois meat cookingwithcurls.com

We want it to be nice and evenly mixed together…..

Boulets liégeois combine cookingwithcurls.com

Now add the breadcrumbs, onions, parsley, and “raw” eggs…..

Boulets liégeois ingredients cookingwithcurls.com

and thoroughly mix together…..

Boulets liégeois mix cookingwithcurls.com

Form the mixture into 120 gram balls…I still don’t speak Canadian, so I decided to use a 1/2 cup measuring cup…..

Boulets liégeois balls cookingwithcurls.com

This gave me 11 rather huge meatballs. If you actually need 6 servings {2 each}, then you might want to try 1/3 cup. Dredge the meatballs in flour…..

Boulets liégeois dredge cookingwithcurls.com

Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the meatballs and brown on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes each side…..

Boulets liégeois brown cookingwithcurls.com

You might want to very carefully move them around a bit. The ones in the center cooked more than the ones on the outside. Once the meatballs are cooked, move to a plate…..

Boulets liégeois plate cookingwithcurls.com

Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter in the same skillet over low heat. Add the chopped onions and cook until caramelized, about 15 minutes…..

Boulets liégeois onions cookingwithcurls.com

Stir in the brown sugar and thyme…..

Boulets liégeois thyme cookingwithcurls.com

Add the flour and stir to combine. This creates a roux that will thicken the sauce…..

Boulets liégeois roux cookingwithcurls.com

Stir in the vinegar and apple butter {Sirop de Liège, lol}. Do you see how thin that apple butter is? You don’t want the thick paste kind. ;)…..

Boulets liégeois apple cookingwithcurls.com

Pour in the beef broth and add the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes…..

Boulets liégeois broth cookingwithcurls.com

Place the meatballs back in the skillet and cook for 15 minutes to heat through…..

Boulets liégeois heat cookingwithcurls.com

The sauce is not really green, it’s just my lights. 😉 Serve immediately with Pomme Frites {French fries} and Belgian beer or table wine…..

Liege meatballs on a white serving platter

No need for ketchup, this sauce is perfect for dipping your fries into…..

holding a french fry dipped in gravy over a white platter of meatballs

Yes, I did make Homemade French Fries and they are amazing as well! 🙂

More delicious meatball recipes:

  • Swedish Meatballs
  • Albondigas {Spanish Meatballs}
  • Spanish Meatballs in Almond Sauce

Enjoy!!

meatballs on a white platter sitting on a fall colored napkin

Boulets liégeois

Boulets liégeois is a very popular dish served all over Belgium. They are meatballs swimming in an apple and onion gravy, served with fries.
5 from 2 votes
Print
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Belgian
Keyword: beef, pork, sauce, gravy, apple, recipe, Liege, meatballs
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings: 6 Servings
Calories: 666kcal
Author: Lisa Johnson

Ingredients

For the Meatballs

  • 1 pound grass-fed ground beef
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 4 slices white bread crusts removed (turned into breadcrumbs)
  • 1 yellow onion diced
  • 1 bunch Italian parsley finely choppped
  • 2 large eggs
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • flour for dredging
  • 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

For the Sauce

  • 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3 cups diced onions about 3 onions
  • 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 Tablespoons flour
  • 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 2/3 cups sirop de Liège - organic apple butter I used R.W. Knudsen
  • 3 cups beef stock
  • 2 bay leaves
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Mix beef and pork together in a large bowl to thoroughly combine.
  • Add the breadcrumbs, eggs, parsley, and onions. Mix thoroughly.
  • Roll into meatballs, about 1/2 cup each, and dredge in flour.
  • Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
  • Add the meatballs and brown on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes on each side.
  • Remove meatballs to a plate. Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter to the skillet.
  • Add the chopped onions and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until onions are caramelized.
  • Add the brown sugar and thyme, stir and cook for 1 minute.
  • Add the flour, stir to combine.
  • Add the syrup Liège {apple butter} and vinegar, stir.
  • Pour in the beef stock, and add the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes.
  • Add the meatballs back to the sauce and cook for 15 minutes to heat through.
  • Serve immediately with pomme frites {French fries} and Belgian beer or wine.

Nutrition

Calories: 666kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 198mg | Sodium: 455mg | Potassium: 913mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 1135IU | Vitamin C: 20.6mg | Calcium: 134mg | Iron: 4.6mg
Previous Post: « Polyjuice Potion Cocktail
Next Post: Homemade French Fries »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. andi says

    October 14, 2014 at 2:05 pm

    Holy Yumballs Batman!!!!

    -andi

    Reply
  2. Diane Balch says

    October 15, 2014 at 7:23 am

    OK, I believe you those meatballs look amazing. I think I did eat these in Belgium. PInning to make soon.

    Reply
    • Lisa Johnson says

      October 17, 2014 at 11:26 am

      They are quite addictive Diane!! If I ever make it to Belgium, I will have to try theirs to make sure I got them right. 😉

      Reply
  3. Gloria Arseneault says

    December 17, 2014 at 11:40 am

    I’m an American living in Maastricht, Netherlands. Liege, Belgium is 20 miles from me, I tried these last week at their Christmas market. They serve them with fries, mayonnaise, and apple sauce, your recipe is just as good! I used Appelstroop, which is the Netherlands version of Sirop de Liege.
    Thank you.

    Reply
  4. Sandra says

    January 23, 2015 at 12:57 pm

    Seems delicious 🙂
    In my recipe (I’m from Liège) I don’t put parsley. And I use beef and pork minced but also veal. It makes the boulets even more tender.
    In the sauce, I also put some brown beer. or Blond bier (like Jupiler for example) but then I up the amount of brown sugar. I also put 2 bay leaves.
    And the secret ingredient : when you have covered your boulets with the sauce (bier, sirop de liège, etc etc.) you spread french mustard on a thick slice of bread and you drop it, mustardy face up on top of the boulets and sauce and just let it melt. I like to pass the sauce through a sieve once all is done, as I don’t like bits…
    Enjoy

    Reply
  5. Larry DiPietro says

    August 15, 2015 at 6:38 am

    A friend just came back from Liege to the US and had two containers of Sirop de Liege confiscated at customs. We had previously experimented and come up with a very authentic reduction of pear and apple juice with candied dates and a few spices. The only downside is that it takes about four hours to reduce the juice to syrup consistency. Vive Wallonie!

    Reply
  6. Kahli Maikaew Magee says

    October 18, 2016 at 4:51 pm

    Umm well if your making this dish you need to add a sweet Belgium beer while cooking the meat as it adds flavour to the sauce. That’s how the belgiums make it

    Reply
  7. Allie says

    May 17, 2018 at 10:05 am

    Hi ! I’m also from Liège and was looking’ for the translation to do it with my host mom here in the US! Thank you for the recipe 🙂 I also add brown beer in it and some dried grapes ? passed on from my grand-ma !

    Reply
  8. Meg says

    June 25, 2018 at 3:29 pm

    Thank you so much for this recipe!!! We have a Belgium exchange student that’s been living with us now for a year and his mom sent me that exact sauce! He said his mom always puts it in her meatballs and I’ve searched endlessly for a recipe to try to recreate it for him!! Can’t wait to try it tomorrow for dinner!

    Reply
  9. Kimberley Rizzo says

    December 29, 2020 at 12:32 pm

    I love making this recipe! Thank you for developing and sharing it!

    Reply
    • Lisa Johnson says

      January 05, 2021 at 10:34 pm

      Thank you so much Kimberley, I am so glad you like it!!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Experimental Recipe Series: Boulets Liegeois with Filipino Bistek Twist - life-code.tech says:
    September 9, 2020 at 6:56 pm

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Hi, I'm Lisa - Welcome to my kitchen! I have a passion for good food and love sharing my creations with friends, family and everyone that loves a homecooked meal. This is where I share my favorite recipes with step-by-step instructions as well as tips and tricks to help you make these delicious recipes in your home.

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