Dutch Meatballs (Bitterballen) are a classic Dutch bar snack. Bitterballen, one of Holland’s favorite snacks, are bite-size beef and gravy croquettes usually served along with beer.
Let’s talk Bitterballen! They are totally different than your usual meatball, when you bite into one you get a nice crispy exterior but a soft gooey interior. Totally different but so delicious.
I was first introduced to these decadent little morsels last year on our trip to Quebec city. Hubs and I ordered them at a pub, not really knowing what they were but they looked like meatballs so I knew we couldn’t go wrong. They are totally different than your usual meatball, when you bite into one you get a nice crispy exterior but a soft gooey interior. Totally different but so delicious.
What Are Dutch Meatballs?
Bitterballen are actually Dutch meatballs, a very popular snack served at bars along with beer. Sometimes they are shaped as logs or sometimes as balls. If I were to describe what they taste like, the closet I can come up with is deep fried mushrooms, is your mouth watering yet?
You start by first making a roux with butter and flour, beef broth/stock is then added to the roux, then the rest of the ingredients such as ground beef, onion, parsley, salt and pepper and nutmeg. The mixture is going to look like a pile of goo which is why you have to refrigerate this for several hours to give the gravy time to solidify. I left mine in the fridge overnight so by next day it was totally ready, but a few hours should suffice.
Next you will fry them up and you end up will succulent little meatballs with the softest interior you can imagine. You won’t be able to stop at just 1, or 2, or even 3, which is why my recipe makes a lot, believe me you’ll devour them all!
What Is a Roux?
Roux is simply flour and fat cooked together, that’s it. It’s the base of so many beautiful sauces and provides a great base for developing beautiful flavor and structure. We want to gently cook our roux till it has browned nicely so that that raw flour taste is cooked off.
Ingredients
Bitterballen
- Butter – Unsalted as we want to control the sodium content of our dish.
- Flour – All purpose works just fine as a base for our roux.
- Broth – We’re using low sodium beef broth. As we’re cooking with beef we want to carry that beef flavor all the way through.
- Beef – Ground beef, I used regular but feel free to use lean if you’d like to cut back on fat.
- Onion – 1 small onion, something that cooks down well like white or yellow.
- Nutmeg – This spice may seem like a strange addition, but it pairs beautifully with our savory flavors and rounds out our flavor profiles nicely.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper.
Breading
- Flour – All purpose again to form a nice crisp breading for our exterior.
- Eggs – We’re using 3 large eggs beaten for dipping.
- Crumbs – I used panko bread crumbs today, for information regarding these crumbs refer to my tips section.
- Oil – Vegetable oil for frying, I recommend something like canola.
How To Make Bitterballen
Meatballs
- Create the roux: In a large skillet melt the butter over medium-high heat. When the butter has melted completely, add the 1 cup of flour, a bit at a time, whisking it, it will turn into a thick paste.
- Cook the gravy: Slowly stir or whisk in the beef broth. Make sure you stir thoroughly, the broth should all be incorporated in the roux, the gravy should be smooth but still quite thick. Simmer the gravy for a couple minutes then add the parsley, onion, and ground beef, stir well before seasoning with salt and pepper and adding the nutmeg.
- Solidify the gravy: Transfer the meat mixture to a Tupperware container and refrigerate for several hours until the gravy has solidified. I refrigerated mine overnight, but 3 or 4 hours should suffice.
Breading
- Prep the assembly line: Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In 1 plate add the flour, in another plate add the eggs and the last plate the breadcrumbs.
- Form the meatballs: Shape the meat mixture into 1 inch balls. Use a small ice cream scoop, it’s easier to get the same quantity of meat each time. Place these meatballs on one of the prepared baking sheets.
- Bread the bitterballen: Roll the balls first through flour, then eggs, then finally breadcrumbs. Place these meatballs on the other prepared baking sheet. Once completed, place the baking sheet with the meatballs in the fridge until ready to fry.
Fry
- Heat the oil: In a large Dutch oven, skillet or deep fryer, add enough oil, I usually add about 2 inches of oil. Heat the oil up to 375 F degrees.
- Fry the meatballs: Fry the meatballs about 6 at a time until golden brown, should take about 4 or 5 minutes. If you have enough oil in your fryer the meatballs will float to the top when done. Continue until done with all the meatballs.
- Maintenance: In between batches you might have to clean the oil with a slotted spoon of all the leftover fried bits from the meatballs.
- Finish the dish: Serve hot with a grainy or spicy mustard.
Some Tips
- I used Panko breadcrumbs here because I prefer them especially when trying to get something really crispy, but I put them in a food processor first and pulsed a few times to make them finer.
- If you find your mixture is too sticky be sure you’re letting it sit in your fridge long enough! I find leaving it overnight makes it a lot easier to work with.
- For a vegetarian option, used finely chopped mushrooms.
- I would highly recommend whipping this recipe out the next time you’re trying to impress a crowd, chances are they’ve never had anything like it before!
What Can I Serve Bitterballen With?
I mean it’s a crowd pleaser so if you’re making it for friends and family, pair it with some of your favorite finger foods! Here are some to get you inspired:
- Potato Croquettes
- Honey Garlic Chicken Wings
- Skillet Pizza Dip
- Chimichurri Steak Quesadillas
- Parmesan Chicken Strips
- Or my favorite…beer!
Leftovers
Fridge
These meatballs can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days.
Freezer
This recipe also freezes quite well, just freeze them spread on a baking sheet before transferring to a freezer bag and it should keep for up to 3 months. Warm back up to temperature in the oven when ready to enjoy.
Craving More Meatballs? Try These Delicious Recipes:
- Salisbury Steak Meatballs with Gravy and Mashed Potatoes
- Stout Meatballs with BBQ Sauce
- Meatballs with Mushroom Sauce
- Porcupine Meatballs
- Thai Meatball Lettuce Wraps
- Cheesy Chicken Meatball Rolls
- Firecracker Chicken Meatballs
- Swedish Meatballs
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Dutch Meatballs (Bitterballen)
Ingredients
For Bitterballen
- 8 tablespoon butter unsalted (1 stick)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups beef broth
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
- 1 small onion minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
For Breading
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 eggs beaten
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- In a large skillet melt the butter over medium-high heat. When the butter has melted completely, add the 1 cup of flour, a bit at a time, whisking it, it will turn into a thick paste.
- Slowly stir or whisk in the beef broth. Make sure you stir thoroughly, the broth should all be incorporated in the roux. The gravy should be smooth but still quite thick.
- Simmer the gravy for a couple minutes then add the parsley, onion, and ground beef, stir well. Season with the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary.
- Transfer the meat mixture to a Tupperware container and refrigerate for several hours until the gravy has solidified. I refrigerated mine overnight, but 3 or 4 hours should suffice.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In 1 plate add the flour, in another plate add the eggs and the last plate the bread crumbs.
- Shape the meat mixture into 1 inch balls. Use a small ice cream scoop, it’s easier to get the same quantity of meat each time. Place these meatballs on one of the prepared baking sheets.
- Roll the balls first through flour, then eggs, then finally bread crumbs. Place these meatballs on the other prepared baking sheet. Once completed, place the baking sheet with the meatballs in the fridge until ready to fry.
- In a large Dutch oven, skillet or deep fryer, add enough oil, I usually add about 2 inches of oil. Heat the oil up to 375 F degrees.
- Fry the meatballs about 6 at a time until golden brown, should take about 4 or 5 minutes. If you have enough oil in your fryer the meatballs will float to the top when done. Continue until done with all the meatballs. In between batches you might have to clean the oil with a slotted spoon of all the leftover fried bits from the meatballs.
- Serve hot with a grainy or spicy mustard.
Recipe Notes
- Total time does NOT include time required to refrigerate meat mixture until solidified.
- This recipe should yield roughly around 60 balls about 1 inch in diameter.
- I used Panko bread crumbs here because I prefer them especially when trying to get something really crispy, but I put them in a food processor first and pulsed a few times to make them finer.
- For a vegetarian option, used finely chopped mushrooms.
Hi Jo, with the ground beef do I add it raw to the roux? I only had mince
Yes, raw!
How many bitter balls does this recipe yield?
Well it really depends on how big you make them, but I got 60, hence the number of servings) and nutritional information is per ball.
Bitterballen are absolutely delicious! Especially when the cooked beef is pulled apart and mixed in to the roux.
In the beginning you say to use equal quantities of butter and flour, but in the recipe you say one stick butter (which is a half cup) and one cup flour. Which is correct?Also, is the ground beef cooked before adding to the gravy?
The recipe is correct, sorry about that. The ground beef is not cooked.
Wow!
Hi, I’m from the Netherlands and I just want to say that bitterballen are delicious but are never made with ground beef. Usually we use the meat (usually beef) that we cook in the stock/broth that you also use to make the roux. When the beef is cooked you pull it apart and stir it into the roux.
Great tips, thanks for that!
Hello! Does the ground beef need to be cooked before added?
The ground beef gets added to the gravy and cooks a little, then finishes cooking in the fryer 🙂
Hello! Do you need to brown the meat before you add it?
No, just follow the steps as instructed, you basically make a gravy then add the ground meat to it.
Hi Jo,
I am Dutch and live in Québec City and have never seen bitterballen with ground beef. Normally you use a chuck roast for that and pull it apart when it is cooked. That is going into the roux.
When they are shaped like logs, you call them ”kroketten”.
You have different kind of Kroketten: chicken-curry, goulash and satay.
I was just busy to make a new batch for the freezer 🙂 It is not that your receipe is bad, but some Dutch proud came up to tell you how it really is.
I read that they have bitterballen in Québec City, but never went there.
Should do that one day and give them my opinion.
I’m Dutch as well. I was hoping for a comment like yours 🙂
I’ve been missing bitterballen and kroketten a lot (among everything else from the snackbar 🙂 ) so decided to search for a recipe.
To make a even tastier croquette use leftover roast beef, finely chopped (simmer it for as long as you can so it falls apart . and Dutch rusks as the bread crumbs.
That is my all time favourite dish ever, but I have trouble with the flavouring. I can never get mine to taste like my mother’s.
Thanks for your recipe ideas.
Also. You can find Croquettes at most Dutch Delicatessens. – not as good as moms tho 🤭
Good luck everyone.
You have to use also ” Maggi” and parsley.
My batch is too sticky to roll
It actually had risen
Was it too hot while putting in flour?
What can I do ?
Add more flour?
Did you let it cool? It will be sticky, you can probably just use a tbsp and dip it in as instructed.