The ''boulet à la liégeoise'' (; or more regionally called ''boulet sauce lapin'', ''boulet (sauce) chasseur'', or ''Boulets'') is a Belgian dish made from balls of mixed minced

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

and

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

in a sauce containing Liège syrup. As its name indicates, the dish comes from the city of

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

Description

As with most regional recipes, each cook will have a slightly different variation on how to make the dish. Traditionally, ''boulet à la liégeoise'' consists of one or two big

meatball A meatball is ground meat (mince) rolled into a ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, eggs, butter, and seasoning. Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce. There are m ...

s (the size of the ball allows one to differentiate a ''boulet'' from the smaller ''boulette''), made from

and

veal Veal is the meat of Calf (animal), calves, in contrast to the beef from older cattle. Veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any List of cattle breeds, breed; however, most veal comes from young male calves of Dairy cattle, dairy b ...

or pork and

minced meat Ground meat, called mince or minced meat outside North America, is meat finely chopped by a meat grinder or a chopping knife. A common type of ground meat is ground beef, but many other types of meats are prepared in a similar fashion, incl ...

bread crumbs Breadcrumbs are a culinary ingredient consisting of flour or crumbled bread of varying dryness, sometimes with seasonings added. They are used for a variety of purposes, including breading or crumbing foods before frying (such as breaded cut ...

onions An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classified ...

and

parsley Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum''), is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to Greece, Morocco and the former Yugoslavia. It has been introduced and naturalisation (biology), naturalized in Eur ...

. The balls are then cooked in a pan until golden brown before lowering the heat and letting the meat simmer in a sauce made from onions,

vinegar Vinegar () is an aqueous solution of diluted acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains from 5% to 18% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting ...

brown sugar Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content or produced by t ...

, Liège syrup and Corinthian raisins. The sauce is called ''sauce lapin'' (literally "rabbit sauce"), not because of any rabbit in the sauce but after Madame Géraldine Lapin, born Corthouts, wife of Ernest Lapin (1868–1922), a tax collector in the suburbs of

. A true institution in

brasserie In France, Flanders, and the Francophone world, a brasserie () is a type of French restaurant with a relaxed setting, which serves dishes and other meals. The word ''brasserie'' is French for "brewery" and, by extension, "the brewing busine ...

s and

friterie A , or () in French Community of Belgium, French-speaking Belgium and Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Northern France, or or frietkot in Flanders and the Netherlands, also fritkot in French-speaking Belgium and friture or frietkraam in the Netherlands ...

s throughout Liège, and known nationwide, this dish is traditionally served with

French fries French fries, or simply fries, also known as chips, and finger chips (Indian English), are '' batonnet'' or '' julienne''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin. They are prepared by cutting potatoes into even strips, drying them, and f ...

(it is then called ''boulets-frites''),

mayonnaise Mayonnaise (), colloquially referred to as "mayo" (), is a thick, creamy sauce with a rich and tangy taste that is commonly used on sandwiches, hamburgers, Salad#Bound salads, bound salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various o ...

, and lightly seasoned

crudités Crudités (, ) are French appetizers consisting of sliced or whole raw vegetables which are typically dipped in a vinaigrette or other dipping sauce. Examples of crudités include celery sticks, carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, bell pepper strip ...

apple sauce Apple sauce is a purée (not necessarily served as a true sauce) made of apples. It can be made with peeled or unpeeled apples and can be spiced or sweetened. Apple sauce is inexpensive and is widely consumed in North America and some parts of ...

. Many establishments in

serve this dish as almost their only speciality. Most restaurants and friteries in Liège serve it. One company makes it industrially.

The Gay Boulet Brotherhood and the ''Diamond Boulet''

Since 23 March 1996 the Gay Boulet Brotherhood has awarded a ''Diamond Boulet'' to a

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspe ...

whose recipe is closest to the local tradition. This award was given, * in 1997, to the restaurant ''Le Bouche à Oreille'', in

Boncelles Boncelles (; ) is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Seraing, located in the province of Liège, Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland re ...

* in 1998, to ''Friterie des Moges'', in Rotheux * in 1999, to the brasserie ''Le Lulay Al Copète'', in

* in 2000, to the restaurant ''Le Bouche à Oreille'', in Boncelles * in 2001, no award * in 2002, to the restaurant ''La Liégeoise'' (chez René), in

Ans Ans or ANS or ''variation'', may refer to: Places * Ans, Belgium, a municipality in Belgium * Ans, Denmark, a village in Denmark * Angus, Scotland, UK; a council area by its Chapman code * Ainsdale railway station, England, UK (by station cod ...

* in 2003, to ''Café Lequet'' (Chez Stockis), in Liège * in 2004, to ''Café Lequet'' (Chez Stockis), in Liège * in 2005, to the restaurant ''Le Dernier Ragot'', rue des Clarisses à Liège * in 2006, to ''Dernier Ragot'', Clarisses street in Liège * in 2007, to the restaurant ''Le Vin sur Vin'', place du Marché in Liège * in 2008, to the brasserie ''Au Point de vue'', place Verte in Liège * in 2009, to the friterie ''Chez Adam'', place Reine Astrid in

Visé Visé (; , ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, located on the river Meuse in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Argenteau, Cheratte, Lanaye, Lixhe, Richelle, and Visé. In the ...

* in 2010, to the friterie ''Chez Adam'', place Reine Astrid in Visé, tied with ''L'Amirauté'', quai de l'Ourthe in Tilff * in 2011, to the restaurant ''Chez Philippe'', Haute-Sauvenière street in Liège * in 2012, to ''Friterie du Longdoz'', place Sylvain Dupuis 7 in Liège * in 2013, to the restaurant ''Chez Pol'', route du Condroz 123 in Nandrin * in 2014, to the brasserie ''Le Saint-Grégory'', Feronstrée 112 in Liège * in 2015, to the brasserie ''Au Point de vue'', place Verte 20 in Liège * in 2016, to the brasserie ''Rive Droite'', Esplanade 2 in

Chaudfontaine :''Chaudfontaine is also a brand of mineral water, owned by The Coca-Cola Company.'' Chaudfontaine (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Chaudfontaine had a total population of 21,012. ...

* in 2017, to the restaurant ''Aux Chandelles'', route de Herve 187 in Grivegnée

References

{{reflist

External links

The recipe
(Confrérie Gastronomique du Gay Boulet de Boncelles) Belgian cuisine Meatballs

Description

The Gay Boulet Brotherhood and the ''Diamond Boulet''

See also

References

External links