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Preparation time
0min
Total time
0min
Portion
20 portion(s)
Level
easy

Ingredients

MEAT BASE

  • 800 grams gravy beef
  • Nutmeg
  • salt & pepper
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 6 whole cloves
  • beef stock, approx 500ml

ROUX (sauce)

  • 90 grams Butter
  • 90 grams plain flour
  • reserved gravy from "meat base"
  • extra beef stock, to make up to 600ml

THE REST

  • 1/2 bunch parsley
  • plain flour, (about a cup)
  • 3-5 eggs, (lightly beaten)
  • bread crumbs, (about 2 cups)

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  • Spatula TM5/TM6
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Recipe's preparation

    MEAT BASE (stove top method)
  1. I like to cook the meat on the stove top for a longer period of time as I feel you get much more flavour this way so even though this "appears" to take long, it's super easy to do and requires no effort at all.  Definitely worth the wait!  I also feel that cooking this in the Thermomix would make it harder to separate the gravy from the meat.

  2. Fry the onion until transparent in a heavy based saucepan. Meanwhile sprinkle beef with a small amount of nutmeg, salt and pepper and brown each side in a frying pan. Add the meat to the onion. Pierce bay leaves with cloves and add to the meat mix.

  3. Top with enough beef stock to just cover the meat. Simmer gently on the stove top, covered for 2-3 hours, until the meat is tender and falling apart. (I have a gas stove and use a heat diffuser to help lower the temperature and keep it more consistent for long term simmering). Discard the bay leaves and cloves. Remove meat, reserving the gravy, and allow both to cool.  You need to have 600ml of liquid to make the roux so top the gravy up with extra beef stock if required.

  4. SHREDDING THE MEAT
  5. Place parsley in the Thermomix bowl and chop on Sp 7 for 5 seconds.

    Add meat and shred for 5-10 seconds / Sp 4 / Counter-clockwise operation"Counter-clockwise operation" or until you are happy with the texture... it should appear stringy and textured... you don't want to turn it into a paste! 


    Place the shredded meat & parsley into a large bowl and set it aside.

  6. MAKING THE ROUX (sauce) & RAGOUT (ragu)
  7. Very easy step in the Thermomix!

    Add butter to the Thermomix bowl and heat at 100° / 3 mins / Sp 2 (make sure butter is completely melted and hot).

    Add flour and mix on 100° / 3-4 mins / Sp 4 (cooking it for this long removes the floury taste). 

     

  8. Now with the MC off and the blades turning at 100° / 10 mins / Sp 3 slowly add the combined gravy and stock (about 1/2 a cup at a time) until the roux looks thick and smooth (you may not use all the stock!) and then continue to cook until the timer is finished.

  9. Add 150g of shredded meat & parsley to the roux and mix on Sp 4 / 1 min. It will now look like a very smooth mixture with a slight brown colour.

    Pour this mixture into the bowl containing the remaining shredded meat. Stir by hand to combine and season to taste with salt & pepper and refrigerate (covered in plastic wrap) for 2 hours before rolling.   This is now called the "ragout / ragu".

  10. ROLLING THE CROQUETTES OR BITTERBALLS
  11. Now comes the messy part and unfortunately there are no short cuts – you have to get your hands in and start rolling! 

    Get yourself 3 large, shallow bowls and fill one with the flour, one with beaten egg and the last one with breadcrumbs.  You will also need a plate lined with baking paper for the finished product.

  12. Using your hands, form either sticks (10cm x 3cm, about 60g - croquettes) or balls (3cm diameter, about 20-25g - bitterballs) from the ragout mix.  Coat them all in flour, ready for the egg and crumbs.

  13. Now, one by one, dip the floured croquette or bitterball in egg (using your LEFT hand only!) and then bread crumbs (using only your RIGHT hand!); then returned to the egg (with your left hand) and finally into the bread crumbs once again (with your right hand).  Your hands will stay a lot cleaner and lighter if you remember to use the correct hands in each bowl.  Your croquettes or bitterballs should be returned to the refrigerator for 30 minutes prior to cooking or alternatively you could freeze them (with baking paper in between layers to make it easier to separate later) at this stage to cook at some time in the future.

  14. TO COOK:
    Preheat the deep fryer to 180°C. Deep fry the croquettes or bitterballs for 4-6 minutes until golden brown.  Cooking time will be slightly longer if using frozen croquettes (no need to thaw first). Drain on paper towels.  Serve with mustard and soft bread rolls with french fries and mayo, if desired.  Eet smakelijk!

Tip

Croquettes can be made from any meat (chicken and veal work well too and ham or prawn are also popular) and were traditionally made using left over meat.

Note: The name "bitterballen" literally means bitter balls but does not mean that they are bitter.  Traditionally they were made as an accompaniment to a "bitterje" (a small glass of Dutch Jenever, similar to gin). The only difference between krokets and bitterballs is the shape!

While these aren't hard to make, they are a bit time consuming but I'm hoping that once you try the Thermomix method, you'll see that they're a great success and loved by all!  Let me know what you think! Enjoy...

Thermomix Model

  • Appliance TM 31 image
    Recipe is created for
    TM 31

This recipe was provided to you by a Thermomix ® customer and has not been tested by Vorwerk Thermomix ® or The Mix Australia Pty Ltd and The Mix New Zealand Ltd.
Vorwerk Thermomix ® and The Mix Australia Pty Ltd and The Mix New Zealand Ltd assume no liability, particularly in terms of ingredient quantities used and success of the recipes.
Please observe the safety instructions in the Thermomix ® instruction manual at all times.

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Dutch Croquettes (kroket / bitterballen)

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