The Essential Recipe for Amsterdam's Dutch Beef Bitterballen (2024)

FAQs

What are Dutch bitterballen made of? ›

Bitterballen (plural of bitterbal) are a Dutch meat-based snack, made by making a very thick stew thickened with roux and beef stock and generously loaded with meat, refrigerating the stew until it firms, and then rolling the thick mixture into balls which then get breaded and fried.

Croquettes are a cylinder shaped snack made from meat or any other fillings dipped in breadcrumbs and deep fried. Bitterballen are similar but are large round balls, served with mustard as well, you will more often see this eaten at parties.

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?

Frozen 5 minutes frying. Preservation Do not let the product thaw in the package. Store in the freezer at -18 ° C. From the freezer 48 hours in the refrigerator.

Loved by locals and tourists alike, bitterballen is a breaded meatball that's been deep fried - a bit like a croquette but sphere-shaped. The inside of a bitterballen is flavour-packed with a thick creamy roux and a generous amount of beef or veal ragu.

These scrumptious fried meatballs are a staple of traditional Dutch cuisine, renowned not only for their delicious taste but also for their role as a quintessential pub snack across the Netherlands.

The first proof of bitterballen dates from the time the Batavians lived in Holland (200 years BC) in the province of Gelderland. They used to eat roasted ox with vegetables and bread.

Dutch croquettes, or kroketten as we call them are a very popular snacks in The Netherlands. They are sold in Dutch fast food restaurants, so called 'snackbars'.

Pork remains the most popular meat in the Netherlands, with an annual share of 36.5 kilograms per person, followed by poultry (22.1 kg), beef (15.4 kg), veal (1.3 kg) and goat meat (1.2 kg).

Airfryer: Preheat the airfryer to 200°C. Place the frozen Bitterballen in the basket. Prepare the Bitterballen in 6 minutes. Remove the Bitterballs from the airfryer and let them rest for at least 2 minutes outside the oven, for optimal crispness.

Can you reheat bitterballen? ›

Place breaded bitterballen on a baking sheet, spaced apart, and put in the freezer until frozen; then move them to a zip-top bag or airtight container. Deep-fry from frozen. Fried bitterballen can be frozen in the same way for up to three months. To reheat, warm in a 350 F oven.

Bake the bitterballen in sunflower oil at 180°C until they are nicely browned and start to float.

The 'kroket' (croquette) is a deep fried roll with meat ragout inside, covered in breadcrumbs. The original Dutch croquette is made from beef or veal, but there are many different flavors like chicken satay, shrimps, goulash or even a vegetarian version.

Standard recipes for bitterballen (I've used this one as a reference) are actually surprisingly easy to veganise. I make my roux with oil instead of butter, I use cornstarch slurry instead of eggs in the breading, and I fill my bitterballen with mushrooms instead of meat.