Pork Stew with Meatballs ~ Ragoût de Boulettes & Pattes de Cochon
Every year by the end of November or beginning of December, my mother sat in front of the stove toasting her flour. This was an indication she was going to make a very popular traditional Holiday dish from Québec… Pork Stew with Meatballs which in French is Ragoût de Boulettes & Pattes de Cochon!
This was and still is one of my favorite meals during the Holidays. Served with boiled potatoes, a generous slice of Tourtière along with Pickled Beets (and the juice from the jar), this is a great comfort food that I truly enjoy! You might think this dish is too ordinary to be on the menu for Christmas but it’s not because the secret lies in the toasted flour…
From one household to another, this recipe is slightly different. Most people won’t even bother to toast the flour and simply buy it at the store. Others though might do the process until the color turns lightly brown. In my mother’s situation, she was toasting until it was dark in color just like the way I do. The longer it toasts, the deeper the flavors are.
Making Pork Stew with Meatballs • Ragoût de Boulettes & Pattes de Cochon is a long process, I won’t fool you on that but, like some recipes such as Bouillabaisse or Coq au Vin, it’s so worth it! Let’s quickly recap…
– When the flour is toasted and cooled, we have to sift it then set it aside. From there, we have to cook the pork hocks which take anywhere between 1 to 1:30 hours. When they’re done, the water from the pot is kept warm while we remove skin, bones and fat from the hocks and cut the meat into small pieces.
– Next, we form the meatballs and roll them in the flour. Be patient, it usually makes 100 of them!
– We’re now back to the pot, add more water (from 12 to 14 cups), bring it back to a boil and add the meat from the hocks and the meatballs. When the water comes back to a boil again, we use the rest of the toasted flour, sifting it over the pot – this helps to thicken the gravy as well as giving a nice dark color to it. We cook for 3 hours total.
– After 1:30 hours through cooking, we’ll boil water in a medium pot before adding pork sausage and cook for 10 to 12 minutes. When time is up, we remove the casings and discard them. We add the de-greased sausage links to the pot with the meat and cook for the remaining 1:30 hours. During the cooking time, it’s also important to taste and adjust the seasonings; it will probably need more salt, freshly ground black pepper as well as Mixed Spice also known in French as Épices Mélangées.
This is a great recipe to make ahead because it freezes so well. After the stew is at room temperature, I simply portion it into large containers and transfer to the freezer until needed. To thaw out, I put the container at the bottom of my fridge and let it sit overnight.
This Pork Stew with Meatballs • Ragoût de Boulettes & Pattes de Cochon brings back nice memories and this is exactly what the Holidays are all about… tradition! Bring this delicious Québec dish to your table this season…
Bon Appétit!
Here are other delicious Québec Holidays recipes for you to try…
– Tourtière
– Tarte au Sucre ~ Sugar Pie
– Boeuf Bourguignon (Beef Bourguignon)
– Salmon Pie
– Sucre à la Crème ~ Butter & Cream Fudge
– Old Fashioned Baked Beans with Bacon
and for even more Holidays recipes, click on this link… Recipe Category • Holidays & Events
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Meatballs & Pig's Feet Stew ~ Ragoût de Boulettes & Pattes de Cochon
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Ingredients
HOCKS
- 2 lbs. (about 2 large) pork hocks
- 5 to 5 1/2 cups white onions, chopped
- 1 tsp. mixed spice aka épices mélangées tips & tricks
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 tsp. ground Himalayan sea salt
- 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper (I always use mixed peppercorns)
- 11 cups water, or as needed
- 1 large bay leaf
MEATBALLS
- 1 1/2 lbs. ground veal
- 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
- 1 1/2 lbs. ground pork
- 2 large free-run eggs, beaten
- 4 cups white onions, finely chopped
- 3/4 cup fine breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp. Herbes de Provence see Recipe
- 1 tbsp. mixed spice aka Épices Mélangées see Recipe
- 2 tsp. hot paprika
- 2 tsp. ground Himalayan sea salt, or more to taste and divided
- 2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste and divided (I always use mixed peppercorns)
- 6 large cloves garlic, pressed
- 1/2 tbsp. grapeseed oil for hands, as needed
- 6 cups toasted flour, sifted and divided tips & tricks
- 14 cups water, or as needed
- 2 lbs. pork sausage
Directions
HOCKS
- In a large pot, place hocks, white onions, mixed spice, cloves, salt, and pepper. Add water to barely cover the hocks and bring it to a boil.
- Reduce heat to simmer and let it simmer for 1 to 1 ½ hours or until the meat is cooked.
- When cooked, remove hocks from the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low. Let the hocks cool off before handling.
- Separate meat from skin, bones, and fat; discard them. Cut the meat into bite sized pieces and set aside.
MEATBALLS
- In a large bowl or pot, add ground veal, ground beef and ground pork; combine the meat together.
- Add eggs, onions, breadcrumbs, Dijon mustard, Herbes de Provence, mixed spice, hot paprika, salt, black pepper and pressed garlic. Combine the ingredients until fairly well mixed.
- Using a medium scoop, portion the meat and then, with well-oiled hands, roll them nice and tight.
- Roll each meatball in the sifted toasted flour, shake off any excess and put them back on the baking dish; set them aside.
STEW
- Add more water to the pot where the hocks were simmering earlier and increase the heat to high. Skim off any foam and discard it.
- When it starts boiling, add the meat from the pork hocks as well as the meatballs - if the liquid cools off too much, place the lid on to bring it back to a boil.
- Sift the remaining toasted flour over the pot by adding a little bit at a time and stir well between each addition. The amount of flour added depends on how thick you want your gravy, you can always add more later during the cooking time – I normally go for about 4 to 5 cups.
- Reduce the heat to a simmer and let it cook for 3 hours, stirring often - as the ragoût cooks, the sauce will thicken.
- After an hour of cooking, taste and adjust the seasoning.
- Another half an hour later, start boiling water in a medium pot. Add pork sausages and boil them for about 10 to 12 minutes.
- When time is up, remove them from the heat and gently scrape the casings off; discard them.
- Add the sausages to the ragoût and let them simmer for the remaining 1 hour.
- When the 3 hours is finally up, taste and adjust the seasoning by adding salt, pepper and mixed spice.
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