Meatballs & Pig's Feet Stew ~ Ragoût de Boulettes & Pattes de Cochon

5 from 3 votes

Traditional Québécois Pork Stew with Meatballs is delicious! With boiled potatoes and crusty bread, this is a meal your family will enjoy.

Prep Time45

Cook Time5

Passive time0

Servings:

Author: Francine Lizotte

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Québécois

Keyword Beef, Christmas, Comfort Food, Dairy Free, Herbs & Spices, Holidays & Events, Pork

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

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.

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.

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.