Cooking & EatingThe best meatballs in the Netherlands come from Brabant, according to the annual trade competition ‘De Lekkerste Bal Gehakt’ of the trade association Koninklijke Nederlandse Slagers (KNS). The entire top 4 consists of butchers from Brabant, with the winner being butcher Jongmans from Klundert. “The ball we sent in was so perfect”
Owner Jean-Pierre Jongmans explains how he produces the best meatball. ,,The composition of the dough must have the right proportion. We do that with a little bit of beef, but the main ingredient is pork, because that is the Brabant ball after all.”
The butcher from Klundert competed against nine other finalists, whose meatballs were also judged by an expert jury. The top 4, which consisted entirely of people from Brabant, was striking, according to him. ,,So that’s everyone’s friend, the tender, loose meatball. It is important that you mix well. Not too long, because then he will become stiff.” Jongmans does not want to share a recipe. “It’s almost a state secret. There’s so much work in that. It is not easy to copy him, so we prefer to keep that to ourselves.”
Assessment of cutting edge and structure
Meat specialist Paul van Trigt coordinates the assessment of the meatballs by the jury members during the professional competition. How is it determined which meatball is the best? “In terms of appearance, the color and the model are important. Then we look at the cut surface and the structure, which should not be too coarse, but also not too fine. In terms of smell and taste, the meat of many products was not too salty, which is a good development. It was also remarkable that the meatballs were nicely seasoned with mace, nutmeg and pepper, the main spices for minced meat products.”
,,During the assessment, we cut the meatball with the back of the knife”, Van Trigt continues. ,,That way you can judge it well in terms of taste and consistency. If you get through it that way, you can also smash it with the fork. That is important for the consumer, who must be able to pass through it easily with the fork.”
The ball we sent in was so perfect, we can’t make it better than this
,,The ball we sent in was so perfect’, says Jongmans. “We can’t make it any better than this. The jury agreed, because everything was perfect. They go for the outside and the inside, but the second part of the competition is the taste which has to be good. In the end, just the tastiest meatball wins.”
Meatballs have been around for many years
Meatballs have been around for a long time, according to culinary historian Manon Henzen. The oldest recipe for meatballs comes from a Roman cookbook from the first century AD. It already contains meatballs made from meat from all kinds of animal species, such as beef, pork and chicken, but also fish, peacock and hare.”
“I do not rule out the possibility that meatballs were also made here after the arrival of the Romans in the Netherlands,” says Henzen. “In that Roman cookbook, the balls were heavily seasoned with, among other things, pepper and other spices. Garum, which is fermented fish sauce, was also often used. That was the salt maker in ancient times. The oldest recipes for meatballs from our region are already mentioned in the oldest cookbooks from the Low Countries from the end of the 15th century. They are still called there clotkens of meat. Clootkens means balls. They were seasoned with spices.”
I do not rule out that after the arrival of the Romans in the Netherlands, meatballs were also made here
The ball of mince has not always had the same name. Henzen: ,,In the 17th century, meatballs were called ‘frikadel’ or ‘frikadil’. Those were meatballs or sticks that were again heavily seasoned with, among other things, pepper, nutmeg, lemon zest and orange.” Instead of fried, these meatballs were simmered in water with verjuice, or the juice of unripe grapes.
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