Dutch Meatballs

Steps

1. Put everything in a large bowl: 1 kg ground meat, 2 tsp pepper, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 2 tsp mustard, 1 tbsp maggi, 100 g breadcrumbs, 150 ml milk, 1 egg, 2 tbsp parsley, ½ tsp cayenne (or 2 tsp sambal) and ¼ tsp nutmeg. Mix well.
2. Does the mix still feel clearly too wet? Add some extra breadcrumbs and mix again.
3. Fry a small tester ball and taste. Not seasoned yet? Add some salt (or seasoning) and mix again.
4. Flavour is right: form the meatballs by hand.
5. Heat butter in a pan. Fry the meatballs until nicely browned all over.
6. Add 200 ml water, put the lid on the pan and simmer gently for 20 min.
7. Serve with the gravy from the pan.

Flow

One track with two checkpoints (yellow): too wet? and seasoned right? If not, loop back briefly (orange). Green = the actions. The arrows tell you when to move on.

Notes

• The tester ball is the golden step: you can’t taste raw mince, so always fry a small piece and taste before shaping all the meatballs.
• Breadcrumbs + milk (a panade) keep the meatballs tender — don’t skip it.
• No pork allowed? Use all beef, everything else stays the same.
• The gravy in the pan (water + fat + browned bits) doubles as sauce. Thinner than you’d like? Reduce it or thicken with a little cornflour.
• Variation: sambal instead of cayenne for heat, or fresh parsley instead of dried.