Belgian "Carbonnade de Boeuf" - veal / beef meatballs in dark sauce

Preparation steps

• Instead of minced meat, you can also use beef / veal cut into pieces as for goulash. In this case, the meat is first fried as well as meatballs and after that the procedure is the same except that the cooking must be extended to 1 and a half to 2 hours. As for beer, real Belgian would be best - Belgian golden ale, but if you can't find it then any dark beer, English ale or similar, must be caramel in color, golden brown, not black. So not Guinness or anything like that because it’s too bitter for this dish. And not just a light beer because the sauce will not take on a fine rich taste or color. For this dish, the most important thing is to use 2 onions, so a larger amount of onions and it must be caramelized. And like I said before, the beer has to be dark, not just light. Lots of parsley and lots of pepper and definitely a good beef soup or soup cube of your choice.
• In a bowl, mix all the ingredients for the meatballs. Mix well to get a fine meat "dough". Shape into balls and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• When the dumplings have stood for a while, add the oil to a deeper pan to cover the bottom and fry the dumplings for about 10 minutes to darken. When they are done take them out on a paper towel and cover.
• In a larger pot, add half the oil where the dumplings were fried and the butter. Add the onion chopped into rings and fry over low heat for 10-15 minutes. Onions should be completely caramelized. It is important not to fry it at a high temperature as both the onion and the butter will burn.
• Add flour and sugar for the last two minutes and mix well and continue to fry for 2 minutes.
• Drizzle with beef broth and add vinegar. Bring to a boil a little and then add the meatballs and pour over the beer.
• Add all other ingredients except mustard and half a parsley. Cook for 15-20 minutes for the liquid to evaporate and get a fine thick sauce.
• Stir in the mustard for the last 5 minutes. And finally add the parsley.
• Carbonnade de boeuf is traditionally served with toasted bread coated with mustard or with baked potatoes and carrots. Of course it's great with mashed potatoes, rice, gnocchi, as you wish :)